The history of ancient China has 5000 years. The formation of the culture of the Celestial Empire began during the Qin Dynasty, which did not last long, and continued during the Han Dynasty. At the turn of the millennium, China developed quite intensively, and the art of Ancient China appeared at the same time.
First of all, traditional Chinese painting arose - a subtle art, to a large extent philosophical, furnished with a number of ritual conventions. The first and obligatory rule when writing a picture is that the plot must contain some kind of story. In accordance with the second rule, a saying was written in the picture in poetic form, revealing the meaning of the plot. It was necessary to write in calligraphic style. As we can see, the art of ancient China already demanded sacrifices.
In addition, the artist had to make a seal with his name in advance for each painting, with which he “signed” the finished work. The drawing technique was also strictly defined. There were two methods of writing paintings:gunbi and sei. Paintings were painted in the gongbi style, which required clearly drawn lines, a general contour drawing and detailing of objects. And the style of "sei" assumed blurring of outlines, approximateness and conventionality. The artists used ink, watercolors, silk fabrics, rice and bamboo paper. Painting, as the fine arts of ancient China, was the most difficult process of that time.
Along with the advent of traditional Chinese painting, the art of ceramics developed. The manufacture of clay products was not particularly sophisticated, pots and jugs were made by hand modeling or on a primitive potter's wheel, but ceramic products were decorated in the style of high art. Bright, colorful drawings were embossed on the surface of a vase or jug, geometrically correct patterns and ornaments were rhythmically repeated, creating whole compositions. After a certain period of time, the art of ceramics smoothly turned into the famous Chinese porcelain, which is highly valued even today.
The Chinese Han Dynasty is also interesting in the art of bronze casting. The technologies were complex, but the finished vessel or vase was striking in the perfection of the pattern. Ancient Chinese masters were able to convey the finest images, entire plots, animals and plants. According to the clay molds found during the excavations, it is possible to restore the picture of the appearance of bronze casting, when the art of ancient China was developed in many directions. A clay copy of the future vessel was made, thena pattern was drawn on the surface. After that, the form was fired and another form was created using the reverse impression method, already with a relief pattern. Molten bronze was poured into this mold, then the mold was broken into small pieces. Thus, the ceramic art of ancient China is characterized by exclusive products.
With all the importance of applied art, theatrical art cannot be ignored. This folk art appeared in the 6th century AD. and gained strength until the 10th century, acquiring new forms. The ancient Chinese theater was formed as a complex, multi-stage performance, including pantomime, dance and singing, a clear distinction between the roles of the actors, the unpretentiousness of the scenery, which played only a small additional role in the performance. But in general, Chinese theatrical art was a significant part of the culture of ancient China. Of course, the art of Ancient China, summarized in this article, does not give an idea of the art of the country in full, "behind the scenes" were such types as writing on knots, sculpture of clay giants, the art of silk fabrics, gunpowder and, finally, Chinese cuisine.
