WThe Admonitions Scroll is a Chinese narrative painting on silk that is traditionally ascribed to Gu Kaizhi, but which modern scholarship regards as a 5th to 8th century work that may or may not be a copy of an original Jin Dynasty (265–420) court painting by Gu. The full title of the painting is Admonitions of the Court Instructress. It was painted to illustrate a poetic text written in 292 by the poet-official Zhang Hua (232–300). The text itself was composed to reprimand Empress Jia (257–300) and to provide advice to the women in the imperial court. The painting illustrates this text with scenes depicting anecdotes about exemplary behaviour of historical palace ladies, as well as with more general scenes showing aspects of life as a palace lady.
WThe Century Mountain Project is an East/West collaboration of art between the Chinese poet and calligrapher Huang Xiang and American artist William Rock. Their paintings, which feature Huang Xiang's calligraphy and poetry and William Rock's painted portraits, honor outstanding thinkers, creators, discoverers, leaders—essentially people who stood out like mountains throughout the centuries. Their subjects include Mozart, Lincoln, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Rimbaud, Phillis Wheatley, Li Bai, Murasaki Shikibu, Malcolm X, Isadora Duncan, and Edgar Allan Poe.
WChairman Mao en Route to Anyuan is a 1967 oil painting by Liu Chunhua. It pictures a young Mao Zedong as one of the common people, ready to take on any obstacle that comes forth. This artwork is a strong example of Chinese communist propaganda and shows the devotion which their culture had to Chairman Mao.
WDwelling in the Fuchun Mountains is one of the few surviving works by painter Huang Gongwang (1269–1354) and it is considered to be among his greatest works. Painted between 1348 and 1420, the Chinese landscape painting was burnt into two pieces in 1650. Today, one piece is kept in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, while the other piece is kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The entire painting combined would measure 691.3 cm in length.
WThe Eight Views of Xiaoxiang are beautiful scenes of the Xiaoxiang region, in what is now modern Hunan Province, China, that were the subject of the poems and depicted in well-known drawings and paintings from the time of the Song Dynasty. The Eight Views of Xiaoxiang can refer either to various sets of paintings which have been done on this theme, the various verse series on the same theme, or to combinations of both. The Xiaoxiang theme should be viewed as part of a long poetic and artistic legacy.
WExecution is a 1995 painting by Chinese artist Yue Minjun. The piece was inspired by the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, although the artist stated through translation that the art should not be viewed as depicting what happened at Tiananmen Square. In 2007 it became the most expensive work sold by a Chinese contemporary artist.
WThe Founding Ceremony of the Nation is a 1953 oil painting by Chinese artist Dong Xiwen. It depicts Mao Zedong and other Communist officials inaugurating the People's Republic of China at Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949. A prominent example of socialist realism, it is one of the most celebrated works of official Chinese art. The painting was repeatedly revised, and a replica painting made to accommodate further changes, as the leaders it depicted fell from power and later were rehabilitated.
WHomage to the Highest Power (朝元圖) is a prime example of Daoist paintings in the Royal Ontario Museum collection. The wall painting was created during the late Yuan Dynasty, c. 1271 – 1368 AD. The painting is colored pigments mixed with clay and plaster. It measures 306.5 cm high and 1042 cm in length. This painting is similar to those found in Sanqing Hall of the Yongle Monastery in Shanxi province. The Sanqing Hall paintings are dated by an inscription to 1325 AD. Based on the strong stylistic affinities, this work can also be dated to the Yuan dynasty.
WThe term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. These paintings adhere to the current definition, and were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. As such, they are restricted in transfer and may not be exported. Owners are required to announce any changes to the National Treasures such as damage or loss and need to obtain a permit for changes in location, transfer of ownership or intended repairs. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list contains 162 paintings from 7th-century Asuka period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. In fact the number of paintings presented is more than 162, because in some cases groups of related paintings are combined to form a single entry. The paintings listed show Buddhist themes, landscapes, portraits and court scenes. Some of the paintings were imported directly from China. The titles of the works are descriptive rather than the artists' titles; therefore it is possible to find alternate names in the literature for a given work.
WParadise of Bhaisajyaguru (薬師佛) or Pure Land of Bhaisajyaguru is a painting during China’s Yuan Dynasty. This painting was originally housed in Guangsheng Lower Monastery, Zhaocheng County, Shanxi. The painting, which was at the eastern gable wall of the Main Hall of the monastery, was purchased by Arthur M. Sackler and later was given to Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States in 1954.
WArtist Zhu Haogu created the Paradise of Maitreya (彌勒佛說法圖) wall painting during China's Yuan Dynasty. The painting was originally housed in the Xinghua Si Temple of Xiaoning, Shanxi. During the 1920s and 1930s, it was disassembled and moved to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) of Toronto, Canada, where it remains today. Museum officials have undertaken a series of restorations to preserve and stabilize the painting. Currently, it can be found in the museum's "Bishop White Gallery of Chinese Temple Art" as part of the Far Eastern Collection and is described as one of its must-see Iconic Objects.
WPoet on a Mountaintop is a painting by the Ming Dynasty artist Shen Zhou (1427–1509). Zhou was a firm believer of Daoism as he mimicked the style of Yuan Dynasty administrators through his paintings. He was the earliest and one of the most prominent examples of artistic style originating from the Wu School teachings. He excelled in poetry, painting, and calligraphy. Zhou had many paintings that showed the concern and importance of nature, especially landscapes. This is clearly displayed in Poet on a Mountaintop, a painting portraying a beautiful mountainous landscape. On the left side of the painting, Zhou included a poem describing the magnificence of the nature being displayed. The entire work attempts to display man's insignificance in comparison to the brilliance of nature. Poet on a Mountaintop and Zhou's apparent value for nature connects directly to the deep values of Ming Dynasty China.
WPut Down Your Whip is a 1939 oil painting by Chinese Realism painter Xu Beihong. Completed during Xu's stay in Singapore, the painting was exhibited numerous times before its disappearance from public view in 1954. It re-emerged in 2007 and was sold for HK$72 million in an auction on 7 April 2007 in Hong Kong, then setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a Chinese painting at an auction.
WSermon on Mani's Teaching of Salvation is a Yuan dynasty silk hanging scroll, measuring 142 × 59 centimetres and dating from the 13th century, with didactic themes: a multi-scenic narrative that depicts Mani's Teachings about the Salvation combines a sermon subscene with the depictions of soteriological teaching in the rest of the painting.
WSheepherder is an oil painting created by Chinese artist Chen Danqing in 1980 in Tibet. This painting is considered one of the Tibet Series. He captures a moment where a sheepherder takes to kiss a woman.
WSilk painting depicting a man riding a dragon (人物御龍帛畫) is a Chinese painting on silk from the Warring States period. It was discovered in the Zidanku Tomb no. 1 in Changsha, Hunan Province in 1973. Now in the Hunan Museum, it is one of the "Chinese cultural relics forbidden to be exhibited abroad", announced by the Chinese government in 2002.
WSix Gentlemen is a landscape painting by the Yuan dynasty Chinese artist Ni Zan (1301–1374). The work portrays six trees along a riverbank, a metaphor for the principled seclusion of virtuous gentlemen in an era of violent upheaval and foreign occupation. As the first of Ni Zan’s paintings to demonstrate the stark, minimalist style for which he is known, Six Gentlemen marked a turning point in his artistic career. He would frequently return to its subject matter in later years, producing many subsequent works of nearly identical composition and style.
WTen Thousand Miles along the Yellow River (Chinese:黃河萬里圖) is a Chinese scroll painting by an unidentified artist. The painting is from the period of Qing Dynasty and is thought to be created from 1690 to 1722. The painting illustrates the Yellow River System. Currently, the work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, where the drawing was purchased in 2006 with the help of W. M. Keck Foundation, The Dillon Fund and other donors.
WZhong Kui the Demon Queller with Five Bats is a popular Chinese painting featuring the Chinese mythological spirit Zhong Kui. It originates from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). A possible painter for this artwork is Wu Wei. The painting is held in the Ashmolean Museum in England.