Between Han and Tang: Art and Archaeology in a Transformative Period, 3 volumes
Edited by Wu Hung
Between Han and Tang: Art and Archaeology in a Transformative Period, 3 volumes
Edited by Wu Hung
These three volumes result from a series of three international conferences on Chinese art and archaeology from the third to sixth centuries. Collectively known as Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, this period witnessed one of the most important epochs in the history of Chinese art. No longer dominated by a single metropolitan tradition and bureaucratic system, Chinese culture and art developed in new directions through the growth and interaction of regional traditions and foreign influence.
(These below are descriptions of the three volumes above)
Vol. 1 Between Han and Tang: Religious Art and Archaeology in a Transformative Period (2000)
The eighteen essays in this volume are grouped into four sections, each representing a major aspect or direction of research on religious art and architecture during this period: (1) small and middle-sized Buddhist cave-temples and stone carvings beyond the famous Buddhist monuments at Yungang, Longmen, and Dunhuang; (2) religious art in the Kucha region and the Hexi Corridor; (3) Buddhist temples and icons; and (4) identities and roles of patrons of religious art and architecture. Rather than providing well-formulated conclusions, these papers aim to present research materials and to open up new ways in studying religious art during this period.
Vol. 2 Between Han and Tang: Cultural and Artistic Interaction in a Transformative Period (2001)
The central theme of this volume is precisely the interaction and mutual influence of different artistic and cultural traditions during this period. Such interaction became evident in every art form and in all domains of visual culture, including architecture, painting, sculpture, fashion, and funerary art. Like the papers in the previous volume, the purpose of these articles is not to provide well-formulated conclusions, but to provide research materials and to open up new ways in studying regional art during this important period.
Vol. 3 Between Han and Tang: Visual and Material Culture in a Transformative Period (2003)
The nineteen papers in this volume are grouped into five sections, each focusing on a major aspect of visual and/or material culture during this period and reflecting divergent perspectives and methods in accordance with different research materials and objects, including urban architecture and the city, Buddhist visual culture, regional funerary cultures, images and objects in funerary context, and painting and calligraphy. Together, the three volumes depart from the traditional emphasis on a few “Golden Ages” in Chinese art and focus instead on the emergence and early development of historical trends in an era of political chaos and instability.