Document Type
Open Educational Resource
Publication Date
5-2026
Keywords
Buddhism, Bodhisattvas, Painting, Sculpting, Temples, Iconography, Monks, Guardians, Ritual Objects, Ceramics, Lacquerwares, Furniture, Rocks, Porcelain
Disciplines
Ceramic Arts | East Asian Languages and Societies | Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts | Fine Arts | Painting | Sculpture
Abstract
Please Note: This is the second of three tour guides connected to Victoria Weston's Introduction to East Asian Art. For the full guidebook, visit https://scholarworks.umb.edu/oer_textbooks/3/
The remaining sections can be found at these links:
Guide Part 1: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/oer_textbooks/4/
Guide Part 3: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/oer_textbooks/6/
This book is an introduction to important art forms practiced in China, the Korean peninsula, and Japan. It is in no way an encyclopedic treatment of the art histories of East Asia. Rather, it is a textbook for a single semester course. Each section is devoted to one year in time and framed by historical factors that naturally encourage comparative analysis. Students learn methods of visual analysis while also exploring art in religious, cultural, and social contexts. At my school, University of Massachusetts Boston, our general education requirements specify introduction to modes of inquiry (General Education Distribution areas) and consideration of social factors such as culture and social class in comparative frameworks (Diversity Requirement). These structures suit how I teach, as I have always considered the peoples and cultures making and consuming art and foregrounded critical thinking. Introduction to East Asian Art is framed as three “guides,” the three sections imagining a specific kind of traveler in want of advice on art. Each guide prioritizes art forms appropriate to the time and circumstances.
The first section takes place in 748, at the height of international Buddhism in East Asia.
The second section connects Korea, China, and Japan in 1230 through the impending invasions of the Mongols.
Section three rotates the vantage point to a Western one, in the first age of encounter between Europeans and the three East Asian cultures. Set in 1591, the book is a guide for Portuguese traders, giving advice on East Asian cultures and their arts.
Recommended Citation
Weston, Victoria, "An Introduction to East Asian Art: Tour Guide #2, The Year 1230" (2026). OER: Textbooks. 5.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/oer_textbooks/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Included in
Ceramic Arts Commons, East Asian Languages and Societies Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Fine Arts Commons, Painting Commons, Sculpture Commons
Comments
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