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SMAD. An Organ of Student Opinion. 1937. Volume 8. Number 7.

Chinese Art

Chinese Art

"My dear, what do you think that thing is?" "Oh, er—oh, well, that's an ornament, of course."

If you overhear anything like this while inspecting the collection of Chinese art now at the Do minion Museum, you may intervene (very politely, of course), because the Chinese never made ornaments. At least, that is what a considerable number of people found out last Saturday when under the aegis of the Phoenix Club, the Curator, Captain Humphreys-Davies, gave a most inter, eating address to an audience of about 50.

The Chinese outlook on life is essentially different from Western philosophies. From about 200 B.C the great majority of Chinese, became Buddhists. That they are at the same time Lavists and Confucianists does not matter in the slightest, since no one doctrine conflicts with the others. Buddhism embodies the great religious principles dealing with one's life upon earth and one's hopes of the hereafter. Lavism is a belief in the gods of nature, kindly gods, who look after trees and rain and things like that (It is interesting to note that malignant dieties and Hell in the Western sense as a place of everlasting punishment is unknown). Confucianism is a philosophy—something to meditate put down on the canvas. Anything else looks distinctly queer But the Chinese knows that if he were to about.

Every Westerner regards the outer world as revolving on a pivot about himself—you, dear reader, though you may not realise it, believe implicitly that you are the centre of the universe. When (and if), you paint a picture, it is what things look like to you that you die to-morrow, the earth would move on exactly as if he were not there. He points (or did tell you) from the objective standpoint, and his centre of perspective is a point in mid-air. Thus he can paint what is there, and not merely what he can see at one glance. Then there followed a most interesting description of Chinese burial customs, of course, from the point of view of the collector. When the soul leaves the body, it is either in a condition of extreme debility or suffering from violent shock—in either case, its weak memory much further weakens. Therefore, reminders of its past pomp and circumstance were buried along with the body. A man's flocks and herds and servants and wives were buried alive with him—a most expensive business. Later, undertakers became more economical—only the older animals and time expired or partly-used wives were interred. Liter still, these were merely represented by figures in bronze or clay—the grave figures the collector—camels and mercenaries, dogs and horses and dancing girls, or even a favourite wife.

A pea-shaped vase with parts of the base left ungiazed might look to you like. just a vase—but the Chinese mind would see and meditate upon the all-pervading yang and yin represented by the inter-turning fishes, that represent all the dualism possible in nature—male and female, wet and dry, smooth and rough, light and dark, perfection and imperfection.