StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
China and Japan are two neighboring Asian countries that are separated by seas. To bring about changes in their way of living, specifically in the aspect of art, architecture, and religion there were instances in history where the Japanese has collaborated with the Chinese culture…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.1% of users find it useful
Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture"

Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture China and Japan are two neighboring Asian countries that are separated by seas. To bringabout changes in their way of living, specifically in the aspect of art, architecture, and religion there were instances in history where the Japanese has collaborated with the Chinese culture. The evolution of Japanese art and architecture is attributed to the early Chinese people, who have brought the Chinese way of doing things to Japan, which the Japanese people have also adopted.

This happening began during the Asuka period (552-645), where the imperial court of the country expressed its fascination to everything that was of Chinese origin (Mason 40). The period has also marked the coming of Buddhism to the country “from the Korean Kingdom of Paekche” (Mason 40). The city of Fujiwara-kyo that has been built with an imperial palace is known to have been constructed based on how the Chinese capital Chang’an was built; the palace precinct was being surrounded by earthen walls, covered by tiled roofing, with its surrounding earthworks and Buddhist temples (Mason 42-43).

Another city was built similarly to Fujiwara, and this was the city of Heijo-kyo. In Heijo, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples from Fujiwara were restored to achieve an identical structure of the former Japanese capital. Summarily, from the Asuka to the Nara period, capital cities have been established and re-established but as new cities were built, the pattern that was being followed was still Chinese; Buddhist temples, sculptures and shrines still existed. The Chinese is said to have also influenced the manner of how the Japanese people wrote and gave meaning to their written pieces in the past.

During the Nara period (710-94), the art of writing otherwise known as calligraphy has flourished. The Japanese has adopted the ideographic writing system of the Chinese and it became their basis to finding out the character or manners of an individual (Mason 46). Chinese Confucian classics and texts about early dynasties e.g. the Hanshu and Weizhi, Daoist philosophy geomancy and poetry were utilized by the liberal members of the court (Mason 46). Buddhist clergy and practitioners were using Buddhist texts written in Chinese characters in preaching Buddhism, when they could have opted to use Indian Sanskrit texts (Mason 46).

In particular, during the seventh and eighth centuries, the Japanese developed the manyogana system of writing to incorporate the Chinese writing system, with Japanese grammar and usage of polysyllabic words. Japanese elites used the Manyogana in writing their literary works, such as the Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand leaves), as well as in writing the history of the country through their Kojiki and Nihon shoki (or Nihongi) (Mason 46). Buddhist sutras also became subject of calligraphy during the Nara period, and an example of this is the Daihoshakkyo (CH.

Dabaojijing. Sutra Treasury of the Buddhist Law) (Mason 47). Upon the sixth to eighth centuries, the Chinese has reached the point of influencing Japanese preference in decorative arts. Evidence of this development is seen at the Shosoin building located in the precinct of the Todaiji temple. The building structure is likened to the architecture of constructed dwellings during the Yayoi period. Several paintings are kept in the Shosoin building, including the painting of a woman beneath a tree.

The said painting has been identified as Chinese in style, but is credited to a Japanese artist (Mason 49). The biwa is another piece of decorative art that can be found at the Shosoin; it is a lute that is recognized as of Chinese origin due to the motif of its leather plectrum guard with musicians and dancers emplaced on an elephant in a mountainous setting (Mason 50). As a whole, the influence of the Chinese to Japanese decorative art has been traced through the presence of the ancient silk roads that became the gateway of Chinese art to Japan.

Undoubtedly, the Chinese had a large contribution to the shaping of the Japanese Buddhist art and architecture. Most of the evidences are seen in the style, structure and material of the early Japanese imperial palaces, which were conceptualized based on the popular imperial palaces of China. In addition, early Japanese writings or literary works were composed with reference to popular Chinese writings, and the ideographic writing system of the Chinese, which is again a turning point in Japanese history.

Thanks to the Chinese, the evolution and history of Japanese art and architecture became colorful and fascinating. The early Chinese has profoundly influenced the memoirs of the early Japanese people as they have brought to Japan the vibrancy and culture of China through art, architecture and religion. Work Cited Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1460311-chinese-influence-on-japanese-buddhist-art-and-architecture
(Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture Essay)
https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1460311-chinese-influence-on-japanese-buddhist-art-and-architecture.
“Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/visual-arts-film-studies/1460311-chinese-influence-on-japanese-buddhist-art-and-architecture.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Chinese Influence on Japanese Buddhist Art and Architecture

The origin, growth and development of Japanese art and culture

hellip; The origin, growth and development of Japanese art and culture The entire world is experiencing global maturity in reference to art and literature, including Europe where their conventions of paintings, writing and architecture are increasingly popular in Tokyo these days.... In the early years of 1900, art and literature in many Asian countries including Japan and India have led to changes in global modernism.... The art culture in the Asian countries has undergone resurgence that has been influential and effective not only in the countries, but globally....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

Religious Influence on Japanese Art

In these eras, indigenous Shinto arts were taking the shapes of Buddhist arts and architecture, and the demand for Buddhist paintings increased among the wealthy Japanese... art and craft specialists also migrated to Japan from China and Korea and participated in creating the new arts.... buddhist art in Japan is categorized into periods or eras.... The Amida sect of Buddhism laid the foundation of buddhist art in Japan.... Prince Shotoku encouraged buddhist art in the Suiko period while Emperor Shomu encouraged it in the Nara period of 645 to 784....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

Buddhism and the Nara Aesthetic Values

 This essay "Buddhism and the Nara Aesthetic Values" discusses the buddhist philosophical impact on the aesthetic values of the Nara period is anchored on the fact that these values are interrelated with the spiritual and moral sensitivities that permeated in the period.... One of the most significant of these foreign exports that have influenced the era's aesthetic values is the buddhist philosophy.... The main feature of buddhist thinking is expressed in what it calls the three characteristics of existence....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Architecture in Japanese Gardens

The history of the Japanese garden, which is clearly intertwined with principles of Japanese architecture, is one that helps to define the Japanese culture and history.... The idea of architecture is one that is unavoidably mixed with the history of Japanese Gardens.... … japanese gardens also show the influence that the Chinese culture had on the japanese, as well as how Japan took that culture and changed it in subtle ways to make it its own....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

History of Japanese Architecture

They were also periods that marked heightened growth of Japanese art and culture.... It also marked a period of the beginning of the chinese influence as one of the formidable architectural forces as Japanese architects of the time travelled and studied Chinese design.... The traditional Japanese architecture is characterized by the utilization of wood that symbolizes the nation's architectural designs.... Japanese architecture has the certain aspects of the Chinese and Korean… The major aspects of the Japanese architecture are the utilization of the wood and stones....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Influence of Buddhism on Japanese Architecture

In the research paper “Influence of Buddhism on japanese Architecture” the author analyzes the modern period with Buddhism being among the factors that have considerable influences in the transformation of Japanese architectural designs over these periods.... hellip; The author states that there is little physical evidence as well as records of Japanese architecture of the early century.... lthough the earlier forms of architecture that had been in existence before introduction of Buddhism utilized wood as the main construction martial, introduction of the religion by the Chinese led to novel approaches in the way wood technology was applied in construction....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Chinese and Japanese Gardens - the Philosophy of Design

Buddhism became Zen Buddhism as a reading to the Chan in the Japanese language is Zen which greatly influenced Japanese aesthetic convention through an abstract representation of reality when it comes to arts and usage of sand and stone in formulating a design in architecture especially with gardening as it played a crucial role in practising Zen Buddhism in Japan.... he nature of the use of sands and rocks in Zen buddhist structure provides a condition of simplicity as highlighted by Cali....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

The Impact of Chinese and Korean Exemplars on the Development of Japanese Architecture

… The paper "The Impact of Chinese and Korean Exemplars on the Development of Japanese architecture" is a worthy example of an essay on architecture.... According to Hays (2009), Japan architecture has a long history of evolution starting way back about 57 BC.... Just like its art as well as culture, Japanese architecture's history has been extensively and precisely documented.... The paper "The Impact of Chinese and Korean Exemplars on the Development of Japanese architecture" is a worthy example of an essay on architecture....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us