AP Art History Unit 8 Flashcards: South, East & SE Asia

Click a card to reveal key facts

Great Stupa at Sanchi

India · 3rd c. BCE–1st c. CE

Buddhist

Key Facts

Anda (dome) = cosmic mountain / burial mound
Pradakshina path for circumambulation
4 toranas (gateways) with yaksha/yakshi figures
No original images of the Buddha — aniconic period
Commissioned by Ashoka, expanded by Shunga dynasty

Jetavanarama Dagoba

Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka · 3rd c. CE

Buddhist

Key Facts

One of the largest brick structures in the ancient world
Dagoba = Sri Lankan term for stupa
Houses a relic of the Buddha's sash
Hemispherical form emphasizes cosmic dome concept
Patron: King Mahasena of Anuradhapura

Cave 285 / Flying Apsaras, Dunhuang

China · ca. 538–539 CE · Northern Wei

Chinese

Key Facts

Apsaras = celestial beings, float on clouds
Chinese stylization of Indian Buddhist forms
Fluid drapery lines — absorbing Tang elegance
Patron: local governor, Cave 285 is dated by inscription
Mogao Caves — Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Longmen Caves (Fengxian Temple)

Luoyang, China · ca. 672–675 CE · Tang

Chinese

Key Facts

Central Vairochana Buddha: 17 meters tall
Said to resemble Empress Wu Zetian
Tang imperial sponsorship — state Buddhism
Carved into limestone cliff face
Flanked by bodhisattvas, guardians (tianwang)

Todaiji Temple

Nara, Japan · 743 CE (rebuilt 1700s)

Japanese

Key Facts

Houses the Daibutsu — Great Buddha (Vairochana), 15 m bronze
Commissioned by Emperor Shomu
Largest wooden structure in the world
Current structure is only ⅔ of original width (rebuilt 1709)
Nandaimon gate — massive wooden Nio guardians

Borobudur Temple Compound

Java, Indonesia · ca. 750–842 CE

SE Asian

Key Facts

Three-dimensional mandala — plan and elevation both symbolic
9 stacked platforms: 6 square (desire/form) + 3 circular (formless)
72 perforated stupas each contain a seated Buddha
Pilgrim path = Mahayana Buddhist journey to enlightenment
Patron: Sailendra dynasty; abandoned ~1000 CE

Angkor Wat

Cambodia · 1113–1150 CE · Khmer

SE Asian

Key Facts

Patron: Suryavarman II — dedicated to Vishnu (later Buddhist)
Temple-mountain = Mount Meru, home of the gods
Moat represents cosmic ocean
West-facing orientation — unusual, associated with death/sunset
Bas-reliefs: Churning of the Ocean of Milk, Mahabharata scenes

Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho

India · ca. 930–950 CE · Chandela

Hindu

Key Facts

Nagara style — curvilinear shikhara tower
Erotic mithuna figures on exterior = auspicious fertility, union of opposites
Interior sanctum (garbhagriha) houses Vaishnava deity
Mandapa (hall) + vestibule + shikhara
Patron: Chandela Rajput kings

Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja)

Tamil Nadu, India · 11th c. CE · Chola

Hindu

Key Facts

Lost-wax (cire-perdue) cast bronze
Dance = ananda tandava (dance of bliss)
Ring of fire = samsara / cosmic cycles
Raised foot = release (moksha); dwarf Apasmara = ignorance
4 arms: drum (creation), flame (destruction), abhaya mudra, pointing down

The David Vases

China · 1351 · Yuan dynasty

Chinese

Key Facts

Blue-and-white porcelain — cobalt from Persia
Inscribed date 1351 makes them crucial dateable benchmarks
Dragon motif = imperial power; cloud scrolls, elephant handles
Dedicated to a Daoist shrine — religious patronage
Named for Sir Percival David who donated them to the British Museum

Forbidden City (Imperial Palace)

Beijing, China · 15th c.–present · Ming

Chinese

Key Facts

South-facing axial plan aligned to cardinal directions / heaven
9,999 rooms — "9" auspicious in Chinese cosmology
Yellow (imperial) glazed roof tiles; red lacquered walls
Outer court: public ceremonies; Inner court: private imperial life
Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–24) oversaw construction

Portrait of Sin Sukju

Korea · 15th c. · Joseon dynasty

Korean

Key Facts

Neo-Confucian tradition — gong-sin portrait (merit subject)
Frontal or 3/4 view, specific rank insignia on robe
Hyper-realistic facial features — individualized, not idealized
Chin-nyongbu rank badge indicates civil official status
Stored in ancestral shrine, used in memorial rites

Ryoan-ji (Rock Garden)

Kyoto, Japan · ca. 1480 · Muromachi

Japanese

Key Facts

Karesansui (dry landscape) garden — raked white gravel, 15 stones
Only 14 rocks visible from any single vantage point
Zen Buddhist: ambiguity cultivates contemplation (mu)
Designer unknown — possibly Soami
Rectangle: 30×10 meters; clay-and-oil-soaked earthen walls

Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh

Bichitr · Mughal · ca. 1615–1618

Mughal

Key Facts

Opaque watercolor (gouache) and gold on paper
European influences: hourglass of time, cherubs, illusionistic frame
Hierarchical scale — Jahangir largest, kings smaller, Europeans smallest
Halo (nimbus) merges Hindu, Christian, and Islamic iconography
Shows Mughal court's deliberate cosmopolitan self-fashioning

Taj Mahal

Agra, India · 1632–1653 · Mughal

Mughal

Key Facts

Mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal, built by Shah Jahan
White Makrana marble inlaid with pietra dura (hard stone inlay)
Paradise garden (chahar bagh) — 4-part walled garden
Iwan portals, bulbous double dome, 4 flanking minarets
Calligraphic inscriptions expand as you approach — optical correction

Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Great Wave)

Katsushika Hokusai · Japan · 1830–33

Japanese

Key Facts

Polychrome woodblock print (ukiyo-e) — multiple carved blocks
From "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" series
Prussian blue pigment (imported from Europe)
Three boats carry oshiokuribune (high-speed cargo) workers
Fuji in background: eternal, still; wave: momentary, violent

Cai Guo-Qiang, Borrowing Your Enemy's Arrows

China/USA · 1998

Contemporary

Key Facts

Wooden boat embedded with 3,000 arrows; suspended from ceiling
References the "Straw Boat Borrowing Arrows" from Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Arrows = external forces (colonialism, globalization) that paradoxically strengthen
Cai works in gunpowder, explosions, installation — spectacle and tradition
Chinese diaspora identity: Chinese classical text + Western gallery context