Medieval Chinese Philosophy, Art & Religion

Mountains as Humans and Humans as Mountains

What you'll learn
Students will have a clear understanding of Medieval China's cultural landscape, especially as pertains to China's art, philosophy and religion
Students will learn about major religious traditions in China during the medieval period, including Buddhism, Daoism (Taoism) and Neo-Confucianism
Students will understand the interrelationship between nature, philosophy, ideology, religion and art in Medieval China
Students will learn about important artists, artworks, thinkers, politicians, and sacred places in Medieval China
Requirements
There are no prerequisites for this class
This course provides both a rich understanding of Chinese culture during the Song period (960-1279 CE) for beginners, as well as a detailed and enhanced perspective for specialists on the interrelationship between art, religion, philosophy and the natural world during Medieval China.
Description
This course, which comprises 3 videos, explores how mountains are represented as humans and humans are represented as mountains in the art and culture of China’s Song Period, which dates from 960-1279 CE. More broadly, the course looks at how Chinese people affiliated with different religions and philosophies of the past, especially those who lived during China’s medieval period, used artistic, literary and visual representations to merge the natural world with the human body and character. This fusion of natural and human worlds in representation appears in a variety of contexts, including paintings by famous landscape artists, writings of scholarly thinkers known as the “literati”, architectural developments on sacred mountains, interesting diagrams and body charts used in Daoism in which the human body merges with mountains and the natural world, and artwork connected to Chinese Buddhism.Students who have not studied Chinese culture will gain thorough knowledge of China’s art, philosophy and religion during one of its most well-known and innovative moments in history. Specialists will appreciate a new understanding of the interrelationship between the natural world, ideology, art, politics, philosophy and religion during the Song Period.The videos do not center around a speaker or speakers giving lectures. Instead, they show a large number of art images and objects from material culture related to medieval China. Included in these images are beautiful photos, videos and artistic representations of China’s mountains and the natural world. All copyright information and resource materials are listed at the end of each video.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Section 2: Part I - Neo-Confucianism

Lecture 2 Part I - Mountains as Humans & Humans as Mountains - Neo-Confucianism

Section 3: Part II - Daoism (Taoism)

Lecture 3 Part II - Mountains as Humans & Humans as Mountains - Daoism (Taoism)

Section 4: Part III - Chinese Buddhism

Lecture 4 Part III - Mountains as Humans & Humans as Mountains - Buddhism

Section 5: Further Reading and Activity

Lecture 5 Our Bodies as Mountains and Mountains inside our Bodies

This course is suitable for beginners who have studied neither Chinese nor Chinese culture, as well as for specialists who would like to learn more about mountains in the context of China's philosophy, art and religion during the Song Period (960-1279 CE)