First phase of modernism in East Asia

1. Introduction

East Asia extends to Mongolia, mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and North and South Korea. East Asian art and culture are characterized by philosophical schools of thought and language systems such as Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Shamanism (Asian Art | Oxford Art).

It is worth noting that modernism in East Asia had a different starting point in different countries. For example, in China, the starting point of modernism can be considered China's defeat in the Second Opium War in 1860 (Meccarelli et al.). In 1861, Emperor Xianfeng admitted that Imperial China had to treat Europe (and Japan) on the basis of sovereign equality (Park). In Japan, modernism began around 1868 when Emperor Meiji was reinstated as head of Japan. At the time, Japan was a militarily weak country and was mainly agricultural with little technological development. The abolition of feudalism made enormous social and political changes possible. Millions of people were suddenly free to choose their profession and move around without restrictions (The Meiji Restoration and Modernization | Asia for Educators | Columbia University). In Korea, modernism was also the result of the major political, social, and cultural changes that took place during the nineteenth century. Culturally, there have been many exciting developments in all arts, including visual, literary, and performing arts (‘Korea, 1800–1900 A.D. | Chronology | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art’). One common thing that seems to exist in most Asian countries was their colonization by Europeans, although the arrival of Westphalia's rule authorities in East Asia was not a uniformly transformative "shock" as is usually assumed. The Sino-centric battalion did not suddenly disappear, rather it remained and evolved into a gradual and contested process of change (Park).

2.     China Arts

As far as the arts in China are concerned, its defeat in the Second Opium War in 1860 played an important role in the use of the camera and greatly influenced the art trade and the style of art produced. A schism developed among conservative artists who sought to preserve their legacy in the face of rapid Westernization and innovative artists. In particular, two styles appeared in painting: the Beijing School (or Beijing style) and the Shanghai School (or Shanghai style) (Meccarelli et al.), while Chinese art influenced many European artists who, fascinated by Chinese products, tried to recount what they saw in this mythical land during their visit (Yeung).

3.     Japan - Art

As far as the arts in Japan are concerned, the end of the feudal system meant the end of the old system of artistic patronage (‘The Art and Antiques of the Japanese Meiji Period’). The art of the Meiji period (1868-1912) was characterized by the division between European and traditional Japanese styles (Yockel). Styles such as Yoga and Nihonga appeared, while Japan's influence on the Western world led to Japaneseism.

4.     Korea - Art

As far as Korean art is concerned, during the Japanese invasion in the 1880s it suffered a huge blow. Art education institutes were closed, various famous works were destroyed or stolen, and traditional Korean art was replaced by Japanese themes and styles (Korean Art - Exploring Both Traditional and Modern Korean Art). In painting in particular, the chaqjori style became popular. Paintings that used this style depicted still life. They used three-dimensional effects, as well as reverse perspective, in which distant objects appear larger than those nearby, thus flattening the pictorial surface. These different elaborations of the spatial illusion led to compositions with an extremely graphic feel, enhanced by the decorative motifs on the depicted objects. Clearly, such still life images were not aimed at realism. In contrast, chaekgeori were seen as carriers of cultural values. They appeared more often in studios or schools and reflected respect for learning. These motifs expressed a variety of meanings. For example, eggplant represented the promise of a long life, while musical instruments symbolized harmony between people. They may also have served as amulets that ensured harmony inside and outside the house (Chaekgeori).

5.     Music in China

As for the music of the period in China, by the end of the nineteenth century, intellectuals had begun to travel abroad for new ideas, which led to the emergence of a new musical movement, "New Music," as they called it. The "New Music" movement combined Chinese music with Western music and reflected the new compositional techniques and musical idioms of the European styles of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Liu and Mason). It was also during this period that Cantonese opera developed, one of the most important categories of Chinese opera, originating in a provincial city in southern China (Guangdong). Like all versions of Chinese opera, it is a traditional Chinese art form, involving music, singing, martial arts, acrobatics and acting (Wikipedia contributors). At the same time, during this period many Western composers were inspired by Chinese art and wrote musical compositions, such as Mahler's "The Song of the Earth", which we will now hear performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Daniel Barenboim (Mahler Das Lied von Der Erde (Full)).

6.     Taiwan Music

As for music in Taiwan, after the Sino-Japanese War, Japan took control of Taiwan for fifty years. During these times, the people of Taiwan were educated under the Japanese system, which was based on Western models of education, and Western or Westernized Japanese music was an integral part of this system. Under the repression of Japanese imperialism, many Taiwanese musicians were arrested during their participation in resistance movements (The).

7.     Japan Music

As far as the music of the period of the first phase of modernism in Japan is concerned, it was during this period that a strong presence of Western classical music was established, which was considered a fundamental factor of modernization. This led to the establishment of various Western-style composition schools in Japan, the birth of a Japanese opera tradition, and the creation of foundations for the familiarization of official Japanese tradition with Western music. It is worth noting that the westernization of Japan was carried out not out of genuine love for it, but out of envy for the economic development of the West (Music of Meiji Japan – Music Politics). At the same time, many Western European composers, such as Debussy, were greatly influenced by Japanese art and began to compose musical works inspired by it, such as the work Goldfish that we will hear now ('Japonism').

8.     Korean Music

In Korea, during the chosŏn period, music was used to promote social harmony, which essentially helped reinforce social inequalities. The upper middle class preferred p'ungnyubang music, a form of traditional music. The term P'ungnyu was a key term in the culture of the period. It means "elegant taste". It defined the place in which it was performed (Jiyoung).

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