By staff reporter LI XIA

Tri-color-glazed camel carrying musicians, made in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
Title: Culture of China (Series of Picture Albums)
Publisher: Foreign Languages Press, Beijing
Price: 58 Yuan per album

WHAT does culture mean? There are different interpretations of the concept. Sociology defines culture as the way of living that evolves within a group of people and continues for generations. The term culture also applies to tangible products of the spirit, such as painting, sculpture and stage art.

The splendor of traditional Chinese culture can be seen and appreciated in the picture album series: Culture of China. These eight albums are entitled Traditional Painting, Ancient Sculpture, Pottery and Porcelain, Fascinating Stage Arts, Taoism, Rare Wild Animals, Traditional Chinese Residences, and Folk Art Paintings.

Understanding other nations and peoples would be far simpler if a systematic guide to their cultures were available. The Culture of China series looks at the essentials of China's broad body of culture, and outlines its history, development, and significance within Chinese society throughout the centuries.

"In the beginning was the word," says the bible. "In the beginning was culture" is the theme of Culture of China.

In this issue we look at four of the album series. The remaining four will be examined in our December issue.

Mounted Official, in ink and color on a paper handscroll, by Zhao Mengfu, dated 1296.

Traditional Painting

Chinese traditional painting is distinct in technique and approach from that of the West. Its particular artistic perspective entails specific materials, tools and motifs.

Traditional Chinese painting originated in brush and ink line drawing. The brush is the traditional Chinese writing tool, and is made from bamboo and the soft hair of a sheep, weasel or rabbit.

Chinese ink comes in solid form. It is made from a mixture of soot, tung oil, pine tar, gelatin, herbs and spices. The ink stick is ground against an ink stone with a little water to produce liquid ink. The saying, "Black ink has five colors" refers to the select few Chinese painters whose mastery of ink application produces a number of subtle shades. The degree of moisture on the brush, and the consummate skill of the artist produces varying shades and density of ink that express different impressions of texture and space.

Western paintings are framed. This conveys the impression of a real scene viewed through a window. Chinese paintings differ from those of the West in aspects of expression, overall planning, and materials and tools. They are therefore to be appreciated in a different way.

The silk and paper that act as "canvas" for Chinese paintings are fine and easily torn. On completion, therefore, a Chinese painting is mounted. This involves extra layers of silk or paper to make the surface smooth and even, and to facilitate scrolling and hanging the work.

The hallmark of a traditional Chinese painting masterpiece is a perfect combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal imprints into a harmonious whole. The viewer may appreciate the beauty of the painting, and also know something of its era and background. It is then possible to gain insight into the artist's intent, and his poetic, calligraphic and artistic attainments, as well as to trace the history of the painting's ownership.

Rectangular ding with human-mask motif, late Shang Dynasty ((16th-11th B.C.).

Ancient Sculpture

Chinese sculpture includes bronze smelting and founding, pottery making, and jade, stone, bone and ivory carving. As the most significant artistic achievements in bronze ware were made during the Xia (2070-1600 B.C.), Shang (1600-1046 B.C.) and Western Zhou (1046-771 B.C.) dynasties, this period was also called the Bronze Age. Tools, weapons, and also large numbers of sacrificial vessels and musical instruments were fashioned in bronze at this time.

In Lintong, Shaanxi Province, near the Qinshihuang Mausoleum, over 6,000 life-size terracotta figurines of warriors and horses have been excavated. The Figure of a Kneeling Warrior was unearthed from the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Pit No.2. This figure is a rare and precious work of art, unique among the hundreds of other terracotta warriors by virtue of the archer's kneeling position as he prepares to shoot an arrow.

A more famous example still is the bronze statue of a galloping horse, one of its hooves resting on a flying swallow, which was excavated from an Eastern Han tomb in Wuwei, Gansu Province.

Throughout the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern dynasties (220-581), China was divided and war-torn. During this period, Buddhist sculpture was dominant and embodied the most prominent sculptural achievements, as reflected in the grotto sculpture of the time. The earliest examples may be seen in Cave 16 of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and in Cave 169 of the Binglingsi Grottoes in Yongjing County, Gansu Province. Both of these date from the first year of the Jianhong reign period (420) of the Western Qin Dynasty. Their imagery and expression reflect the influence of the Western Regions.

The Tang (618-907) emperor mausoleums were often built at the foot of a mountain, and had stone figures of men, lions and horses guarding them. The stone carving of six horses before the tomb of Li Shimin, the second Tang emperor, and the groups of stone statues standing in the passageway of the Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu are representative of Tang sculpture.

A notable aspect of the Ming and Qing dynasties was their sculptural and architectural celebration of Tibetan Buddhism (also called Lamaism). Lamaistic wooden and bronze statues were commonplace in town and country. In order to unite the Mongolian and Tibetan people, Qing emperors Kangxi and Qianlong fervently supported Tibetan Buddhism, and commissioned the building of temples and monasteries. The Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas in the Yonghegong Lamasery in Beijing is also called the Hall of the Great Buddha, as it houses a wooden statue of the Maitreya, that was carved out of a single 26-m-long log. The Maitreya is 18m tall and its arms are 8 meters long.

Figure of an archer unearthed from the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. This is unique among the hundreds of terracotta warriors because of its kneeling position.

Pottery and Porcelain

Pottery and porcelain vessels represent a cornerstone in the history of Chinese culture. Pottery wares produced in the New Stone Age were bold and solid, and their decorative patterns expansive, yet delicate. The fishing, hunting, and dancing figures depicted in pottery decoration, and portrayals of animals and plants provide invaluable material for study of the history of that period.

Porcelain developed on the basis of centuries of pottery production. Porcelain differs from pottery in that its basic material is china clay. Porcelain has a vitreous glaze, and is fired at a temperature of between 1,200 and 1,300 degrees Centigrade, until non- or very slightly porous.

The prevailing customs, religious beliefs and folkways, and occasionally an emperor's personal interest, were all reflected in the contemporary pottery and porcelain. In the Tang Dynasty, China was powerful and prosperous, and doors open wide to the outside world. The plump figures appearing on Tang Dynasty pottery and porcelain wares indicate the robust confidence of Chinese culture at that time. The prevailing esthetic preference of the succeeding Song Dynasty was for a more stark, svelte beauty, portrayed through a refined, austere art style. This is evident in work produced in the five major Song Dynasty kilns. The shape is simple and unadorned, but great efforts were made to vary the glaze. This was the period when the milky-white Ding ware, onion-green Ru ware, and sky-blue Jun ware porcelains, as well as the moon-white and sunset-glow glazes, were created.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) rulers were fond of large containers, and drank wine out of huge porcelain bowls.

In the appendix to this book is a guide on how genuine pottery and porcelain may be distinguished from reproductions.

Fascinating Stage Arts

In Peking Opera there are masks to represent different characters.

As with all drama, the origins of traditional Chinese theater are in religious rituals performed at the dawn of human history. Chinese performing art is a comprehensive art form, with elements of poetry, music, dance, and fine art. Performances have elements of ritual, acrobatics, conjuring, and martial arts, all of which integrate into a performance art based on rhyme and rhythm. Its most distinct feature is probably its presentation of human life through song, embellished by artistic techniques learned and handed down over the centuries.

The most obvious cultural influence on traditional Chinese theater is that of symbolist art. The acting style in Chinese drama is an abstraction of life. All the staging effects are stylized, and follow the principles of rhythm and aesthetics.

Roles in traditional Chinese operas were defined according to the sex, age, personality and social status of each character, giving the four broad categories of sheng, dan, jing and chou.

Masks and makeup were a characteristic of all traditional Chinese operas. In the early days, as there was no lighting, performances were given in the daytime. The makeup was therefore delicately applied, so as not to look too gaudy in natural light. It gradually became more elaborate in order to bring out the attributes of the various roles, such as loyalty, treachery, goodness and evil.

There are more than 390 local operas in China. Peking Opera, the "national opera," has performing troupes and spectators in almost every city and town.