China traditional painting form

China's paintings in the past dynasties were all made on Xuan paper and silk with the traditional pen and ink of China. In order to distinguish oil painting, gouache, watercolor and other western paintings, they are collectively referred to as Chinese painting or Chinese painting for short. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, Chinese painting had a name called ink painting, and the latest trend was "transitional ink painting" or "contemporary ink painting". In order to distinguish them, the traditional painting method of Chinese painting "returns" to the paintings of past dynasties, which is called "Chinese painting". To put it simply: China painters who adhere to the aesthetic foundation of Chinese painting call their works Chinese paintings, while "Chinese painting reformers" who have studied the aesthetic foundation of western painting are called "traditional schools" and "traditional paintings", which are "contemporary schools" and "contemporary Chinese paintings". Even if contemporary China painters insist on the aesthetic basis of Chinese painting and use traditional painting techniques in their creation, aren't their works "contemporary Chinese painting"? It is neither fish nor fowl to say that "Chinese painting reformers" classify the works of contemporary China painters into traditional paintings, which is suspected of belittling others and raising themselves.

My friend upstairs said that Chinese painting includes:

Freehand brushwork: landscapes, flowers and birds, figures

Fine brushwork: flowers and birds, landscapes and figures

In fact, Chinese painting is not classified as freehand brushwork and meticulous painting. For example, there is no meticulous painting in landscapes. Even if the boundary painting is neat, the scenery is still freehand and not meticulous.

Painters in China have always regarded lines as a living element, while traditional paintings in China use the texture of various lines to express individual feelings, and express the verve, shape, space and appearance of objects by contrasting techniques such as length, thickness, straightness, Fiona Fang, wet and dry, shade, rigidity, strength, roughness, frustration, illness, slowness, density, reality and obscurity. The application of lines has always been concerned by artists in China, which is also an important feature that distinguishes Chinese painting from other national painting forms.

Third, the virtuality of space.

China's traditional Taoist philosophy plays an important role in the development of traditional painting. Lao Zi's profound insight into the essential law of beauty has been practiced by artists of all ages. Taoist thought holds that everything in the world is born of "being". Being is born of nothing, the beginning of doing nothing, and being is the mother of all things. Reflected in China's traditional painting, it is reflected in the use of blank space. Blank is one of the main features of China's traditional painting. For example, the Four Gentlemen's Picture painted by China for thousands of years combines the flowers and trees of different times, such as plums blooming in winter and spring, chrysanthemums blooming in autumn, the most lush bamboo in summer, and its background is treated with emptiness beyond time and space, showing infinite time and space. This virtual technique of substituting the virtual for the real makes the picture more concise and the main image more vivid and prominent. It not only gives the painter more freedom, but also leaves enough imagination space for the viewer. Guide the viewer and the author to enter the realm of god and things together.

Fourth, the stylization of objects and images.

The program of China's traditional painting is a set of relatively stable and standardized artistic language, which was extracted from nature by painters of past dynasties and refined through artistic summary. It can express thoughts and feelings and form a unique artistic style. The stylization of China's traditional painting images can be said to be the crystallization of tempering wisdom. For example, in the process of expressing natural scenery, ancient painters summed up the expression techniques of rocks and trees, making them the characteristic language of the school. This stylization and certain decorative significance, like the rhythm of poetry, play an important role in the artistic conception of the combination of China's landscape painting and poetry. The emergence and maturity of the stylization of China's traditional painting images were developed with the efforts of painters of past dynasties. This is because people have different personalities, interests and accomplishments. There are many differences in application. Some people are not satisfied with the current program. If they change it, they will create a new expression program. In the process of continuous development, the old procedures have been replaced and become historical relics; The new program will accept or change people's innovation in the future. Therefore, the program is not static, so is Chinese painting, which develops alternately. For example, the stylization of traditional landscape painting came into being in the early Jin and Wei Dynasties and after the rapid maturity of the Five Dynasties, and various techniques emerged one after another. The stippling method initiated by Hao Jing was inherited and developed by Guan Tong and Fan Kuan, and formed a powerful northern painting school. At the same time, the ink and wash landscape painting styles of Dong Yuan and Ju Ran in the south have also formed the stylization of traditional painting in China, with their own aesthetic values. We must master its basic laws. Only by deeply studying the traditional scheme can we discover the characteristics and essence of China's traditional painting.

Fifth, the image of the subject.

The word "image" expresses the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity in artistic creation. It refers to the "meaning" expressed when objective things act on people's subjective spirit, and it is realized in the created "image", that is, works of art, which is the essence of artistic creation, including realistic figurative art. However, there are great differences between China traditional painting and western traditional painting: artists of China traditional painting attach great importance to understanding foreign objects, advocate emotional charm and artistic conception, and advocate "thinking with images" and "freehand brushwork with images". Therefore, in terms of aesthetic orientation, they believe that "seeking similarity in painting, looking for it in children's eyes" and pursuing "between similarity and dissimilarity" will inevitably lead to image deformation, which will follow the spirit. This is reflected in China's traditional figure painting and landscape painting.

In the aspect of figure painting, Shi Ke's "Two Ancestors' Mind-Adjusting Diagram" in the Five Dynasties and Liang Kai's "Ink-splashing Immortal" in the Southern Dynasties are typical. From the picture, these Buddhist and Taoist figures are addicted to the realm of reality and illusion. The author seems to have been driven by fleeting inspiration and quickly captured this image, so the pen and ink are quick, concise and lively. Modeling is also between "similarity and dissimilarity", meaning is enough. This style, later called "pen reduction", is today's ink freehand brushwork.

China's traditional painting is to integrate the author's feelings, intentions and interests into the lifeless landscape. Song Huizong's exquisite elegance, artificially depicting traces, reveals the beauty of the royal family; Su Dongpo painted rocks and dead trees at will, precisely because of his complacent mentality. Badashanren's stubborn stone is in jeopardy, which cannot be said to have nothing to do with his inner depression and nothingness; Qi Baishi extracted the characteristics of cattle from a special angle, a circle and several lines. Westerners can regard it as a symbol, while China people regard it as a kind of enjoyable interest.

To sum up, the five characteristics of China's traditional painting image and modeling reflect the unique aesthetic concept and cultural characteristics. It constitutes its uniqueness and charm, enriches the world art treasure house, and is worth learning, absorbing and developing.