Artwork of the Day

Works are grouped by teaching week, one for each class meeting. Click an image for the full entry on that work.

Week 1September 15–17

Geography and prehistory

關雎Guanju

關關雎鳩，在河之洲。窈窕淑女，君子好逑。參差荇菜，左右流之。窈窕淑女，寤寐求之。求之不得，寤寐思服。悠哉悠哉，輾轉反側。參差荇菜，左右采之。窈窕淑女，琴瑟友之。參差荇菜，左右芼之。窈窕淑女，鐘鼓樂之。

Shijing (Classic of Poetry), Mao no. 1

Text: Shijing (Classic of Poetry), Mao no. 1. Received text in ten couplets.

Guanju · course handout

  1. ElementalWho is in it, where, and what happens?
  2. IntermediateFour stanzas, one plant, three verbs. What does the repetition do?
  3. AdvancedHow does a love song become a lesson in statecraft?

Archaeology and writing

三星堆青銅大立人Standing figure

Standing figure

Sanxingdui, Guanghan, Sichuan

Bronze, c. 1200 BCE. Figure 1.8 m; total height 2.62 m with base; c. 180 kg. Excavated 1986, Sanxingdui sacrificial pit 2. Sanxingdui Museum.

Large Standing Figure · art-and-archaeologyimage source · CC0

  1. ElementalDescribe it without naming it. Hands, eyes, feet, scale.
  2. IntermediateCompare those hands to a Shang ritual vessel. What is each object for?
  3. AdvancedShang left records; Sanxingdui did not. What does that do to the history?
Week 2September 22–24

Mandate of Heaven, House of Ru

大盂鼎Da Yu ding

Da Yu ding

Western Zhou ritual cauldron

Bronze, reign of King Kang, c. 11th century BCE. Inscription of 291 characters. Excavated Qishan, Shaanxi, 19th century. National Museum of China, Beijing.

Da Yu ding · Wikipediaimage source · CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. ElementalWhere is the writing, and who could ever see it?
  2. IntermediateIt cooks offerings for the dead. How does that change the claim?
  3. AdvancedWho is a Mandate claim addressed to?

House of Mo challenges the Ru

曾侯乙編鐘Bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Bells of Marquis Yi of Zeng

Sixty-five bronze bells from one tomb

Bronze, buried 433 BCE. Excavated 1978, Leigudun, Suizhou, Hubei. Hubei Provincial Museum.

Bianzhong of Marquis Yi · Wikipediaimage source · CC BY-SA 2.0

  1. ElementalCount what you see. What did it cost to make?
  2. IntermediateEach bell sounds two pitches. What knowledge is behind that?
  3. AdvancedDoes the object prove Mozi right or prove him a philistine?
Week 3September 29–October 1

House of Dao; Ru 2.0

人物御龍帛畫Man Riding a Dragon

Man Riding a Dragon

Painted silk banner from a Chu tomb

Ink and colour on silk, Warring States period, 475–221 BCE. 37.5 × 28 cm. Excavated 1973, Zidanku tomb 1, Changsha. Hunan Museum.

Man riding a dragon · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalWhat is the man doing, and where is he going?
  2. IntermediateIt was folded into a coffin. What is a painting for if its viewer is dead?
  3. AdvancedRiding the six vapours: metaphor, claim, or instructions?

Ru 3.0 and the House of Fa

商鞅方升Shang Yang's measure

Shang Yang's measure

The standard volume of the state of Qin

Bronze, 344 BCE (18th year of Duke Xiao of Qin), inscribed with Shang Yang's name. Length 18.7 cm, capacity 202.15 cm³. Re-inscribed under the First Emperor. Shanghai Museum.

The measuring vessel · China Dailyimage source · CC0

  1. ElementalWhat is it, and what would you do with it?
  2. IntermediateWhy put the maker's name and the exact volume on the object?
  3. AdvancedIs a standard measure fairness, extraction, or both?
Week 4October 6–8

Qin: the First Emperor

兵馬俑Terracotta warrior

Terracotta warrior

Tomb complex of the First Emperor

Earthenware, c. 210 BCE. Excavated from 1974, Lintong, Shaanxi. Museum of the Terracotta Army.

Terracotta Army · Smarthistoryimage source · CC0

  1. ElementalLook only at the face. What makes him a particular man?
  2. IntermediateMoulded bodies, hand-finished heads. Why spend effort there?
  3. AdvancedIs naming the maker good government or fear?

Han empire; Dong Zhongshu

馬王堆帛畫Funeral banner of Lady Dai

Funeral banner of Lady Dai

T-shaped painted silk, Mawangdui tomb 1

Ink and colour on silk, 2nd century BCE. 205 × 92 × 47.7 cm. Excavated 1972, Mawangdui tomb 1, Changsha. Hunan Museum.

Funeral banner of Lady Dai · Smarthistoryimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalDivide it into zones. What is in each?
  2. IntermediateFind Lady Dai. How is she marked out?
  3. AdvancedDoes this illustrate correlative cosmology or do something else?
Week 5October 13–15

The House of Fo enters

金銅彌勒菩薩半跏思惟像Pensive Bodhisattva

Pensive Bodhisattva

Korean National Treasure no. 83

Gilt bronze, Three Kingdoms period, late 6th–early 7th century. Height 93.5 cm. National Museum of Korea, Seoul.

National Treasure 83 · Wikipediaimage source · KOGL Type 1

  1. ElementalDescribe the pose. Weight, hand, eyes.
  2. IntermediateWhat is smooth and what is elaborate? Where did the effort go?
  3. AdvancedWhat has to change for a state to adopt a foreign religion?

Sui, Tang, and Eurasia

載樂駱駝俑Camel with musicians

Camel with musicians

Sancai glazed tomb figure

Sancai glazed earthenware, Tang dynasty, 8th century. A Bactrian camel carrying a troupe of musicians whose pointed caps indicate Sogdian performers.

Camel with musicians · Smithsonianimage source · CC0

  1. ElementalCount the figures. Faces, beards, hats, instruments.
  2. IntermediateWhy put this in a tomb? What does it say about the dead?
  3. AdvancedOpenness, appetite, or empire? Can the object tell them apart?
Week 6October 20

馬大王之清談 · The Great Debate

步輦圖Emperor Taizong Receives the Envoy

Emperor Taizong Receives the Envoy

Attributed to Yan Liben

Handscroll, ink and colour on silk. Attributed to Yan Liben (c. 600–673); the surviving scroll is generally taken to be a later Song copy. Palace Museum, Beijing.

Bunian tu · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalWho is seated, who stands, and how do you know the rank?
  2. IntermediateThe emperor is borne by women with fans and screens. What is that doing?
  3. AdvancedYour house has one audience with the throne. What does this scene say about how to use it?
Week 7October 27–29

Song: cities, gender, Zhu Xi

清明上河圖Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Zhang Zeduan · detail of the original scroll

Handscroll, ink and colour on silk, Northern Song, early 12th century. 25.5 × 525 cm. Palace Museum, Beijing.

Qingming shanghe tu · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalPick one square inch. Who is there and what do they do for a living?
  2. IntermediateNo frame, no vanishing point. How does a handscroll make you read a city?
  3. AdvancedZhu Xi wants granaries and family ritual. Is he describing this society or arguing with it?

Heian court culture

源氏物語絵巻Genji Monogatari Emaki

Genji Monogatari Emaki

The Kashiwagi scene

Handscroll, ink and colour on paper, 12th century. Japanese National Treasure. Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, and Gotoh Museum, Tokyo.

Genji Monogatari Emaki · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalWhere are you standing? What was removed so you could see in?
  2. IntermediateIf every face is the same, how does the painter show feeling?
  3. AdvancedDoes that make the Paulownia Court colder, or sharper?
Week 8November 3–5

Final project workshop

早春圖Early Spring

Early Spring

Guo Xi

Hanging scroll, ink and light colour on silk, dated 1072. 158.3 × 108.1 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Early Spring · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalTrace a path from the bottom edge to the top. Where does it break?
  2. IntermediateFind the three distances. What does each let you see?
  3. AdvancedDoes your project have a centre, or is it a list?

The Mongol world; Goryeo

八萬大藏經Tripitaka Koreana

Tripitaka Koreana

81,258 printing woodblocks

Carved 1237–1248 during the Mongol invasions, replacing a set burned in 1232. Haeinsa, South Gyeongsang. UNESCO Memory of the World.

Tripitaka Koreana · Wikipediaimage source · CC BY 2.0

  1. ElementalWhat are you looking at, and how is it stored?
  2. IntermediateEstimate the labour. Who feeds those people during an invasion?
  3. AdvancedReligious act, military act, or a claim about who Goryeo is?
Week 9November 10–12

Rise of the samurai

蒙古襲来絵詞Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasions

Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasions

Commissioned by Takezaki Suenaga

Handscroll, ink and colour on paper, c. 1293. Records Suenaga's service in the invasions of 1274 and 1281. Museum of the Imperial Collections, Tokyo.

Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba · Wikipediaimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalWhat happens in the scene, and where is Suenaga?
  2. IntermediateHe paid for it. Which details would he insist on?
  3. AdvancedCode or claim: which one actually held Kamakura together?

Yuan China; Muromachi Japan

鵲華秋色圖Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains

Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains

Zhao Mengfu

Handscroll, ink and colour on paper, dated 1295. 28.4 × 93.2 cm. Painted for Zhou Mi. National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Smarthistoryimage source · Public domain

  1. ElementalFind the two mountains. How does the brushwork differ?
  2. IntermediatePainted from memory for someone who cannot go. What accuracy is it after?
  3. AdvancedCan a landscape be an apology? What would you need to know?
Week 10November 17–19

Ming: overcoming the Mongols

明太祖Two portraits of the Hongwu Emperor

Two portraits of the Hongwu Emperor (1)Two portraits of the Hongwu Emperor (2)

The same founder, painted twice

Left: the irregular or 'unofficial' type, long-jawed and pocked. Right: the formal court portrait. Hanging scrolls, Ming dynasty and later.

Hongwu Emperor · Wikipediaimage 1 · image 2 · Public domain

  1. ElementalList the differences. Face, body, clothing, setting.
  2. IntermediateWho made each, for whom, to hang where?
  3. AdvancedA peasant who became emperor is a problem. Does either portrait solve it?

Joseon: families and women

초충도Grass and Insects

Grass and Insects

Attributed to Sin Saimdang (1504–1551)

Ink and colour on paper, first half of the 16th century. Poppy and lizard. Attribution traditional. Korea.

Sin Saimdang, paintings · Wikipediaimage source · CC BY 4.0

  1. ElementalWhat is growing, and what is crawling on it? Count the species.
  2. IntermediateA poppy and a lizard, at this scale. What is the subject?
  3. AdvancedWhat separates the painter from the figure on the banknote?