The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-07-15
Antiquity of Art in China.
From the Revue des Revues.

e-1 NcHoN1NOhtAJ1 0At
fourished and had reached its height when
our ancestors were still companions of the
bears in caverns. This is no longer dis
cussed it is dogma in which every self
respecting Chinaman believes with an i'm
movable faith. Moreover, some historians
have taken the pains to furnish proofs
perfectly convincing. Thus the author of
remarkable book, "Senki,' publishes
chronological table of the sovereigns who
have been in power during these myriads
of years.
Skeptics have only to verify these data
provided in so generous a manner by the
illustrious historian of the Celestial EN-
pire. 1t is easy to understand that it is
almost impossible, undar these circum-
stances, to discover the trne origin Of Chi
nese art. NJ. G. Baux, who has lived in
those quarters for a long time, has, how
ever, endeavored to throw some light on
this very interesting question. The at
tempt is more meritorious as, with the ex-
ception of the work of NJ. Paleologue
Chinese art has never beon the object of
special study. Thanks to the infatuation
of NJ. de Goneourt, we have been sur
feited with Japanese art, but its origin re-
mains entirely unknown.
NJ. Baux begins his study with the ac-
cession of Wennming, the first accepted
ruler, and officially known as the founder
of the dynasty of Hid (22O5 B. c. The
arts were 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 quite well under
stood, since he ordered the casting Of the
vases on which he had traced the descrip-
ton of the nine principalities which be-
came the first divisions of the Celestial
Empire.
Music, too, had so great place that
the Emperor constructed with his own
hands an instrument called "Kin," whose
sounds, when he played on it, charmed
people from their hearts. The art of cut
ting and engraving stones was quite com
mon, so that tall buildings in memory Of
the great were erected, and the casting Of
metals was but play in the hands of skilled
workmen. Now, it is evident that the
Chinese could not have attained such a
degree of perfection without having trav-
ersed epochs of successive transformations,
aud that, obeying the instinct common to
all races, they must have tried to initiate
nature in kneading the clay which they
found under their feet This is why |
think, with most of the scholars whom |
have consulted, that their primitive art
was that of pottery The moulded 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 orna-
mented 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 jade OF Jasper, which
they venerated because It's red surface is
the color of the blood of their ancestors.
In digging in the ground to find richer
veins of metal. They discovered the
brilliant, shining which charm the eyes.
Thus, the Chinese found brass and tin,
lead and silver, combined with the other
metals so common in their country, and
they very easily made bronze by mixing
these in certain proportions in order to
produce vases for perfumery more beauti-
full and less fragile than ordinary pottery.
| can thus understand how they gradually
reached the knowledge of the technic Of
bronze, and why, 22Oo years before Onr
era, they were sufficiently accustomed to
this to cast brass vases on which were en-
graved their contemporaneous history.
With regard to Japanese art, the writer
is of the opinion that it is only copy Of
that of China. Even up to the time of
Ming (the 14th century, they simply
copied the pieces sold in China. Later,
at the end of last century, they changed
their methods and invented new decora-
tions placed on identical forms. Even
Japanese drawings, of which the boldness
of style rendered by such simple means is
so much admired, are but weak limitations
of ancient Chinese paintings.