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Xian Art Category
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Country: China
Population: 2,670,000
Province: Shaanxi
Land Area: 9,983 km²
Elevation: 405 meters
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Painting 
Sculpture 
Photography 
Abstract Arts 
Figurative Arts 
Architecture  |
The two Chinese characters in the name "Xi'an" literally mean Western Peace. The local Xi'anese pronunciation of Xi'an is almost the same as the Standard Mandarin pronunciation in Hanyu Pinyin. This name derives from the period of the Ming Dynasty when the city's name changed from its former title of "Chang'an". In fact, the naming conventions used for the city have often changed throughout time. The city was named Fenghao (丰镐) in the Zhou (周) Dynasty beginning around 1046 BC. It was renamed Chang'an (长安) during the Han (汉) Dynasty in 206 AD. It was then renamed as Daxing (大兴) during the Sui (隋) Dynasty in 581 AD, while it was again renamed Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty beginning in 618 AD. It was given other names in later periods as well, such as Fengyuan (奉元), then Anxi (安西), then Jingzhao (京兆) during the Yuan (元) Dynasty. Finally, it was named Xi'an in the year 1369 AD — the first time that it was called Xi'an — during the Ming Dynasty. It retained the name of Xi'an until 1928, until it was named Xijing (西京) in 1930. It was once again changed back to its Ming era name of Xi'an in the year 1943.
The number of poems that describe the beauty/stories of city in the history are countless
*Even trees by the road side in Chang'an are rich. Only willows whisper Goodbye. (in the past, willows were everywhere in the city)
*Nobody could answer my question at this time every year, I have to stay myself in Chang'an, weeping bitter tears over my lost youth
The drama of the original Xi'anese culture, Qinqiang (秦腔, Voice of Qin) is the oldest and most extensive Chinese Opera of the four major types of Chinese opera. It is also "random pluck"(乱弹), is the main type of drama in Shaanxi area and also the most ancient existing one in dramatic arts of the country. As the earliest ancestor of Beijing Opera, Yu Opera, Chuan Opera and Hebei Opera, it has formed its own system with unique vocal music, spoken parts, types of facial makeup, posture, role, category and acting.It can be traced to Xi Qinqiang (西秦腔, Voice of West Qin) in Qin Dynasty. It went on to blossom until Qing Dynasty, and influenced Jingju (京剧, Chinese Opera) directly.
The dialect of Xi'an, Shaanxi Hua, is strongly influenced by Standard Mandarin. However, it still retains a lot of grammar and pronunciation from the Classical Chinese.
Yisu She (易俗社) is one of the oldest Drama society in China. Today it is still vigorous.
Contemporary writers like Chen Zhongshi (陈忠实), Lu Yao (路遥), Jia Pingwa (贾平凹), who contributed greatly to Chinese literature, are also from Xi'an.
Seven styles of architecture predominate in urban Xi'an, the first three which include the architecture of Qin and Han Dynasties (秦汉风格), the architecture of Tang Dynasty (唐风) and at last the architecture of Ming and Qing Dynasties (明清风格). These three styles are all Chinese traditional, but they could be differed from the colors of the roof and certain details. For Qin and Han Style, the roof is black, and no decorations are used under the roof. For Tang style, people began to use a lot of the colour red but still prefer the black or dark green roof, and the buildings were all divine and huge to show off the power of the country; when the history went into Ming and Qing dynasties, roof's color changed to yellow, and people value tremendously on details, such as drawings and prints under the roof.
