Shang+China+Outline

I. Arts and Architecture of Shang China A. Bronze Making 1. Types of Bronze Casting a. Piece-mold Casting i. Technique mainly used by Chinese ii. Process of Piece-mold casting 1. A mold casting of what was to be made was created 2. Soft clay was pressed around the mold, inside and out 3. After the clay dried it was cut away from the mold and a reverse copy was made 4. The clay was fired like pottery and liquid bronze was poured into the mold created 5. Once bronze cooled the clay mold was taken  away, leaving the bronze piece iii. Once this technique was mastered it was used more and faster in order to mass produce the bronze b. Lost-wax casting i. Not used as much as piece-mold casting B. Silk Making 1. Process of Silk Making a. Threads and fibers were taken from the cocoons of silk worms b. The thread was taken and carefully woven into pieces of cloth c. Colorful dyes were added to the woven fabric 2. Facts on silk a. Silk making began a little before 2000 B.C.E.   b. Silk worms fed on the leaves of mulberry trees which    helped them make their thread c. Silk was traded to other people on a route called the silk   road d. Only nobles and royalty could afford robes of silk e. The secret of silk making was kept by the Chinese for   hundreds of years because silk was so valuable C. Religious Arts and Architecture 1. Religious Arts a. Bronze Items Made for Worship i. Pots ii. Vessels iii. Goblets iv. Jars v. Plaques vi. Dings 1. Pots usually with three legs 2. Held offerings of food for the gods, rituals, and burial services 3. Often they were decorated with images of animals 2. Religious Architecture a. Pagodas i. A temple or sacred building usually a pyramid like tower b. Grottos i. An artificial cavern like recess or structure b. Temples i. Built for their different religions, Buddhism, Lamaism, Islamism, and Taoism ii. Buddhist temples had murals, engraved tablets, Buddhist utensils, calligraphy, furnishings, and Buddhist  scriptures iii. Buddhist temples were believed to be sacred land that could purify souls