Naturalism and cosmopolitanism are two art-historical concepts characterizing the Tang dynasty golden age of Chinese art: naturalism refers to the deliberate artistic pursuit of lifelike representation (believable proportions, movement, and gesture in figures and animals), while cosmopolitanism denotes cultural production shaped by extensive cross-cultural exchange, free from provincial or nationally limited perspective. These concepts belong to the domain of Chinese art history, situated within the broader framework of dynastic "power cycles," and relate to the parent discipline through the integration of Buddhism into Chinese visual culture and the tributary/dominant cultural relationships extending Tang influence to Korea and Japan.
Naturalism and cosmopolitanism are two art-historical concepts characterizing the Tang dynasty golden age of Chinese art: naturalism refers to the deliberate artistic pursuit of lifelike representati…