Differences in Chinese and Japanese Art

Differences in Chinese and Japanese Art

Architecture

In China, very few pieces of architecture are still intact. Most of the influential architecture left is the Forbidden City. One main idea in Chinese architecture is walled cities, like Beijing and Chang’an. These cities are rectangular in shape and have streets that run north, south, east, and west like a grid pattern. The Chinese architecture concentrates on the balance and symmetries. The palace in the center of the city is based on the idea of the harmony of the universe and its cosmic order.

In Japan, the architecture is based on grand palaces. Huge palaces were built and protected with many weapons and fortified for strength. Narrow passageways and mazes of stairs are common in the castles. The sense of power in the country is obvious in the location of the buildings. The buildings in Japan are always asymmetrical, opposite of China.

Paintings and Art

In China, most of the artists worked not for money but for themselves, so their paintings and art were forms of individual expression. They tried to express themselves with symbols and personal terms. The most common types of paintings were literati paintings which were characterized by unassuming brushwork, subtle colors, and the use of landscape as personal meaning. Literati painters painted for each other and used canvases like handscrolls, hanging scrolls and album leaves. Many of the paintings expressed the painters personality. One Chinese painter, Ni Zan, has a famous painting called The Rongxi Studio. It is done in ink and has mountains, rocks, trees and a building. The painting has little detail and is painted with the dry brush technique, like Zan’s personality, a noble spirit.

In Japan, the paintings and art concentrated on a love of nature, a sense of humor and asymmetry. Ink painting was popular and used the canvas as part of the picture. One student in Japan, Bunsei, painted a picture called Landscape. It is on a hanging scroll.