Unit 8 Overview: South, East, and Southeast Asian Art, 300 BCE-1980 CE

Information taken from the AP Art History Course and Exam Description

In Unit 7, we learned about West and Central Asia, but now, we're going to move east to the areas that we haven't explored yet 🕵️; welcome to South, East, and Southeast Asia! 

In this unit, you'll learn about the influence of different religions and philosophies on people's beliefs and how this translates to their artworks 🖼️ We'll also learn more about cross-cultural interactions on the continent, and how this led to artistic syncretism (fusion of different cultures). 

So, without any further delay, let's start learning about the history and art of Unit 8.

Contextualization (AKA The Historical Religious Background) 🌏

For this unit, we're going to shake things up a little bit! Because so much of the art that we're going to review was made for religious purposes, it only makes sense to go over South, East, and Southeast Asia's religious history, instead of its general history. Below are brief descriptions of the six main religions of this unit, including when they originated, where they're practiced, and some (not all!) of the related art forms. 

Buddhism ☸️

• Founded by the Buddha (AKA Siddhartha Gautama) in the 6th century BCE.
• Practiced in all of the nations covered in this unit in different forms (Theravada and Mahayana, including Zen)
• Neither monotheistic or polytheistic because its followers don't believe in a god-like figure.
• Related Art Forms: Stupas, Buddha statues, Mandalas, Raigo scenes (Buddha descending) associated with Pure Land Buddhism, the Zen rock garden, Zen ink painting

Hinduism 🕉️

• No founder, but first appeared sometime between 2300 BCE and 1500 BCE
• Practiced mainly in India 🇮🇳, but there is a visible Hindu community in Indonesia 🇮🇩
• Some consider Hinduism to be polytheistic or monotheistic, but it's actually neither (read this article to find out exactly why!)
• Related Art Forms: Images of Hindu Gods/Goddesses, Hindu Temple

Daoism ☯️

• Founded by Laozi in the 6th century BCE.
• Most of its followers live in China 🇨🇳 and Taiwan 🇹🇼, where it functions as both a religion and a philosophy.
• Some believe that Daoism should be considered polytheistic, but others argue that it doesn't fit the framework for either monotheistic or polytheistic religions.
• Related Art Forms: Nature scenes (such as Travelers Among Mountains and Streams)

Confucianism 👴🏻 👶🏽

• Founded by Confucius in 479 BCE.
• More of a system of thought and ethics than a religion.
• Confucianists mainly live in China, but the religion has influenced both cultural and religious practices in South Korea 🇰🇷 and Japan 🇯🇵
• Doesn't have a god or deity (god or goddess in a polytheistic religion), so it isn't considered monotheistic or polytheistic.
• Related Art Forms/Ideas: Paintings of Ancestors, Filial Piety, Ancestor Worship

Shintoism ⛩️

• Doesn't have a founder, since it is a religion based on indigenous (native) animist beliefs
• Almost exclusively practiced in Japan 🇯🇵
• Considered polytheistic because its followers believe in different kami (spirit or gods) that are found throughout nature
• Related Art Forms: Depictions of Gods and Goddesses

Christianity ⛪

• Started by Jesus Christ in the first century CE
• Brought to Asia by European explorers and missionaries during the Age of Imperialism; small communities of believers on the continent (mainly in 🇯🇵 and 🇰🇷)
• Monotheistic and considered to be one of the three major Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam)
• Related Art Forms: Depictions of God/Saints

Islam ☪️

• Founded by Muhammad in the seventh century CE in what is now Saudi Arabia
• Practiced mainly in India 🇮🇳 during the time of this unit, but now also followed in Indonesia 🇮🇩 and parts of China 🇨🇳 and Cambodia 🇰🇭
• Like Christianity, it is monotheistic and Abrahamic.
• Related Art Forms: Calligraphy

** Study Tip: It's important to note that a piece of art in this region is more likely to be influenced by different types of religious thought compared to the art of Europe. **

Now that you know a bit more about what's going to inspire so many works in this unit, let's get into the art!

Summary of the Works

Here is a summary of the works you need to know for this unit!

And that's it for Unit 8. Hopefully, this guide will come in handy as you go through the AP Art History course and prepare for the final exam. As a bit of motivation, there's only two more guides to go before the end of the course and you're almost there (woot woot 🎉)! Happy studying, art historians!