Title: Chinese art | Britannica
Headings: Chinese art
Chinese art
Learn about Chinese art including their sculptures during the Han dynasty
Aesthetic characteristics and artistic traditions
Art as a reflection of Chinese class structure
The role of linearity in Chinese art

Content: Chinese art | Britannica
Home Visual Arts Decorative Art
Chinese art
Give Feedback
External Websites
WRITTEN BY
Michael Sullivan See All Contributors
Christensen Professor Emeritus of Oriental Art, Stanford University, California. Author of The Birth of Landscape Painting in China and The Arts of China. See Article History
Learn about Chinese art including their sculptures during the Han dynasty
A discussion concerning Chinese art, from the documentary China: West Meets East at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Great Museums Television ( A Britannica Publishing Partner) See all videos for this article
Chinese art, the painting, calligraphy, architecture, pottery, sculpture, bronzes, jade carving, and other fine or decorative art forms produced in China over the centuries. The following article treats the general characteristics of Chinese art as a whole. For a detailed discussion of each of the arts mentioned above, see Chinese painting, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese architecture, Chinese pottery, Chinese bronzes, Chinese lacquerwork, Chinese jade, and silk. Aesthetic characteristics and artistic traditions
Art as a reflection of Chinese class structure
One of the outstanding characteristics of Chinese art is the extent to which it reflects the class structure that has existed at different times in Chinese history. Up to the Warring States period (475–221 bce ), the arts were produced by anonymous craftsmen for the royal and feudal courts. It is believed that during the Shang and early Zhou periods the production of ritual bronze s was exclusively regulated under the authority of the court, which could grant or withhold authorization for production by regional workshops among the various states or others who paid fealty to the court.