Qin Shi Huangdi, the first unifier of China, is buried at the center of a complex designed to mirror the urban plan of the capital, Xianya.
Art of China
The composition of the painting seems to have borrowed depictions of the Three Laughers of Tiger Creek, a popular allegorical story about the meeting of three famous figures.
Shakyamuni, Laozi, and Confucius
The smoke from incense was used as a link between the earthly realm and the heavenly world.
Li (tripod)-shaped cloisonné incense burner
Artists during the Ming dynasty often honored their patrons by portraying them in a garden studio, thus commenting on the owner’s character and aesthetic taste.
Shen Zhou, A Spring Gathering
The artwork is based on a well-known Chinese folktale about a group of monkeys attempting to capture the moon.
Xu Bing, Monkeys Grasp for the Moon
This Chinese calligraphy piece is written on a folding fan.
Wang Wen, Poem in cursive script
Painted in lavish mineral-based colors of blue, green, and brownish yellow, this painting is a typical “blue-and-green” landscape in Chinese art
Qiu Ying, Journey to Shu
A scholar playing a zither while enjoying some beautiful scenery is a popular genre in Chinese landscape paintings.
Copy after Qiu Ying, Playing the Zither ...
This handscroll vividly portrays eleven dancing dragons.
Eleven Dragons handscroll
This painting depicts the most important festival in China—the Lunar New Year.
Palace Women and Children Celebrating the New ...
This canteen exemplifies the dynamic flow of ideas and objects between the Islamic world and China that invigorated both artistic traditions.
Canteen
Ancestor portraits are typically commissioned by the family members of the deceased ancestors
Portraits of Shi Wenying and Lady Guan
This is an iconic photo of Cixi, the Empress Dowager of Qing China, in the early 1900s
Xunling, The Empress Dowager Cixi with foreign ...
China has captivated the world for thousands of years with its skill and creativity in working with silk.
Summer chaofu (formal court dress) for a ...
Tea drinking has been an essential part of Chinese culture for centuries
Landscape: tea sipping under willows
This painting belongs to a small group of eight similar, imperially commissioned works that depict the Qianlong Emperor as the bodhisattva Manjushri
Imperial Workshop and Giuseppe Castiglione, The Qianlong ...
This ivory image of Guanyin of art shows extreme attention to decorative details
Standing figure of Guanyin as Buddha
It must have been incredibly time consuming and expensive to make this box, the design of which, with its bright colors and three-dimensional imagery, is exceptionally vibrant.
Lacquer box decorated with images of Spring ...
This handscroll is almost thirty-five feet long and illustrates the twenty-one steps of producing rice.
Attributed to Cheng Qi, Tilling Rice, after ...
The fine quality of the porcelain and delicate painting details both suggest that the vase was made for and used by the imperial court in China
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
