Brief introduction of Taoist painting

Taoist painting is the most important category in Taoist art, which can be generally divided into three categories according to different themes and contents. The first category is pictures related to Taoist rituals, such as immortal axes for sacrifice, murals for decoration, imaginary pictures and practice pictures for practice. These are more rigorous; The second category is literati paintings based on Taoist beliefs, which are created and imagined by literati; The third category is the works of Taoist painters, whose contents are not necessarily related to Taoist beliefs.

The setting of Taoist murals in the catalogue is in harmony with Taoist architecture. On the one hand, it has the function of decoration, on the other hand, it also has the significance of faith. The statues and murals in the temple are equally solemn and sacred, and they are combined with each other in the design of the temple. Murals not only create an extension of vision, but also construct an extension of sacred space. The paintings of the Yuan Dynasty painted on the east and west walls of Sanqing Hall show the characteristics of Taoist murals in particular. In addition, murals are precious records of Taoist immortal genealogy in past dynasties. The different priorities, status and costumes of gods in murals can explain the changes of spectrum in different periods and sects.

The portraits enshrined in the Throne Dojo are called Throne Statues (Throne Painting, Throne Frame). Because the Huang Zhi Dojo of Taoism is quite similar to the amphibious Dojo of Buddhism, people also call it amphibious Dojo, and the icon of Huang Zhi is also called amphibious painting. The scale of Buddhist and Taoist land and water dharma meetings is quite grand, ranging from dozens of land and water paintings to one or two hundred. Although there are some differences between the main gods, protectors and land and water paintings in Buddhist paintings, that is, Buddhism paints Buddha, Bodhisattva, King of Ming, Wei Tuo, Ten Disciples, Lohan, Loyalty, Land and Water Origin, while Taoism paints Sanqing, Four Heavenly Kings, Three Officials, Marshal, Tianshi, Shi Tian, Real People, etc., but other than that, they all paint the gods of stars, mountains and rivers. At the same time, under the negotiation of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, Taoist immortals, buddhas and bodhisattvas and Confucian sages gathered together in the landscape paintings of Buddhism and Taoism.

Describing Taoist immortals and stories is the traditional theme of China literati painting. There are Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Sengyou in the Southern Dynasties, Yan in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Daozi, Liang Lingzan, Zhou Fang and Huang Lu in the Five Dynasties, Li in the Song Dynasty, Wu Zongyuan, Yan Hui, Zhao Mengfu, Wang Meng, Liu Guandao and Ni Zan in the Yuan Dynasty.

Traditional culture thinks that the calligraphy and painting of Qin and Qi can relax and cultivate one's morality, so Taoist priests have been engaged in painting in their spare time. Among them, Tao Hongjing, Zhang, Li Derou, Huang, Ni Zan, Zhang Yu, Fang and Zhu Da (Badashanren) are all famous artists in the history of painting. The material of Taoist paintings is similar to that of ordinary literati paintings, and the content is not necessarily based on Taoist beliefs or thoughts.