8.2 China & Korea

Imperial power

The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor (Qin, c. 210 BCE) guarded his tomb with thousands of life-size clay soldiers. The Forbidden City (Beijing) is a vast imperial palace complex.

Landscape painting

Chinese landscape painting (e.g., Fan Kuan's 'Travelers Among Mountains and Streams') sought harmony with nature; tiny figures dwarfed by mountains express Daoist ideas.

Materials & the brush

Ink on silk and paper, calligraphy, jade, bronze, and porcelain were prized. The brush united painting and calligraphy as related arts of the scholar.

Key terms

Terracotta Army

clay soldiers guarding the First Qin Emperor

Forbidden City

vast imperial palace, Beijing

Chinese landscape

harmony with nature; tiny figures, huge mountains

Fan Kuan

'Travelers Among Mountains and Streams'

The brush

unites Chinese painting and calligraphy

Try an AP-style question

The Terracotta Army was created for…

1. the tomb of the first Qin emperor
2. a royal wedding in the Han court
3. a Buddhist temple in the mountains
4. a palace built by the Ming