Chinese influence on Korean culture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chinese culture has had a great impact in many areas of Korean culture, including arts, written language, religion, and government administration, with Koreans molding these Chinese models into distinctly Korean forms.[1]

Architecture[]

Korean wooden-frame architecture was introduced from China during the Han dynasty and has continued to the modern era.[2][better source needed] Other Chinese concepts to influence Korean architecture include yin and yang, the five elements, Chinese geomancy, Taoism and Confucianism.[3][better source needed]

Chinese cultural influence around the turn of the common era formed the basis for the early Korean architecture in the Three Kingdoms period.[4][better source needed] This influence is attributed to Lelang Commandery, a Chinese colony in what is now northwestern Korea, which was founded in 109 BCE.[5][better source needed] Baekje in particular adopted heavy Sinitic influence.[6][better source needed]

Later, during the Koryŏ period, further artistic and architectural influences from Song and Liao were absorbed in the peninsula.[7][better source needed] The wooden building style of this period also seems to have been influenced by that of Fujian in southern China.[8][better source needed]

Dancheong

Dancheong can be traced back to the late Warring State period (c. 3rd century BC) in China.[9] It is not clear when in history the Korean dancheong first started.[10] The Korean dancheong was imported from China along with Buddhism before being developed and modified to have its own distinctive Korean characteristics.[11][12][13][14] The first Korean dancheong was found on a mural in an ancient tomb built in 357 AD during Goguryeo.[10] Although dancheong can be traced back to China, it has become a distinctive characteristic of the Korean tradition and has a long tradition in Korea.[9]

Paintings[]

Buddhist paintings[]

The buddhist paintings of Goryeo were heavily influenced by the drawing techniques of the Song dynasty.[15] In the buddhist paintings of Goryeo, the secular and mythical figures were depicted in the form of worshippers or patrons who were in an audience for the sermons of Buddha, who were witnessed of the heavenly realm or who were ritual participants.[16] These figures were possibly the donors of the paintings and were mostly part of the royalty and aristocratic class who are depicted wearing Chinese clothing; their clothing and headgear typically follow the official dress code of the Song dynasty.[16] The Goryeo painting , for example, show the Chinese and Central Asian pictorial influences; however, the textual and pictorial sources used as prototypes for the iconography are primarily Chinese.[17] The clothing worn in the Yuan dynasty however rarely appears in the Buddhist paintings of Goryeo.[16]

  • The Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara painting, Goryeo.

  • Details of the Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara painting shows a group of nobles (possibly the donors) dress in court clothing, Goryeo.[18]

Landscape paintings[]

In Goryeo, landscape paintings started to develop through the cultural influence continuum of the Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty, and early Ming dynasty.[19] Early Goryeo landscape painting were strongly influenced by the Northern Song (960 – 1127 AD) Chinese landscape painting.[19] In the later 11th century and in the early 12th century, many Northern Song landscape paintings were introduced in Goryeo.[19] By the first half of the 12th century, Goryeo painters also started to paint landscape paintings scenes which depict actual places in Korea.[19] However, it is unlikely that those Goryeo landscape paintings had any direct relationship on the development of true-view landscape painting which was developed in Joseon as the true-view landscape painting of Joseon was stylistically based on the Southern School of Chinese painting.[19]

True-view landscape paintings[]

The first true-view landscape painting was created by Chinese painters and appeared in the world art history during the Song dynasty in the 10th century showing the pastoral scenes in Southern China.[20] True-view landscape painting depicting South China scenery then spread to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.[20] In Korea, true-view landscape paintings was first introduced by diplomatic envoys during the Goryeo in the 13th century and the imported original Chinese paintings were then copied.[20] It is only in the 18th century Joseon that jingyeong sansu (i.e. 'true-view landscape painting') were developed and when Korean painters started to paint their native Korean pastoral scenes instead of copying the South China landscapes which they have never seen.[20]

Tomb paintings[]

Tomb painting concept found in the Goguryeo and the brick painting found in the late Baekje tombs show Chinese influences.[21]

Sculpture and Ceramics[]

Pottery[]

Korea's pottery culture has been influence by China as early as 2000 B.C.[22]

Goryeo Celadon[]

Vase in the form of a melon, Goryeo celadon, d. 1100. This vase shows the stylistic influence of the Qingbai ware.[23]

Some early Goryeo potters were themselves Chinese.[24] Chinese potters who left their homeland due to political upheaval brought new ceramic technologies and styles to the local Goryeo potters who then managed to make their own Goryeo-style celadon.[25] Goryeo celadon was one of the main types of ceramics produced in Korea during the Goryeo period;[26] it first appeared in Goryeo between the 9th and 10 centuries.[27] The Goryeo celadon was influenced by the ceramic-making skills in Zhejiang Province, China.[27][25] The celadons manufactured in Zhejiang province were known for their best quality since the Tang dynasty.[25] The celadon glaze technology and the kiln structure (i.e. various Chinese kilns were prototypes for Goryeo potters) technology was also adapted from China.[26][25] The Goryeo potters also learnt their technical expertise from the Song dynasty celadon traditions and imitated certain styles from Chinese wares which included the shapes of bottles, bowls and standard decorative motives (e.g. lotus, peonies, flying parrots, and scenes of waterfowl by the pond).[26][25] Goryeo celadons were influenced by Chinese wares and kilns:

  • Yue ware and kilns located in present-day Zhejiang province: decoration motifs on Goryeo celadons were inspired by the decorations found on Yue ware.[25] Long-neck bottles (which were later elongated by Goryeo potters and given more bulging body) have originated from Chinese Yue kiln.[25]
  • Qingbai ware from the Northern Song period from the late 1000s: New shapes of bowls, dishes, cups, vases, bottles were produced under the diplomatic relations between Goryeo and the Northern Song dynasty; the shapes and decorations were then adjusted to reflect the aesthetics taste of Goryeo but some Goryeo celadon shows the influence of the qingbai ware (bluish-white porcelain) which is produced by the Chinese Jingdezhen kilns.[25]
  • Maebyeong (prunus vase; meiping in Chinese): The Goryeo maebyeong shows the integration of Chinese elements by Goryeo potters; the shape of the prunus vase was influenced by the Chinese wares produced by the Ru, Ding, Jingdezhen, Yaozhou, and Cizhou kilns which existed during the Northern Song dynasty.[25]
  • Jingdezhen ware: Having become part of the Yuan dynasty, the goryeo celadon vases adopted the style of the blue-white porcelains which were produced by the Chinese Jingdezhen kilns.[25]

Music and dance[]

Musical instruments[]

While a vast majority of Korean musical instruments clearly have some Sinitic ancestry, most of these imported instruments have never been widely used in Korean music, and many are now obsolete.[28] The qin (Korean kŭm), for instance, is almost never played outside of the semi-annual Sacrifice to Confucius (Korean sŏkchŏn).[29] The comparatively popular kayagŭm and kŏmun'go, although they are reputed to have originated in China, have been independent for centuries, and have been modified significantly from the Chinese originals.[29]

Music[]

Chinese music was introduced in Korea and was performed at the Korean court during the Tang and Song dynasties.[30] The traditional genre of tangak (literally "music of Tang") was imported from China, probably mostly during the Goryeo period.[31] The aak genre, by contrast, was developed in Korea in the fifteenth century based on Chinese written sources from an earlier period, as the style had already fallen out of fashion in China.[32] Examples of tangak include the (Chinese: 洛阳春; pinyin: Luòyángchūn) and the Boheoja (Chinese: 步虛子; pinyin: bùxūzi) are two Song dynasty ci poetry which were introduced during the Goryeo period and are still being performed in present days Korea.[33] Despite Korean claims to aak retaining its "pure" Chinese form it bears marks of alteration after being imported to Korea.[32]

Writing and literature[]

The Chinese scholar Jizi is credited by ancient sources with introducing written language to Korea.

The majority of literature produced in the Korean peninsula before the twentieth century was written in Classical Chinese;[34] the reason for this is that the indigenous writing system, hangŭl, only developed relatively late (the fifteenth century) and was not widely accepted as a means of writing intellectual discourse until the late nineteenth century.[34]

Extant Korean poetry in Chinese goes back to the Koguryŏ period.[35] Later, under Unified Silla and Koryŏ, poetic and prose compositions continued to closely follow forms originating in China and characteristic of the Six Dynasties period.[36] The Wen Xuan was extremely influential in China during the Tang Dynasty, and the Korean literati of the period followed suit.[36] Tang poetic principles also appear to have influenced poetic composition the peninsula during the Koryŏ period.[36]

Several important poets of the ninth and tenth centuries, including Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn (born 857) and Ch'oe Sŭng-no (927–989) studied in China.[37]

All scriptural and commentarial writings composed by pre-modern Korean Buddhists were written in literary Chinese (Korean hanmun).[38]

Scholarship[]

The historian Gim Busik (1075–1151), a Confucian,[39] adopted the historiographic style of Sima Qian in compiling his Samguk Sagi.[40]

Religion and philosophy[]

To ignore the greater northeast Asian context in discussing Korean Buddhism is to distort Korean Buddhism.[41] Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the fourth century, during the Three Kingdoms period.[42] The Samguk sagi records that Buddhism was first introduced to Koguryŏ around 372 by the monk , who was summoned to the Chinese state of Former Qin by its king Fujian,[42] and that the Indian monk Mālānanda brought Buddhism from the Eastern Jin to Paekche around 384.[39]

All schools of Korean Buddhism have their roots in earlier Chinese innovations, in both and soteriology.[41] While Korean monks training in China often played a critical part in some of these developments,[41][note 1] China's size and its geographical position on the Silk Road (which gave it stronger ties to the older Buddhist traditions of India and Central Asia) allowed it to pioneer the majority of trends in East Asian Buddhism.[41]

The monk Wŏnch'ŭk studied in China under Xuanzang and developed his interpretation of Yogācāra Buddhism derived from Xuanzang's New Yogācāra.[43] Sŏn Buddhism, a Korean form of Chan Buddhism, began with the seventh century Silla monk , who studied in China with the Fourth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Daoxin.[43] Sŏn monks followed Pŏmnang's example studying this new form of Buddhism in China for the next century and a half,[43] and most of the founders of Nine Mountains school of Sŏn traced their lineage to Mazu Daoyi of the .[43] Two other examples of Korean sects with Chinese roots were Ch'ŏnt'ae, founded by Ŭich'ŏn based on the Chinese Tiantai,[44] and Hwaŏm (Ch. Huayan.[45] Though Ŭich'ŏn only established Ch'ŏnt'ae as a separate school of Korean Buddhism in the eleventh century, Korean Buddhists had been studying Chinese Tiantai as early as the seventh century.[46]

The eleventh-century Korean Tripiṭaka that would later become a reference point for the twentieth-century Japanese Taishō Tripiṭaka were based on the Chinese Buddhist Tripiṭaka completed in the tenth century.[44]

Law and government[]

Pre-modern Korea's dynastic governmental systems were significantly indebted to China.[47]

Starting in the Three Kingdoms period, Korean government officials were trained with a Chinese-style .[48] This examination system continued into the Chosŏn period, but unlike in China the examination was only open to members of the aristocratic upper class.[49]

The national flag of South Korea is derived from the Chinese philosophy yin-yang and the Chinese divination text I Ching.[50]

Names[]

Korean surnames use Chinese characters. Typically, Korean names use one character for the family name and two for the given name, in close resemblance to Chinese names.[51]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Buswell (2010 : 44–46) emphasizes the mutual interchange of influence between Chinese Buddhism and the traditions of other "peripheral" regions such as Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Tibet.

References[]

  1. ^ Armstrong, Charles K. (2009). "Central Themes for a Unit on Korea". Columbia University "Asia for Educators". Columbia University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Through much of its history Korea has been greatly influenced by Chinese civilization, borrowing the written language, arts, religions, and models of government administration from China, and, in the process, transforming these borrowed traditions into distinctly Korean forms.
  2. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 1. Introduction". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Since the introduction of the Chinese culture of the Han Dynasty the basic system of wooden building frames has been passed down to recent years, Such structures coincidentally blended with other indigenous architectural details.
  3. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 1. Introduction". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Korean architecture has also been affected by a number of Oriental conceptual thoughts: yin and yang, interpretation of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire and earth), geomancy, Taoism and Confucianism either directly or indirectly.
  4. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 2. Ancient Architecture". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. In this is period [roughly 109 BCE] the Chinese culture was transplanted to Korea and the influence spread rapidly throughout the peninsula to furnish a basis for the development of Korean architecture.
  5. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 2. Ancient Architecture". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. In 109 B. C, the Chinese colony of Nangnang (Lo-lang) was established in the northwest region of Korea. The site of the colony headquarters and tombs are found on the southern bank of the Taedong River near the city of Pyongyang. Official buildings were built of wood and brick and roofed with tiles having the features of Chinese construction.
  6. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 2. Ancient Architecture". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Paekche, the recipient of influences from continental architecture, assimilated diverse influences and expressed its derivation from Chinese models.
  7. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 4. Koryo Architecture". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Following the cultural tradition of United Silla, the art and architecture of Koryo was developed under fruitful ties with the contemporary culture of the Sung and the Liao in China.
  8. ^ Yoon, Chang Sup. "A Brief History of Korean Architecture: 4. Koryo Architecture". Atelier Professor KOH Architectural Design Lab, Gyeongsang National University. Gyeongsang National University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. In this period, the wooden building style seemed to be affected by the cultural influence of the Fukien province in the southern coast of China.
  9. ^ a b Flags, color, and the legal narrative : public memory, identity, and critique. Anne Wagner, Sarah Marusek. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 2021. p. 129. ISBN 978-3-030-32865-8. OCLC 1253353500.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. ^ a b Song, Injung; Bang, Byungsun; Oh, Semin; Ha, Hyeyoung; Kwak, Youngshin (2018). "Dancheong colors used for Korean cultural heritage architecture restoration". Color Research & Application. 43 (4): 586–595. doi:10.1002/col.22220.
  11. ^ "Dancheong - Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia". chinabuddhismencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  12. ^ "Buddhist Studies: Korean Buddhist Paintings". www.buddhanet.net. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  13. ^ "Dancheong 단청 – Seon Buddhism". Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  14. ^ "Architectural Art - South-Korea - korea4expats". www.korea4expats.com. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  15. ^ Yu, Chai-Shin (2012). The new history of Korean civilization. Bloomington, In. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4620-5559-3. OCLC 772593189.
  16. ^ a b c A companion to Korean art. J. P. Park, Burglind Jungmann, Juhyung Rhi. Hoboken, NJ. 2020. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-118-92702-1. OCLC 1154853080.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ^ Arts of Korea. Yang-mo Chŏng, Judith G. Smith, Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1998. pp. 435–436. ISBN 0-87099-850-1. OCLC 38831761.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. ^ Arts of Korea. Yang-mo Chŏng, Judith G. Smith, Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1998. pp. 435–436. ISBN 0-87099-850-1. OCLC 38831761.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. ^ a b c d e Arts of Korea. Yang-mo Chŏng, Judith G. Smith, Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1998. pp. 302–305. ISBN 0-87099-850-1. OCLC 38831761.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  20. ^ a b c d Kim, Chun-gil (2014). The history of Korea (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, California. pp. 115–116. ISBN 978-1-61069-582-4. OCLC 890146633.
  21. ^ The Korean Cultural Center (1993). Korean Culture. Vol. 14. Korean Cultural Service (Los Angeles, Calif.). Korean Cultural Service. p. 31.
  22. ^ USA International Business Publications (2007). Korea North Diplomatic Handbook. International Business Publications, USA. p. 41. ISBN 9781433027826.
  23. ^ Song, In-Hee (2020-09-23). "Korea in Focus: Goryeo Celadons in Relation to Chinese Ceramics". Cleveland Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-07-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ Clark, Donald N. (2000). Culture and Customs of Korea (Culture and Customs of Asia). Greenwood Press. p. 65. ISBN 9780313304569.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Song, In-Hee (2020-09-23). "Korea in Focus: Goryeo Celadons in Relation to Chinese Ceramics". Cleveland Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-07-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ a b c Lee, Soyoung (2003). "Goryeo Celadon". www.metmuseum.org. Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-07-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ a b "Goryeo Celadon Museum". www.celadon.go.kr. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  28. ^ Provine 1987 : 5–7.
  29. ^ a b Provine 1987 : 7.
  30. ^ Condit, Jonathan (1981). "Two Song-dynasty Chinese tunes preserved in Korea". Music and Tradition Essays on Asian and Other Musics Presented to Laurence Picken. Laurence Ernest Rowland Picken, Laurence: Festschrift Picken, Wolpert R. F. Wolpert. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780521224000.
  31. ^ Provine 1987 : 10.
  32. ^ a b Provine 1987 : 9–10.
  33. ^ Thrasher, Alan R (2016). Qupai in Chinese Music: Melodic Models in Form and Practice. Taylor & Francis. p. 35. ISBN 9781317386728.
  34. ^ a b Paragraph 1 in Emanuel Pastreich "The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea", chapter 53 in Mair 2001.
  35. ^ Paragraph 2 in Emanuel Pastreich "The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea", chapter 53 in Mair 2001.
  36. ^ a b c Paragraph 3 in Emanuel Pastreich "The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea", chapter 53 in Mair 2001.
  37. ^ Paragraph 4 in Emanuel Pastreich "The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea", chapter 53 in Mair 2001.
  38. ^ Buswell 2010 : 46.
  39. ^ a b article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 449.
  40. ^ Paragraph 8 in Emanuel Pastreich "The Reception of Chinese Literature in Korea", chapter 53 in Mair 2001.
  41. ^ a b c d Buswell 2010 : 44.
  42. ^ a b article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 448.
  43. ^ a b c d article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 450.
  44. ^ a b article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 451.
  45. ^ article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 454.
  46. ^ article "Buddhism in Korea" in Keown and Prebish 2010 : 451–452.
  47. ^ Provine 1987 : 5.
  48. ^ Armstrong, Charles K. (2009). "Central Themes for a Unit on Korea". Columbia University "Asia for Educators". Columbia University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. All were strongly influenced by Chinese culture and government administration, including the use of the Confucian examination system to train government officials.
  49. ^ Armstrong, Charles K. (2009). "Central Themes for a Unit on Korea". Columbia University "Asia for Educators". Columbia University. Retrieved 3 May 2016. But unlike China, the pool of eligible examination takers in Korea was officially limited to members of the upper social class, called yangban.
  50. ^ DK (2014). Complete Flags of the World. Penguin. ISBN 978-1465434050. At the flag's center is a disk containing an S-shaped line, the upper half being red and the lower half blue. This is derived from the Eastern yin-yang symbol, .... The other alteration to the original flag in 1948 was to trigrams (kwae) surrounding the yin-yang, which were reduced from eight to four, They are the basic trigrams from the I-Ching, a divination system widespread in the East.
  51. ^ Taylor, Insup; Taylor, Martin M. (1995). Writing and Literacy in Chinese, Korean and Japanese. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9027285764.

Cited works[]

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