Chapter 3 The Transmission of Medieval Chinese Paintings to Japan: Paintings on the “Book Road” and Their Reception

In: Beyond the Silk and Book Roads
Author:
莉 丁
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Type:
Chapter
Pages:
97–125
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004687066_005

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Abstract

Flowing and spreading through the Sino-Japanese book road were not only character- based media, such as books written with Chinese characters, but also image-based media such as paintings. Besides books, the Japanese kentōshi 遣唐使 (“Envoys to the Tang”) also brought back to Japan many Buddhist paintings. After the twelfth century, many paintings carried by monks and merchants were introduced into Japan, and these paintings had a profound impact on Japanese culture. In Japan, Chinese paintings and Chinese-themed paintings made in Japan are all called Karae 唐絵 (“Tang painting”). Most Karae folding screens in the Heian 平安 period were made by first choosing some original texts from Chinese poetry or literature. During the Muromachi 室町 period, a common method to appreciate a Karae was to excise and tailor parts of it. From the viewpoint of cultural transmission, the selection of texts and the selection of pictures are comparable in some sense. Karae and Yamatoe 大和絵 (“Japanese paintings”) coexisted during the Heian period and developed into a mutually supportive and supplementary relationship during the Muromachi period. As such, they demonstrate a thorough integration of two cultures.

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Beyond the Silk and Book Roads

Rethinking Networks of Exchange and Material Culture

Series:  Studies on East Asian Religions, Volume: 11
Cover Beyond the Silk and Book Roads
E-Book ISBN:
9789004687066
Publisher:
Brill
Print Publication Date:
24 Nov 2023

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