Lecture 3

Six Dynasties Painting and Pictorial Design

This third lecture, at 2 hours and 11 minutes in length, treats the pictorial art of the variously-named period between the Han and Tang dynasties, a period of political division and warfare during which relative peace in the Yangzi Delta region around Nanjing permitted the emergence there of major artists and a flourishing tradition of picture-making. Detailed examination of scroll paintings ascribed to one artist, Gu Kaizhi, introduces issues of dating and the faithfulness of copies after a lost original.  Discussions of two early essays on artistic expression give a glimpse of the rich Chinese critical and theoretical literature on painting.

Study guides for each lecture will be available soon, and all materials will be freely downloadable for use by anyone without charge; this is a completely non-profit project.

Professor Cahill wishes to thank many teachers and colleagues, and the many museums, universities--most of all University of California at Berkeley--and other institutions that have supported him over the decades of his career.  The Institute of East Asian Studies at Berkeley has broken new ground in the field of education by taking on research support, the financial administration of this project, and the multimedia publication and global distribution of these lectures as part of their program. Special thanks in particular are due to the Tang Research Foundation and its founder, for encouraging Professor Cahill to undertake this series and for providing initial financial support for it.  

Please contact Managing Editor of Publications Kate Chouta at the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of East Asian Studies, Professor James Cahill, or Chatterbox Productions to find out how to obtain High Definition (1920 by 1080 pixel) versions of these lectures on Blu-Ray Disks or in any other electronic video file format of use to you or your institution.  All materials are being released at cost and under Creative Commons licenses.  They are intended in no way for any commercial purpose, nor to represent or take the place of a university course in the subject.   All intellectual property exhibited in these lectures belongs to Professor James Cahill or falls under the US legal principle of Fair Use for non-commercial educational purposes only.  Please see this page for additional details regarding your legal rights and duties vis-a-vis materials on this site.