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Chinese Dynasty Guide


Ch'in Dynasty

Dynasty Timeline Ching Dynasty Ming Dynasty Yuan Dynasty Sung Dynasty Sung Dynasty Tang Dynasty Sui Dynasty Six Dynasties Han Dynasty Chin Dynasty Chou Dynasty Shang Dynasty Neolithic Era

From This Period

Round Box and Cover
Round box and cover

Dish
Dish

Dish
Dish

Dish
Ewer with Cover


Five Dynasties

907 - 960

Brief and unremarkable in terms of military activity and economic progress, this period is nonetheless noteworthy in terms of two artistic advances. First, as porcelain technique continued to develop, ceramists introduced so-called whiteware, a thin, strong "china" with a pure white glaze. Second, a distinctive style of painting called "monumental ink landscape" dominated. Inspired by the Taoist notion that mountains were essentially sacred pillars connecting heaven with earth, artists, using black ink on silk, depicted the natural world as the source of harmony and enlightenment.

Travelers Among Mountains and Streams
Travelers Among Mountains and Streams

Video: Five Dynasties
Curator of Asian art Robert Jacobsen takes us through China's illustrious past by focusing on each of its historical dynasties.

Five Dynasties Map