| In most figure paintings in China, it is relatively rare to
see men and women juxtaposed so closely in a private interior
setting.
Judging from the physical proximity, demeanor and facial expressions of the individuals in the detail below, what kind of event or situation do you think the artist was trying to portray? Are the individual personalities evident, and how does the artist communicate them? Through details of clothing and hairstyle? Behavior? Body language? What does this detail tell us about the way people of the elite class entertained? |
| In the details below and elsewhere on this page, how would you characterize the differences in physical demeanor of men and women as they communicate with others? Do the men have a more uniform appearance throughout the painting, and what might account for this? |
| Is there a difference in appearance among individual women in the painting? Do the musicians below seem to have a different mode of dress or hairstyle than other female companions? |
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| Does the setting in this scene imply anything about the type of interaction or what might be communicated between these individuals? |
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| Judging from manner of dress and level of participation in the activity depicted below, what differences can you discern in social status among the men in this scene? |
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| Compare the female figures in the details below. What do their postures and body language communicate about their attitude toward their surroundings or the people they are interacting with? | |
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