This presentation takes as its point of departure Pan Gongkai’s recent attempts to develop a new theory of the cultural specificity of Chinese brush-and-ink painting. It examines in detail his claim that the development of this medium is owing to the uniqueness of literati culture, but suggests that this culture, together with Chinese brush-and-ink, needs to be understood in terms of the Daoist worldview which forms its point of departure. Accordingly, Prof. Tanke argues that the chief differences between classical Chinese painting and classical Western painting are owing to fundamental assumptions about the nature of reality.

Speakers:

Joseph Tanke is Professor of Philosophy and Director of International Cultural Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa. He has published widely on topics in aesthetics, Continental philosophy, political philosophy, and the history of philosophy.

Kate A. Lingley is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research focuses on Buddhist votive sculpture of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, with a particular interest in the social history of religious art in medieval China. She is currently beginning work on a book manuscript on women in Buddhist communities of medieval China, as seen through the votive monuments they dedicated.

Co-Sponsors:

International Cultural Studies

Department of Philosophy

Department of Art & Art History