81724 - History of Chinese and Japanese Art (1) (LM)

Course contents

The programme will address the central themes in Buddhist art and archaeology from both a chronological and a geographical standpoint, covering India and other parts of Buddhist Asia, paying particular attention to China and Japan. Through a selection of case studies, the course will endeavour to highlight the increasing importance of giving due weight to archaeological evidence, material culture and Buddhist art in building a full picture of the development of this tradition and its practices in all its regional diversity, from its origins to the present day. The detailed programme, covering the various topics and concepts explored, will be presented during the first lecture and will be available together with other resource material on the "Insegnamenti OnLine" platform.

From MONDAY 8th February 2021

Readings/Bibliography

All the texts above are found on the 'Virtuale' platform. Foreign students may contact the lecturer for an alternative reading list in English.

- P. Mitter, Indian Art, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001. [selezione dal volume]* p. 20 ("The Buddha Image controversy") e pp. 23-26.

- D. Patry Leidy, The Art of Buddhism, Shambala, 2009, pp. 9-55.

- M. Taddei, "Some Reflections on the Formation of the Buddha Image", in G. Verardi e A. Filigenzi (a cura di), On Gandhāra, Napoli, Università degli Studi di Napoli, 2003, pp. 593-607.

- Wu Hung, “Reborn in Paradise: A Case Study of Dunhuang Sutra Painting and its Religious, Ritual and Artistic Context”, Orientations, 23, 5, 1992, pp. 52-60.

- Mizuo Hiroshi, “Representations of Raigō in Buddhist Art”, Japan Quarterly, 17, 1, 1970, pp. 51-57.

- Helmut Brinker, “Shussan Shaka in Sung and Yüan Painting”, Ars Orientalis, Vol. 9, 1973, pp. 21-40.

- Qing Chang, "The Budai Maitreya and the Group of 18 luohans", Southeast Review of Asian Studies, 32, 2010, pp. 22–47.

- D. Wong, "Maitreya Buddha Statues at the University of Pennsylvania Museum", Orientations, 32, 2, 2001, pp. 24-31.

- D. Wong, "Four Sichuan Buddhist Steles and the Begeinnings of Pure Land Imagery in China", Archives of Asian Art, vol. 51, 1998/99, pp. 56-79.

- R. Thorp & R.E. Vinograd, Chinese Art and Culture, Upper Saddle River, Pearson, 2006, pp. 201-3.

- P. Mason, History of Japanese Art, Upper Saddle River, Pearson, 2004 (2a ed.), pp. 57-87; 141-149; 205-212.

The PDF course tools made available to students are required reading for the exam. They will be put on the 'Virtuale' platform at the beginning of each week (every three lessons).

Teaching methods

Frontal lesson: presentation, reading and analysis of selected works

Assessment methods

This 6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course "BUDDHIST TRADITIONS IN ASIA (C.I.) (LM)". If the student has the Integrated Course (12 CFU) in his/her study plan, the final grade will result from the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts ("History of Buddhist Art (1) (LM)" and "History of Buddhist Thought (1) (LM) ").

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending. Non-attenders may contact by email the lecturer for an alternative reading list.

The exam will be conducted orally and will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The student will be asked to provide a commentary on images selected from among those found in the course texts and will be judged on his ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided.

The assessment will thus consider the student's:
- competence in commenting on the images, i.e. in identifying, dating and contextualizing the works illustrated;
- knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an ability to provide a full description of the images and an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations available to students on the 'Insegnamenti OnLine' platform.

Office hours

See the website of Nicoletta Celli