Chinese Art | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/chinese-art/RSS feed for Chinese ArtenFri, 13 Mar 2026 17:45:49 +0000Mei Lanfang Was Famous for His Masterful Performances as Female Leads. In the 1930s, He Introduced American Audiences to the World of Chinese Operahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/mei-lanfang-was-famous-for-his-masterful-performances-as-female-leads-in-the-1930s-he-introduced-american-audiences-to-the-world-of-chinese-opera-180988340/He is considered one of China’s greatest 20th-century opera performers, and his influence on the art form is still felt todayFri, 13 Mar 2026 17:45:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/mei-lanfang-was-famous-for-his-masterful-performances-as-female-leads-in-the-1930s-he-introduced-american-audiences-to-the-world-of-chinese-opera-180988340/Was Venice's Iconic Winged Lion of St. Mark's Square Made in Ancient China?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/was-venices-iconic-winged-lion-of-st-marks-square-made-in-ancient-china-180987302/New research suggests that the famous bronze statue may have originally guarded a Chinese tomb before arriving in Venice in the late 13th centuryThu, 11 Sep 2025 14:30:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/was-venices-iconic-winged-lion-of-st-marks-square-made-in-ancient-china-180987302/These Scientists Say They've Identified the Oldest Known Star Chart in the Worldhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-scientists-say-theyve-identified-the-oldest-known-star-chart-in-the-world-180986651/A new preprint suggests that an ancient Chinese star catalog dates to 355 B.C.E. But other researchers aren't convinced, arguing that the original coordinates are misaligned by one degreeWed, 21 May 2025 14:56:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-scientists-say-theyve-identified-the-oldest-known-star-chart-in-the-world-180986651/Ancient Chinese Poems Reveal the Decline of a Critically Endangered Porpoise Over 1,400 Yearshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-chinese-poems-reveal-the-decline-of-a-critically-endangered-porpoise-over-1400-years-180986570/Researchers looked at poetry dating as far back as the Tang dynasty to find that the Yangtze finless porpoise’s range has decreased by 65 percentTue, 06 May 2025 20:01:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-chinese-poems-reveal-the-decline-of-a-critically-endangered-porpoise-over-1400-years-180986570/A New Study Finds That Domestic Cats Traveled the Silk Road to China About 1,400 Years Agohttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-study-finds-that-domestic-cats-traveled-the-silk-road-to-china-about-1400-years-ago-180986206/The animals were likely gifted to some elites, then spread throughout the regionTue, 11 Mar 2025 18:56:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-study-finds-that-domestic-cats-traveled-the-silk-road-to-china-about-1400-years-ago-180986206/Archaeologists Discover Rare Clay Commander Among Thousands of Life-Size Terra-Cotta Soldiers in Chinahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-rare-clay-commander-among-thousands-of-life-size-terra-cotta-soldiers-in-china-180985747/The 2,000-year-old military general figurine is the tenth of its kind to be excavated from the emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb, which may hold up to 8,000 clay statuesTue, 31 Dec 2024 20:49:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-rare-clay-commander-among-thousands-of-life-size-terra-cotta-soldiers-in-china-180985747/This Ancient Chinese Couple Was Buried in a Miniature Homehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-chinese-couple-was-buried-in-a-miniature-home-180984416/The tomb, composed of two chambers connected by a tiny door and windows, was found in a family gravesite on China's east coast containing four other burialsFri, 24 May 2024 16:52:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-chinese-couple-was-buried-in-a-miniature-home-180984416/Why Is Chinese Art Full of Dragons, Phoenixes and Tigers?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-prolific-mythical-artwork-of-an-ancient-chinese-dynastys-lost-kingdoms-180984375/A new exhibition showcases stunning mythical artworks of the Zhou Dynasty's "lost" kingdomsFri, 17 May 2024 19:17:59 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-prolific-mythical-artwork-of-an-ancient-chinese-dynastys-lost-kingdoms-180984375/What You Need to Know About China's Terra-Cotta Warriors and the First Qin Emperorhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-you-need-know-about-chinas-terra-cotta-warriors-first-qin-emperor-30942673/The thousands of clay soldiers guarding Qin Shi Huang's tomb are enduring representations of the ruler’s legacyWed, 01 Jul 2009 03:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-you-need-know-about-chinas-terra-cotta-warriors-first-qin-emperor-30942673/Ai Weiwei's Latest Work Is a Monument to His Pasthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ai-weiwei-latest-work-monument-to-his-post-180983461/The groundbreaking, exiled Chinese artist builds a hopeful new life—and a new studio, in the Portuguese countrysideWed, 03 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/ai-weiwei-latest-work-monument-to-his-post-180983461/