Posted: February 28th, 2023

HIS World Civilization Discussions Reply

Just need (4) W3 replies

Topic 1: Silk Roads

Required Reading:

Kevin Reilly, 
The Human Journey, Chapter 4

Website: Silk Road – 

http://asiasociety.org/education/silk-road

Website: Silk Road History – 

http://www.thesilkroa

**Discussion Reply #1

Although nine hundred years apart both Marco Polo and Faxian had similarities when it came to the Silk Road. To understand this concept better when an individual learns about Marco Polo they will discover that Marco Polo was a traveler. To be more specific he was a western traveler who also was a merchant. Meanwhile Faxian was a Chinese buddhist monk. Now Faxian traveled so that he could better himself and develop further into his beliefs as a buddhist. Where Marco Polo also traveled to better himself but instead bettering himself by helping to develop better trade systems to gain more financially. They both traveled the silk road to better themselves but it was in two completely different ways to better themselves. Another similarity between the two is that they were both eager to learn and to share with others their findings. Marco Polo was able to share with others along the way the best ways to trade items meanwhile Faxian was able to take his religious findings and later on pass them to other monks for their studies. Another difference between the two is that Marco Polo traveled the silk road after it had already been established for quite some time mean while Faxian traveled when the silk road was still rather new.

**Discussion Reply #2

When you notice how both Faxian and Marco Polo lived 900 years apart, you start to realize how truly vast the silk roads truly was and how long it lasted. Both Faxian and Marco traveled the silk roads for very different reason yet their similarity is why we are talking about them both today. Faxian was a Buddhist who’s mission while travailing the Silk Roads was to spread Buddhism. In doing so he had to face very harsh environments such as dealing with all kinds of weather conditions, dangerous terrain, and of course not to mention the constant threat of robbers robbing you. He would of also had to travel VIA the ocean routes since that was how other countries made contact with each other in such an early age. All in all Faxian had his struggles but none the less still did what he needed to. Moving on to Marco his reason was very much different from that of Faxian, not only was it due to the fact this was taking place 900 years after Faxian, but also he was in it for the financial gain. Although he also did face somewhat similar hardships, one big advantage Marco had would of been that the Mongols controlled the silk roads making it much safer to travel without the threat of robbers loaming over you. So with that being said the similarity’s between the two were not only the hardships they faced but also the fact they both wrote down notes of their travels. Neither one of their cause was better than the other since at the end of the day these were but personal reasons for their use of the silk roads so I believe to leave that as it is, just personal use of the silk roads for self beneficial reasons which was fine since that was a perfectly reasonable use of the silk roads. At the end of the day the silk roads even after their long demise, drastically changed today’s day and age by many different aspects and people like Faxian and Marco played a big helping hand in that.

Required Reading:

Kevin Reilly, 
The Human Journey, Chapter 5

Website: The Song Dynasty in China – 

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/

 (click on the links in the categories of Economic Revolution, Technology, Cities, Confucianism, and Outside World, at the top of the webpage)

Website: Song Dynasty Art (960-1279), History, Types and Characteristics – 

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/east-asian-art/song-dynasty.htm

**Discussion Reply #3 (Part 2)

Considering artistic style and subject matter, what insights do the paintings give you into the concerns, hopes, and preoccupations of Song China during the Northern and Southern dynasties? 

Taking a look at the insight of the paintings, I can see that the Northern dynasty was more famous for their landscape painting, which is one of the most common and still used to this day in China. The painters who created these landscape paintings, fled into the mountains because they were trying to escape from the harsh ruling of the Tang dynasty. There in the mountains, they discovered how beautiful nature was and decided to dedicate their landscape paintings to the mountain ranges. The best landscape artists during the Song dynasty were Fan Kuan and Li Cheng. The Southern dynasty took a different approach when it came to their paintings. The Nan Song concerned themselves primarily with reforming society from the bottom up and on a much smaller scale. Due to this, their paintings tended to feature smaller and more intimate scenes. This was the introduction to Neo-Confucianism. 

What do you find most striking about each painting? Why? 

I find the theme of each different painting to be the most striking feature. The Northern dynasty landscape paintings seem to be more relaxing and more focused on nature and detail. The Southern dynasty paintings seem to be more simple, bland, and smaller in size. One can really tell that the culture and the way these two Dynasties thought were completely different.  

What might be limits to using art to understand the concerns, hopes, and preoccupations of a society?

I believe that one big limiting factor is that paintings can not use words and phrases to describe the concerns, hopes, and preoccupations of society. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing because paintings leave an open interpretation for one to take into consideration. This means that each one of these paintings can possibly mean a completely different thing to each individual who examines them. 

**Discussion Reply #4 (Part 2)

From 960 until 1127, they dominated the majority of interior China during the Northern Song, also known as the Bei Song era. The paintings and revival of Buddhism were the two things that made the northern song most well known. The population of the Song doubled during this time, their money supply increased, paper money was introduced for usage, and trade was experiencing a boom. They also underwent an economic revolution being the Song Dynasty Art. The Northern Song became known for its landscape paintings. Qu Ding produced the landscape painting Summer Mountains in 1050. According to the assessment, “viewers are expected to sympathize with the human figures making their way toward a temple retreat.” At the painting’s center, which represents the peak of nature’s order, “the central mountain stands in commanding majesty, like an emperor amid his followers.” . Painters sought refuge on the mountain towards the end of the Tang Dynasty so they could get away from the chaos, connect with nature, and regain moral equilibrium. Song Dynasty Art So, this picture provides information about their environment, what was common for them and other painters, as well as what led them to achieve this inner calm. The painting’s attention to detail, use of depth to suggest that the mountains extended as far as the eye could see, and portrayal of nature’s serenity are its most remarkable features. The main mountain is almost in the middle of the page and towers to the top of the canvas in this painting. It serves as the focus point and all of the other mountain tops appear to be leaning toward it, as if the central mountain were speaking while the others were listening. As mentioned in previous discussions, paintings or pictures can not describe precisely one’s thoughts or feelings, all we can do is make our best educated guess with the evidence we have. However one important thing I learned from this topic is that the location and culture of the background from the painting matters greatly, that on its own tells us a great deal of its meaning and origin. 

References 

artist, Unidentified. “Unidentified Artist: Palace Banquet: China: Five Dynasties (907–960) or Northern Song (960–1127) Dynasty.” 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39543

.

Chinese, Attributed to Qu Ding. “Attributed to Qu Ding: Summer Mountains: China: Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).” 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39915

.

Chinese, Li Gonglin. “Li Gonglin: The Classic of Filial Piety: China: Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).” 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39895

.