The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-03-18
ART IN CHINA
1t Reached Its Hight Before Our Civ
iiiZation Dawned


Us iighO before Our Civ
iiAa'loh bawned.
Inc Chinese are perfectly satisfied that
their civilization is more than 90. 900 Years
old, and that, consequently. their art
hourished and had reached its hioht
Wnen our ancestors We're still! companions
o! the bears i'll caverns. This is no LONGER
discussed, it is dogma. in which everv
seH-respecting Chinaman believes with
an lmmovable faith. Moreover. some
historians have taken the pains to furnish
proofs perfectly CONVINCING. Tins tho
author of a remarkable book. .sSen;zi ,,
puoilSnes a chronological table of the
SoVereignS who have been in power dur-
ing these myriads of years. Skentics
have only to verify these data provided
IN so generous n manner by the illustri-
GUS historian of the Chinese Eupire. It
Is easy TO understand that 1t is almost inn
possible, under these circumstances. to
discover the true origin of Chinese art
NJ. G. BauX, who has lived in those QUAR-
tefS Tor long time, has however en-
deavored to throw some light on this
very interesting question. Tie attempt
Is the more meritOrious. as with The ex-
ceptlon OF the work OF NJ. Paleolorue.
Chinese art has never been the object of
special study. Thanks to the infatuation
OF Nj. de Goncourt, we have been sur
ielteQ with japanese art but its orluin ra
II.
NJ. BauX begins his study with the ac-
cesslon of Wennming, the first accented
ruler, and officially known as the founder
OF the dynasty Of Hid (2205 b. CT. The
arts We're already greatly advanced at
That epoch, when that Emperor, Yon the
Great, had the history of his time en-
graVed on hard stone and placed ON
Mount'Heng, and the technic of bronze
must have been already cutie well under
stood, since he ordered the casting of the
vases on which he had traced the
description Of the nine principalities
which became the first divisions OF the
Celestial Empire. Music, too, had so
great place that the Emperor con-
structed with his own hands an instru-
menl called Kin" whose sounds, when
he played on it, charmed people from
their hearts. The art of cutting and en-
craving stones was quite common, so that
tall buildings III memory OF the great
were erected, and the casting of metals
was but play III the hands of skilled
Workmen. Now, it is evident that the
Chinese could not have attained such a
degree OF perfection without having
traversed epochs OF successive transtOr-
nations, and that. obeying the instinct
common to all races, they must have
tried to initiate nature in kneadinr the
clay which they found under their feet.
This is why l think, with most of fbe
"Holii nave consulted, That
their primitive art was that of pottery,
The nodded earth was dried in the sun
and finally baked in order to harden it.
Next they invented suitable tools with
which to work. Then they covered the
vases with drawings, representing scenes
OF life, memorable events, or else they
traced hieroglyphics, signs of good luck.
and finally they ornamented their houses
and dedicated them to the Most High.
But baked earth is brittle, so they began
to use wood or soft stone or flint, which
they polished, or whitish AGATE green