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Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋朝 (960-1279)

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Song Dynasty
arts

period before (Five Dynasties)
-- Liao Dynasty
-- Jin Dynasty
-- Xixia Empire
next period (Yuan)
Map and Geography

Song art is the age of painting and of porcelain. It can be seen as the highlight in the development of traditional Chinese painting. Main themes of Song painting were landscape scrolls and the living nature, showing us pictures of bamboo, birds, horses and other animals. Famous painters are Fan Kuan 范寬, Guo Xi 郭熙, Yan Wengui 燕文貴, Cui Bai 崔白, Li Gonglin 李公麟, Wang Shen 王詵, Zhao Ji 趙佶, Li Tang 李唐, Li Di 李迪, Liu Songnian 劉松年, Li Song 李崧, Ma Yuan 馬遠, Liang Kai 梁楷, Xia Gui 夏圭, Lin Chun 林椿, Ma Lin 馬麟, and Zhao Mengjian 趙孟堅 . At the same time, calligraphy reached a high point of development. Emperor Huizong 宋徽宗 himself was a famous calligrapher and thus represented the ideal of a statesman that was an artist at the same time, with universal knowledge and skills in arts, poetry, music and history. Other calligraphers were Cai Xiang 蔡襄, the essayist Su Shi 蘇軾, Mo Tingjian 莫庭堅, Mi Fu 米芾, Wang Tingyun 王庭筠, Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢, and Zhang Langzhi 張郎之 . Porcelain also reached the summit of perfection, with a very simple but attractive glazing in white, green-blue and gray. Song time porcelain has exerted a deep influence on Korean porcelain that still today shows the same colours like that of Song China. There are still some Song Dynasty buildings and many temple statues left like the Shengmu Hall 聖母殿 of the Jinsi Temple 晉祠 in Taiyuan/Shanxi, the Double Pagoda 雙塔 of the Luohan Court 羅漢院 in Suzhou/Jiangsu, the open Liaodi Pagoda 料敵塔 of Kaiyuan Monastery 開元寺 in Dingxian 定縣/Hebei, the pagoda of the state monastery Youguosi 佑國寺 in Kaifeng 開封/Henan, or the archaic pagoda of the Yunyan Monastery 雲岩寺 near Suzhou.

Go back to the Song Dynasty introduction page and learn more about Song Dynasty economy, arts, literature, government...

Song craquelee porcelain vase

Song craquelee porcelain vase

Guo Xi, 'Spring', landscape painting (detail)

Guo Xi, 'Spring', landscape painting (detail)

Calligraphy by Emperor Song Huizong

Calligraphy by Emperor Song Huizong

Statue of a servant maid, Song

Statue of a servant maid, Shengmu Hall, Jinci Temple, Taiyuan/Shanxi

Brick Pagoda Youguo Monastery, Kaifeng, Northern Song

Brick Pagoda Youguo Monastery, Kaifeng, Northern Song

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