http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ mirrored file
For complete access to all the files of this collection
	see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php 
==========================================================
¡¡

*Look back the Chinese rock art research in twenty century*

*Chen** Zhao fu   *

China¡¯s rock art was first recorded in ancient Chinese literature
in the 3^rd century B.C., twenty‑three hundred years ago, but serious
investigation and research did not commence until the beginning of the
twentieth century. This was an important event in Chinese academia.
Since this point both scholars and amateurs have made great efforts
within the discipline and many rock art sites have been discovered in
over 164 of the counties throughout 20 provinces although this is by no
means a complete count of all of the drawings and figures.

Geographical distribution

Geographically, the limits of known rock art sites span from the coast
of the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Pamirs in the west, from the
Amur River, Inner Mongolia, in the north, to the Zuojiang River,
bordering Vietnam, in the south. According to twentieth century
research, China's rock art distribution consists of three geographically
distinct groups: northern, south-western and the south eastern traditions.

*The northern tradition*

The rock art of the north is distributed in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang,
Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai. Characteristics of this widespread
engraving tradition are its stylistic realism, the subject matter of
which is predominantly animals (constituting 95 per cent of the
depictions) of a wide variety of species. The rock art in the grasslands
of Inner Mongolia was that of nomadic hunting and pastoral cultures that
lived in north and north-western China. It was thought that most of
northern China¡¯s rock art consisted of open-air engravings but recent
discoveries of painting traditions in shallow caves have been made in
Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Ningxia. Also, in 1993 red and black
negative hand imprints were discovered in caves in the Yabulai Mountain
area, Alashan (western Inner Mongolia). Some scholars have suggested
that these belong to the Palaeolithic period, around 30,000 BP, but
others remain sceptical.

¡¡

Rock art in Xinjiang was first discovered in the 1920s and has since
been found throughout the whole region. Representations of animals
predominate but there are also occasional schematic and abstract
designs. Some paintings were found in caves in the Altai Mountains
recently. The paintings are predominantly red with a varied subject
matter including animals, human activities and geometric ¡®vulva¡¯ motifs.
These themes suggest that the rock art was made by a matriarchal society
at least 5000 years ago.

That the rock art seems to have been created by a variety of ethnic
groups testifies to the diverse racial make‑up and cultural background
of the population. Connections are evident with Russia, Mongolia and the
Near East. As far as rock art is concerned the Xinjiang region is the
most complicated in China, because the chronology and artists¡¯
nationalities are difficult to determine.

The immense number of rock art sites in the north has meant that it
has been avoided by researchers.

The south-western tradition

The south-western rock art tradition is distributed throughout Yunnan,
Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan. The predominant subject matter is of human
activities, especially of a religious nature. Rock paintings, mostly
executed using red mineral pigments, are common. Tibet, often referred
to as ¡®the roof of the world¡¯ because most of it is over 4,000m above
sea level, is a large area with a small population and therefore
discoveries of rock art sites have been limited. In 1985, we found only
3 rock art sites in Ritu county, western Tibet. But, since then we have
located 60 sites across 13 counties with around 500 groups of pictures.
Rock art is scattered across very vast areas, even in ¡°no mans land¡± in
north Tibet.

Tibetan rock engravings and paintings are rich in subject matter. Of
the thousands of figures, eighty percent are animals and the remainder
consist of human figures, spirits, symbols, plants, implements,
structures and others images. It is likely that different cultures in
different historical periods executed these images. Recent studies
suggest that Tibetan rock art appeared in a period when hunting and
pastoralism existed side by side, from the late Stone Age to the early
Metal Age (about 3000 BP) and continued after the initial spread of
Buddhism into China. Some Tibetan rock art, especially the paintings,
has close affinities with both the northern and south-western rock art
traditions but due to its geographical location in the south it is
grouped with the south-western tradition.

*The south-eastern coast tradition*

The south-eastern coast rock art group is distributed across Jiangsu,
Fujian, Guangdong, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. A main theme of these
rock engravings is sea activities but it is abstract designs that
dominate the subject matter. In Taiwan, the Wanshan petroglyphs, located
within dense jungle, have a very simple topic that seems to be
irrelevant of economical activities. They probably depict religious
activities. The local religion is one of ancestor worship. The tribesmen
believed that life came from earth and stone and was related to Lake
Dalubaling in the Central Mountain. In the east of the Lake, in close
proximity to the petroglyphs, stood a large stone pillar which was
believed to be the assembling place for /Aididingan/, ancestral spirits
who created life. These events are the subject matter of the petroglyphs
that depict human figures, human faces (masks), snakes, spirals,
concentric circles and cupules. The human figures wear branched
head-dresses, have raised hands, slightly bent legs and have no feet.
Radiating lines protrude from the masks, a feature that is typical of
the plastic arts that appear exclusively in Eastern Asia and the
Circum‑Pacific archipelago. The snakes, masks, and human heads also bear
many affinities with contemporary local groups woodcarvings. The
footprints depict the traces of tribal movements and the cupules and
abstract line curves dealt with racial proliferation and ancestry.
Perhaps because of changes in ways of living, several abstract symbols
have lost their significance and thus can not be understood now. The
scope of research into the south-eastern coast rock art tradition is
incomprehensive and the number of sites is few. But the independent
style of this tradition, not only in content but also in form, is obvious.

*Artistic developments** *

Rock art is a very broad subject with numerous angles of research.
Presently, I approach China¡¯s rock art using the five major categories
of artistic development that were devised by Professor Anati: 1)
hunters, 2) pastoralists, 3) complex economy, 4) farmers and 5) voyagers.

*(1) Hunters*

The hunting way of life has persisted since human origins. Early hunters
art consists primarily of large animal figures and many symbols. In the
rock art of northern China, the animal repertoire includes wild oxen,
tigers, deer, horses, and camels in what today is a desert environment.
The figures are isolated and always appear on vertical rock surfaces.
Rock paintings have been discovered in shallow caves on the cliffs along
the Jinsha River (the upper reach of Changjiang River/Yangtze River).
Their subject matter is dominated by wild animals, wild oxen always
being depicted centrally. One is 3.8m wide by 2.8m high and is
beautifully shaped with smooth lines. Complex symbol designs also
appear. The dates of these images are not certain but such large animal
figures suggest that they belong to the Early Hunter period. It has long
been suggested that the Americas and Oceania were originally colonised
from East Asia during the Late Pleistocene. The early rock art of these
continents is non‑iconic and abstract as is that of China. Therefore,
discussion of the origins of art cannot be limited to evidence of large
animal figures from western Europe, as has been the case almost
exclusively so far. 

Late Hunters art includes scenes of hunting and other daily life
activities. This art is executed in a naturalistic style and depicts
scenes of hunting and dancing, fighting and intercourse. Men with bows
and arrows constitute the most widespread scenes. The simplest consists
of a single flying arrow heading for a deer, thus symbolising the action
of hunting without depicting human involvement. Other examples, from
Kuluktag, Xinjiang, Heishan and Gansu, depict the siege of a wild oxen
which is completely surrounded by hunters. It was also during this phase
that the worship of divinities began. This can be seen in the frequent
depiction of masked beings which reveal a rich romanticism. The concept
of deities was born from man¡¯s longing for existence and has persisted
throughout history, albeit in different forms. In the beginning, early
hunter¡¯s idols were animal and we find evidence of this in the masked
animal engravings of northern and southern China. The high level of
decoration of most of these masks reflects worship of the animal.

*(2) Pastoralists *

In addition to wild animals there are many domestic animals depicted in
rock art. The occurrence of these indicates a change from a simple
hunting and gathering way of life toward a more developed, pastoral and
nomadic existence. When this development occurs both wild and domestic
animals appear in the rock art. Eventually the depiction of domestic
animals dominates and completely replaces that of wild animals. The
primary domestic animals were goats, horses, cows, sheep, camels and
dogs, with which the herdsmen had most close relations. The animal
figures are always arranged into designs.

The so called ¡°Animal Style¡± was one of skilful representations of
animals. This was the fine art of the nomadic peoples who moved into the
Asian steppes. The decorative skill of the ¡°Animal Style¡± was to display
animals in opposition to one another, standing side by side, often in
pairs. Arrangements were made, of one animal on top of another or one
large animal encompassing many small ones, to constitute a decorative
pattern. One of the most recent finds in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region is the Hutubi site of rock engravings which has fascinated
scholars with its explicit genital expression. Some 300 human figures,
horses, tiger, sheep, oxen and bears are depicted, covering an upright
section of red rock nine meters high and stretching fourteen meters from
east to west. The main section of the panel consists of a group of nine
female dancers that are separated from a male figure by two pair of
horses. The male figure is painted in bright red. His posture is
slightly reclined, has an erect penis and wears a hat. The pair of
horses indicate that prehistoric people practised a kind of sorcery,
performing magical rites which they thought would enhance fertility in
order to stimulate a flourishing population of people and animals. The
local beliefs and rites may also be linked to those of other ancient
cultures in central and southern Asia. This ritual scene of a male
figure and 9 females dancing around two sets of mating horses may have
some relationship to an episode of famous Indian Sanskrit epic,
Ramayana, in which the King of Ceylon asks a sorcerer for help in
gaining a son. The sorcerer used a mare in the ritual process, setting
it free to mate. It is recaptured in the spring, when it is pregnant,
and bound to a sacrificial altar where the sorcerer again exercises his
magic. Thus the queen is able to conceive and bear a son.   

*(3) Complex Economy Populations and (4) Farmers Populations.*

In the northern grasslands the rock art of farming cultures is scarce
but in the south this type is common. Many rock engravings of masks have
been found in the south-eastern area. The Lianyungang rock engravings
are of special interest, the engraved crop designs reflecting the
development of agriculture. There are also many anthropomorphic masks
(mythical beings?) that are depicted on the end of stalks. Perhaps they
reflect the worship of the sun and earth at a time when agriculture was
the main economic resource. Most Chinese scholars consider them to date
to the Neolithic. At Cuangyuan in the Yunnan province a painting depicts
pairs of people, each with a pestle, pounding grain in a common mortar.
This is a scene of village life: a circle represents the village borders
and encloses pile dwellings with people pounding grain nearby. Several
lines connected to the outside of the circle represent paths or roads.
Figures of people are shown walking on the roads towards the village,
some carrying weapons, others driving pigs and oxen. These domestic
animals seem to have been captured from other villages. Based upon a
synthetic study of these drawings and symbols the author has
reconstructed the daily life of the people who left these paintings on
the cliffs: these people built permanent houses and led a sedentary life
in large settlement; they engaged in herding of oxen and pigs; they
farmed and pounded some kind of grain (rice?) in mortars; they hunted
using spears, lassos and other methods; some form of leadership probably
existed; battles occurred; and rituals, including dances, were held
often. This is a typical scene of farming and mixed economic life.

*(5) Voyagers*

Rock art of voyagers or ocean cultures reveals that prehistoric man
traversed the ocean on small boats. The presence of boat designs in the
rock art of the south-eastern region allow allocation of this tradition
to the voyagers type. In October 1989, petroglyphs were found in Zhuhai
City, Guangdong Province. The Zhuhai petroglyphs have been widely
recognised and discussed by some rock art experts and scholars in China.
One of the most representative designs is 5m long by 2.9m high and is
filled with waves, clouds, boats, and voyagers jumping into the top of
the wave. Zhuhai petrolyphs reflect the ancient life and beliefs of the
coastal Yue culture. It is a masterpiece of voyager type rock art in China.

Abstract designs of all kinds - including dots, lines, circles,
concentric circles, and some astral-like patterns - occur in voyager
type engravings. Among the geometric elements in the Macao and Hong Kong
rock art sites there are: double or interlocking spirals; square
meanders, generally referred to as ¡°lei¡±; thunder; and ¡°yun¡± cloud
patterns similar to those in Chinese art. 

Hua¡¯an rock engravings are highly stylised or abstract. There enigmatic
quality has tempted many people to guess at their meaning. Many scholars
consider the engravings to be a form of ancient writing of minority
ethnic groups but they can not be sure. When I saw the engravings I was
surprised by the similarity of some of the very stylised masks to
ancient Chinese writing. The possibility for such close links between
rock art and early forms of writing would be an interesting line of
enquiry.

*Recent developments *

Towards the end of the twentieth century, Chinese rock art research
became part of the international rock art scene. For this I thank
Professor E. Anati, who introduced my book of Chinese rock art that was
published in Europe. Professor Anati has himself visited China almost
annually for the last decade and he wrote a book about the Helan
Mountain rock art. In 1991, the International Conference on Rock Art and
the CAR (International Committee on Rock Art, ICOMOS) General Meeting
was held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and China. The
conference was convened by myself and attended by Professor Anati and
140 scholars from 14 countries all over the world. The main objectives
were to establish a world-wide awareness of the importance of China¡¯s
prehistoric rock art, to express China¡¯s concern at the deterioration of
such a valuable part of our cultural heritage and to discuss and compare
Chinese research and recording methods with those of other countries.
The second rock art international conference, presented by Dr. J.
Clottes, was held in 2000. China opened her rock art to the world and
continues to pursue co-operation with foreign rock art research
scholars. Chinese rock art research needs such international
co-operation but, meanwhile, we must do all that we can ourselves. The
twentieth century has passed but when looking back I cannot help but
sigh with emotion at the development of Chinese rock art studies from
its infancy to youth. I look forward to participation in its future
developments.

¡¡

Bibliography

Anati, E. 1995. ¡®Helan Shan - Arte Rupestre della Cina¡¯, Centro Camuno
di Studi Preistorici. Italy.  

Chen Zhao Fu. 1986. ¡®Ancient Rock Art in China¡¯ /BCSP (Bollrttino del
Centro di Studi Preistorici /XXIII: 91-98

Chen Zhao Fu. 1987. ¡®L`Art Rupestrecien en Chine¡¯. L'aventur e Humaine,
Hiver 86/87.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1987. ¡®L'Antica Arte Rupestre in Cina¡¯. L'umana avventura,
Inverna 86/87.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1987. ¡®Felsbildkunst in China¡¯, Humanis 3. Belser Verlag.

Chen Zhao Fu & Jiang Zhen Ming. 1987. ¡®In Search of Chinese Rock
Pictures¡¯, /Chinese Literature/ 1, Beijing, China: 146-149

Chen Zhao Fu. 1987. ¡®Cina L'Arte Rupestre Preistorica¡¯, Jaca Book Via A.
Saffi 19, Milano, Italy.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1988. ¡®Decouverte de L'Art Prehistorique en Chine¡¯, Albin
Michel, 22 Huyghen, 75014 Paris.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1989. ¡®China Prahistorische Felsbilder¡¯, U.Bar Verlag,
Zurich. Swizzerland.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1989. ¡®The Rock Arts of China¡¯, Zhejiang Photographic Art
Press. Hanzhou, China. Chinese and English.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1990. ¡®Rock Engravings of Marks in China¡¯, /BCSP
(Bollttino del Centro di Studi Preistorici)/ 25/26: 133-140

Chen Zhao Fu. 1992. `Discovery of Rock Art in China ', Rock Art in the
Old World, India Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1992. ¡®Praying Figures in Zuojiang River Valley¡¯, Rock Art
in the Old World, India Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1992. ¡®In Search of Rock Art in China¡¯, Museo Civico di
Storia Naturale di Milano. Italy.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1993. ¡®Rock Art Sites in China¡¯, Survey, /Bollettino del
Centro Studi e Museo D'Arte Preistorica di Pinerolo/, Anni V-VI. N.7-8:
49-59

Chen Zhao Fu. 1993. ¡®A Comparison of Rock Art in Sahara and China¡¯,
/Memorie /XXV111- Fascicolo: 165-168.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1994. ¡®Rock Engravings in Macau and in the Southeast Coast
of China¡¯, Portugl Fundacao Oriente.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1995. ¡®Rock Art¡¯, Vol.1, Central University of
Nationalities Press. Beijing, China. Chinese and English.

Chen Zhao Fu. 1996. ¡®Rock Art Studies in the Far East during the past
five years¡¯, /Rock Art Studies News of the World/, Oxbow Monograph 72:
127-131

Jiang Zhen Ming. 1991. ¡®Timeless History - The Rock Art of China¡¯. New
World Press. Beijing, China.

Li Fu Shun. 1992. ¡®A Survey on the Methods of Dating Rock Art in China¡¯,
/INORA /2: 15-19

Manuel De Araujo. 1984. ¡®Rock Carvings in Macan¡¯, /Journal of the Hong
Kong Archaeological Society/ XI:

Meacham, W. 1976. ¡®Rock Carving in Hong Kong - An illustrated and
Interpretive Study¡¯. The Christian Study Centre on Chinese Religion and
Culture, Hong Kong. Chinese and English.

Tang Hui Sheng. 1989. ¡®A Study of Petroglyphs in Qinghai Province,
China¡¯, /Rock Art Research /6(1): 3-11.

Tang Hui Sheng. 1993. ¡®Theory And Methods in Chinese Rock Art Studies¡¯,
/Rock Art Research /10(2): 3-11. 

Tang Hui Sheng. 1993. ¡®The Management and Conservatien of Chinese Rock
Art¡¯, /AURA Newsletter/, October, 10(1):

Tang Hui Sheng & Zhang Wen Hua. 1992. ¡®An Analysis of Archetgpal
Elements in Qinghai Petroglyphs¡¯, /Rock Art Quarterly/ 3, Summer, Canada. 

Wang Ningsheng. 1984. ¡®An Introduction to Rock Paintings in Yunnan
Province¡¯, /Rock Art Research /1(2): 75-90.

Wang Ningsheng 1985 ¡®Rock Paintings in Yunnan , China¡¯, /Expedition /27(1).

Zhao Yang Feng. 1987. ¡®Aertai Mountain Rock Paintings of China¡¯, Shaanxi
Publishing House of Fine Arts, Xi'an, China. Chinese and English. 

Art of Tibetian Rock Paintings 1994. Sichuan People's Publishing House,
Chengdu, China. Chinese and English.

¡¡

¡¡