Monumental Architecture and Sculpture

Taj Mahal complex

LUNA VASAHI, MANDAPA CEILING

Mount Abu, India. 1230.

Greetings students! One of the places we are exploring this week is the Forbidden City in China. This is an amazing architectural example and often when we simply view pictures of it we miss out on how these structures shape and influence the space in and around them.  You might what to explore it a bit more and there are some terrific web sites that do a great job walking you through this amazing place.  One of my favorites is: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/forbidden.htmand the UNESCO site:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/439.  The Smithsonian Institute also has an amazing video:http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/site/sn/show.do?series=735

I also wanted to give you a quick tip for this discussion question. Make sure your example(s) for 2c is drawn from one of the cultures we are studying this week, e.g. India, China, Korea, or Japan.

Ni Zan THE RONGXI STUDIO

Yuan dynasty, 1372. Hanging scroll with ink on paper, height 29⅜″ (74.6 cm). National Palace Museum, Taibei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

TECHNIQUE The Secret of Porcelain

Dragons have featured prominently in Chinese folklore from earliest times