Message from Clay Dube

[clay dube]

The current Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition focuses on China's links with its neighbors during the so-called era of division and the Sui and early Tang dynasties. It's an extraordinary exhibition, drawing heavily on recently unearthed items from relatively small Chinese institutions. The website devoted to the exhibition is quite good and teachers will find many images and descriptions they can use with their students. I visited the exhibition on 12/4/04 and purchased the catalog (educators get 10% off). The catalog includes far more images than provided by the website. The Starr Foundation funded the exhibition and the Freeman Foundation funded educational programs associated with it.

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/China/index.asp

One of the points the exhibition hints at, but isn't as sharply demonstrated as clearly as it might be is the changing depiction of the Buddha and bodhisattvas. It would be possible, for example, to put Greek-influenced sculptures beside those of later periods and increasingly Eastern locations. Still, the influence of nomads and civilizations to the West is clear. For example, take a look at the sarcophagus of Yu Hong: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/China/s5_obj_1.R.asp. Use the zoom feature to bring out the details.