Tang Center Lecture Series | Rethinking the Tenth Century: A Pivotal Period in the History of Chinese Painting with Wu Hung: Rethinking Historical Evidence and Methodology

Title

Tang Center Lecture Series | Rethinking the Tenth Century: A Pivotal Period in the History of Chinese Painting with Wu Hung: Rethinking Historical Evidence and Methodology

Friday, April 19, 2024 @ 4:30 pm

Location

McCosh 50

In a standard narrative of Chinese painting, the fifty-three years of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960CE) are often considered a transitional phase between the Tang (618–907 CE) and Northern Song (960–1126 CE) dynasties. Based on new archaeological evidence and research approaches, this lecture series suggests that the more than one hundred years from the late ninth to the early eleventh century, a “long tenth century,” witnessed some of the most important changes in Chinese painting. These include a multifaceted development of painting mediums, subject matter, and style; transregional interactions; and court sponsorship—all of which should be studied in an extended chronological and geographical framework. 

This lecture redefines research evidence and approaches to studying Chinese painting during the long tenth century in order to renew the perspectives of interpretation while expanding the scope of observation both geographically and chronologically. 

More information on the lecture series.

Organized by the Tang Center for East Asian Art and cosponsored by the Department of Art and Archaeology and the Princeton University Art Museum.

Zhao Gan (active ca. 961–975). Early Snow on the River, 10th Century. Detail. Handscroll; ink and color on silk. 25.9 × 376.5 cm. National Palace Museum, Taipei.