The Wall Paintings of China

This seminar introduces the murals and screen paintings of pre-modern China, both functioned as “painted walls.” Besides examining the visual attributes of these wall paintings, it attends to their special materiality and spatiality rooted in their media—the wall and the screen—to explore their original functions and interactions with the audience. Special attention will be given to the wall paintings’ themes, motifs, spatial representations, styles, scale, media, placement, contexts of display, and audience. Students will take turns leading seminar discussions to analyze the readings for each week. Every week students will read the assigned essays and write a one or two page, double-space reflection on the content and argument. You will post your reflection with questions on Canvas the night before the seminar.