History of Ethnic Arts in Yunnan

Author: Li Weiqing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: A History of Yunnan Ethnic Art is a specialized work on art history, but it is not confined to the field of art. Yunnan ethnic art, from the Stone Age to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, though not lacking in specific details such as line-carved human figures on stone axes and decorative patterns on bronze artifacts, also explores its material carriers, production techniques, creative methods, motif meanings, as well as aesthetic value and social functions from a materialist and dialectical historical perspective. More precisely, it vividly describes the coexistence of production, economy, religion, folklore, class formation, and differentiation, with some tracing the past to understand the present and others using the present to verify the past. For example, the author uses the model of the Dian Kingdom roof to the "hanging fish" found on the eaves boards of the Naxi ethnic group's wooden structure hip-and-gable roofs, which still exist today, calling it a living fossil of architectural history. Additionally, from this A History of Yunnan Ethnic Art, one can also understand the relationship between humans and the ecological environment.