Introduction to modern Chinese painting?

Basic painting methods of flower-and-bird painting in Chinese painting

Observing and studying flowers and painting flowers, in addition to watching and copying ancient and modern famous paintings, we should also watch and sketch actual flowers in depth to understand the decline and glory of flowers and their modality in frost and rain. This paper briefly describes the structure and ecology of flowers from two aspects: leaves and branches.

(a) flowers: flowers are often the theme of the picture. Flowers generally include petals, stamens, pedicels and other parts. Petals are divided into single petals and double petals (compound petals). Flowers are different in shape. Peony and wild rose are double petals, pear and kapok are single petals, morning glory and lily are single petals, and most flowers have different varieties of single petals and double petals. The length of stamens is different. Monoecious flowers, large stamens and small stamens are all together, and dioecious flowers have only small stamens or only large stamens. Some stamens are obvious, others are hidden, which need careful observation. Calyx also varies with the types of flowers, such as plum blossom and peach blossom, plum blossom and begonia grow on a long handle, and roses and roses have long calyx tips and camellias.

(2) Leaves: When monocotyledons grow leaves from branches or stems, the leaf sequence is opposite and alternate, and so on. Some compound leaf plants are pinnate, palmately bird-footed, and some have double leaves, which are more complex in shape. We must understand the law of growth first, so as not to make mistakes in complexity. Leaves have petioles and veins, and their shapes have different size ratios, such as the length of a pointed circle.

(3) Stems and branches: they can be divided into woody herbs, vines and vines. The branches of wood are quite hard, some are quite thick, and the stems of herbs are mostly tender, some become right-handed or left-handed, and some have whisker-like climbing stems.

Flower sketch

All kinds of flowers are fresh and full of vitality in the morning or morning, which is a good time to sketch. Sketching is to collect materials for creation. If it is for the needs of meticulous painting, it must be described in detail. Sometimes we need multiple flowers to gather together on the screen. When sketching and collecting materials, there must be four sides: positive, negative, lateral and oblique. There are complete flowers and some flowers covered by branches and leaves, both small buds and large buds that can bloom. The same is true for leaves. Besides mature leaves, there should also be tender leaves and buds, and attention should be paid to the back of yin and yang, and the size should be interspersed. Branches should also be divided into branches and branches, as well as the posture and density in the picture. These are the first problems that we should pay attention to when collecting materials for the purpose of sketching.

Although flower-and-bird painting does not usually have a stable perspective like landscape painting, we can use the method of moving the perspective to sketch from the most beautiful angle, paying attention to the proportion of flowers, branches and leaves. Painting flowers can start from the petals of stamens. Usually draw the most complete and front petals first, and then extend around. If the petals are too complicated, you can summarize them and pay attention to their beautiful shape. The same is true of painting leaves. Besides paying attention to leaf order and structure, we should also pay attention to the changes of leaf back, leaf longitudinal direction, leaf back and leaf density, as well as the changes of front and rear leaves. Finally, we should draw branches, and when we do it vigorously, we should draw skin lines, such as the plum blossom should be young and old, the skin lines should be inclined, the small stems should be tall and strong, the dried peach skin should be horizontal, and the loose dried skin should have scales.

The sketch of flowers should start with folding flowers, take an easy-to-draw mosaic and insert it in a vase for detailed observation. The covered stamens can also study the detailed structure separately. After you are familiar with simple branches, you can choose a corner of the whole flower to try, or sketch the whole flower. Because the branches and leaves are more complicated, we must choose a suitable angle and make substantial cutting or adjustment. In short, flower sketch is not an illustration or illustration of plants, but a subjective choice and beautification, emphasizing the expression of interest.

Watch birds

Birds, also known as "feathers" in Chinese painting, can be divided into waterfowl and mountain bird. According to living habits, it can be divided into wading birds, swimming birds, raptors, climbing birds, songbirds and pheasants. Their characteristics and habits are as follows:

(1) wading birds: live in shallow water and prey on fish and shrimp. Their mouths, necks and feet are very long. Such as cranes, storks and egrets.

(2) Birds: They like to swim in the water, with a flat mouth, short feet and webbed toes, and prey on fish, shrimp and insects. Such as seagulls, wild ducks, mandarin ducks, geese, albatrosses, etc.

(3) Raptor: It has powerful wings, hooked mouth, tiptoe and fierce temperament, and specializes in preying on small animals. Such as eagle, vulture, osprey, falcon, etc.

(4) Climbing birds: Most of them have a hook-shaped upper mouth and a short lower mouth, and their toes are in front and behind, so they can be caught on the trunk when climbing. Such as parrots, woodpeckers, etc.

(5) Songbirds: Like singing, most birds belong to this category.

For example, Wei, Ying, Huamei, Shrike, oriole, starling and so on.

(6) Pheasant: It belongs to terrestrial birds, with large body, beautiful fur, long tail and similar mouth shape to chicken, and mostly grows in the bushes in the mountains. For example, pheasant, golden pheasant, long-tailed pheasant, peacock and so on. Birds are oviparous, so the body (excluding the head, neck, feet, tail and other parts) is egg-shaped. Due to the different living environment and habits, its mouth, feet, wings and tail also have different proportions. Generally speaking, most waterfowl (wading birds and swimming birds) have long mouths and short tails, while most mountain birds (songbirds, climbing birds and pheasants) have short mouths and extremely long tails. Those with hooked mouths eat meat, those with slender mouths eat insects, those with long mouths eat bear shrimp, and those with thick mouths eat shells. Most birds that can fly far away have long wings and are relatively developed, and there are many long necks among waterfowl, which can attack and peck fish quickly. In addition, the color and position of head type and eye essence are different, so we should also grasp their uniqueness.

Birds have feathers all over their bodies, and fine cotton feathers have the function of heat preservation. In addition, there are semi-cotton feathers, and many senses with unclear shapes and many layers are stacked into a large area. The other is the clear shape of feathers, such as the feathers of wings and tails, which have detailed names. We should carefully observe the shape of feathers in different parts and their overlapping relationship, so as to be familiar with the organization and order of bird feathers.

In addition, we need to know the sex of birds. Most birds and animals are male, very beautiful, and a few have the same feathers, but the female is always slightly smaller than the male, and the wings and tails of birds are opposite. The female's right wing and tail are on it, and the male's left wing and left tail feather are on it. Birds' joy, anger, sadness and surprise are also different in their wings, tails and postures.

Bird sketch

Birds are not only complicated in structure, but also lively and active. Sketching directly from real birds is a great challenge for beginners. First, we might as well draw some bird specimens. The advantage of drawing specimens is that you can observe the details in detail from all angles, and even the number of important feathers can be counted clearly, especially the meticulous feathers. It is very helpful to observe the specimens. But the disadvantage of painting specimens is that it is easy to draw dynamic, rigid and even distorted works. Although the specimen is peeled off from a real bird, it is easy to be deformed by artificial cotton stuffing in the body, and the bird's eyes will not change according to different types. Uniform artificial substitutes are usually installed. Open wings and feet are supported by wires to keep weight and shape. In the past, due to the producer's lack of observation and skills, the joints were distorted, stiff and straight, or the center of gravity was unstable and the feathers were messy. After beginners understand these most likely symptoms, they may wish to compare bird reference books and pictures, or go to bird shops, zoos or even the wild to observe them. They can use the camera function to freeze the instantaneous movements as an auxiliary reference for sketching.

After observing bird specimens, you can try to sketch caged birds. It's best to go to a bird shop to buy a kind of bird that is familiar and tame at ordinary times. It is best that the price is not too high, which is easy to be used by the breeder as a sketch object. First of all, we should observe its various movements, such as stepping on branches, pecking, finding feathers, wanting to rise, wanting to fall, singing, necking, flying and so on. And remember its characteristics. Before sketching, you may wish to observe carefully and find the most frequently repeated action or the longest lasting pattern as the choice of sketching. You may wish to sketch with a pencil or brush. When the bird's posture changes, it might as well be repaired according to memory, or wait for it to show the same dynamic, and then master it quickly. If you need to take time to make a detailed description, you need to draw patiently and finish it several times, and it is best to observe it often when creating, so that it is easy to capture the bird's posture.

The behavior of caged birds is slightly different from that of Qin birds in nature, just as the expressions and actions of people in prisons are different from those of free people outside. In order to show the natural interest of "good birds are friends" and understand the living environment and rest state of each bird, it is best to conduct field observation in the wild in the mountains and watch birds with binoculars. Every bird has different habits and postures. For example, swallows and pigeons don't stand on branches, cranes and cranes sleep on one foot, and the dynamics of crows and magpies are absolutely different. If you don't observe carefully, the old part conforms to the material state, physics and material feeling. In addition, when birds stay or fly, their heads will face the wind, and if they face the wind, their feathers will tilt up, which should also be noted.

When sketching, you can draw the main shape of the bird (egg shape) first, and then add the head (also roughly egg shape) according to the dynamics of the head (such as extending the head, necking, twisting, etc.). ), then add wings, tail and feet. Paws need to step firmly on the flat ground and hold on to the branches tightly. If the neck is not completely contracted, the foot will be stretched, and if the foot is contracted, the neck will be stretched. Both cannot be stretched at the same time. The most important thing is that the body should have a center of gravity and the shape should be lively in order to show vitality.

sketch

Sketch painting refers to the painting method of drawing objects with ink lines without coloring. There is also a simple way to draw figures, animals and animals, such as two earliest silk paintings unearthed from Chu tombs in the Warring States period, which are expressed in a simple way. China called it "white painting" in ancient times, and Li was the representative of this method in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Mainly line drawing, light ink can also be rendered. When drawing lines, we should combine the characteristics of pen and ink with the form, and the brushwork turns abruptly. The thickness and lightness of lines are based on the texture or characteristics of the objects. For example, thin and light line-drawn petals are easy to show their softness; Drawing leaves and branches with thicker and thicker lines makes it easier to show their hard and thick texture; It is easier to show the fluffy and soft feeling of bird feathers when writing and collecting pens with slightly dry and empty thin lines.

Chinese painting is the eloquence of lines, especially line drawing. The quality of lines is the main key to the success or failure of a painting. It is advisable to take the center as the main pen, the pressure and speed of the pen should be uniform, and the lines drawn should have the effect of "soft outside and rigid inside", and the strength should be included and not exposed; Lack of pen and ink is not durable. Too many sharp edges and exposed strength often show a domineering atmosphere, while fashion will reduce the beauty of some flowers and birds, so the lines drawn in white should be "just set in a beautiful place."

In addition, the speed of the pen should not be too fast or too slow. To mean "never look back", the wrist force must be sent to the head. When you start writing, you can't be careless. With regard to line drawing, according to the demonstration provided by Professor Wu Xuerang, there are three main lines. One is to start writing and stop writing (a calligraphy and painting), which is suitable for painting petioles, bamboo poles and so on. Secondly, it is suitable for painting Ye Jin, leaves and so on. The third is continuous arc painting, which is suitable for painting petals. The picture below is a partial demonstration of drawing birds. The order of drawing birds is to draw a long pen in the mouth first, then a pen in the upper jaw and a pen in the lower jaw, and then draw the eyes, eyes, forehead, back, wings, chest, abdomen, legs, claws and tail in turn. The middle of the fine wool line is lighter and thicker. If the strokes are too heavy, it is not easy to show the texture of feathers.

Double hook painting

Double-hook coloring painting is a painting method in which objects are depicted with line hooks and then colored. It is also called hook-le coloring method or double-hook coloring method, which is formed by coloring on the basis of line drawing. Its origin is very early. This painting method has already appeared in the silk paintings unearthed from the Western Han Tomb in Mawangdui. Huang Quan, a painter of the Five Dynasties, is a representative painter of the double hook coloring method. His slender lines and rich colors are the mainstream of flower-and-bird painting in the Northern Song Dynasty. Xu Xi in the south of the Yangtze River also uses the double hook coloring method, but his style is wild, and he pays more attention to the fun of lines. Mo Yun, a later flower and bird painter, took Xu Xi as his pen and the grave as his method.

In the method of painting with double hooks, we should choose cooked paper (paper) or silk. After drawing with ink lines and double hooks, prepare two wool pens for rendering, one dipped in color and the other in water. You should practice holding two pens in one hand and be able to exchange them flexibly. The color should be light when mixing colors, and it should be dyed several times. The color of the inside (or center) of flowers and leaves should be pushed to the edge with a clear water pen, and the water content of the clear water pen should be appropriate. If there is too much water, there will be traces. If it is too dry, it will not be rendered. After rendering, if the original ink line is blurred, it can be repeatedly checked with heavy colors, which is called "le". At the same time, you can also dye from the back of drawing paper to make the mosaic color of the picture more dense and uniform. There are three ways to shade flowers:

(1) Dye first: dye the flowers with the lightest color base (i.e. flat coating as the base), and then dye other colors. Usually white, pink and light yellow flowers are dyed with white foundation first, and then with light green, magenta, gamboge and other colors. Leaves can be dyed with grass green background first, and then dyed with blue flowers.

(2) Dye first: purplish red or crimson flowers can be dyed red from the inside out with cyanine (or light ink) first, and leaves can also be dyed with cyanine (or light ink) first and then grass green.

(3) Dyeing method: For example, the petals of pink lotus with red tip and slightly green root can be dyed with white powder first and then magenta from the tip inward, and then dyed light green from the inside out immediately, and added before the water is dry. Broken leaves damaged by local insects can also be dyed by grafting.

Birds are collected in a slightly different way. The picture below shows Professor Wu Xuerang's demonstration. First draw lines, then dye them with light ink, then dye them for the second time, draw them for the third time after drying, then comb them for the fourth time, and then comb the feathers (or animals) for the fifth time. In order to emphasize the softness and delicacy of feathers, the principle of feather carding is to use a dark comb for light feathers.

Boneless painting

Boneless painting is a method of drawing objects directly with colors without ink lines. "Boneless Picture" is said to have been written by Xu Chongsi in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there are few painters since then. Cloud in the early Qing Dynasty was a master of reviving this painting, which had a great influence on modern times.

Boneless painting is also more suitable with cooked paper. Because there is no ink line, the relationship between the front and rear leaves or petals is bent with a blank "waterline", which has the taste of white as black. Boneless painting can also be subdivided into several forms:

The first method is more detailed, such as double hook coloring method, which only omits the ink lines of double hooks and adds dyes layer by layer.

The second painting method is a little looser than the freehand brushwork, and it is directly colored and completed at one time. The third painting method is trimming and coloring first, then dyeing the parts with other similar colors, and then drying. Similar broken ink, because of the use of cooked paper, has a semi-fusion effect or a slightly mottled color change.

Generally speaking, line drawing, double hook color painting and boneless painting machine all belong to the category of meticulous painting, so attention should be paid to their completeness in form and clarity in structure. Beginners can draw a sketch of the same size before painting, and put it under the drawing paper, so that the composition and modeling have a basis, and they can focus on the interest of color and brushwork. No matter which hairstyle is used to draw flowers and leaves, the color should change in depth. You can also use the method of "dyeing once and dyeing again" to pursue more colorful changes, but the colors should not be too bright, and elegance is always the best. After dyeing, wait until it dries, then hook Ye Jin, silk flower or draw stamens to add details.

enjoyable

Freehand brushwork refers to expressing the mental state of the object with simple and summarized pen and ink, which is a painting method that does not seek the shape of god. According to the records in the history of painting, Wu Daozi's painting of Jialing River landscape or Wang Qia splash ink in the Tang Dynasty may have taken a freehand form. Among the paintings handed down from generation to generation, the ink bamboo of Su Shi and Wen Tong and the ink plum of stone can already be classified as freehand brushwork. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Wei had drawn a freehand brushwork on rice paper with bold pen and ink, as shown below, Xu Wei's Peony and Banana Stone Map. Badashanren, Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics and Stone Painting School have all expanded many fields for freehand flower-and-bird painting.

The freehand brushwork in flower-and-bird painting mostly adopts the technique of "point pile" or "point cluster", which can be subdivided into several methods, such as hook flower and leaf point method, small freehand brushwork method and large freehand brushwork method. Suitable for freehand brushwork with base paper, you can paint with ink alone or in several colors. The pen first contains a light color, and then it is darker than the nib. You can also use dark colors and then dip them in water. Each pen should have a change of depth, which is easy to blend with the original paper to produce different effects of dry, wet, thick and light.

The following sections are wisteria displayed by Professor Wu Xuerang with freehand brushwork. Draw with a double hook to understand its structure. Using freehand brushwork to express wisteria flowers, first dip the wool pen in white powder, the pen tip in blue flowers, and then dip it in magenta, and pile it up with the side front, that is, draw petals with shades and color changes. After the petals are filled, change to grass green to draw thin stems, point pedicels, and point stamens with yellow powder. In addition, we should also pay attention to the leaf structure, leaf order and vine threading method.

In short, although there is a so-called "meaning does not reach the pen", it doesn't matter whether the form is simple or the image is inaccurate. However, if you want to draw freehand brushwork well, you still need to make more efforts in meticulous brushwork and observation of sketching, so as to give full play to the characteristics of concise and expressive brushwork.

Basic techniques of animal painting in Chinese painting

Animals, also known as beasts, are difficult to express well in Chinese painting. Shaman Dehong of the Song Dynasty pointed out: "A painter can be a ghost, and those who make people stunned will eventually be expensive because of their abnormal shape and impermanence. Dogs, horses, cows and tigers are normal in shape, so it is difficult to work in the daytime, and the world sees it as expensive. " It can be seen that animals and animals have a normal form, that is, each animal has a certain size, proportion and dynamics. If you are not careful enough and observe carefully enough, you will easily become a laughing stock. Animals and beasts that are often painted include horses, cows, tigers, lions, deer, sheep, apes, cats, dogs, raccoons, rabbits, mules and dragons symbolizing power. Every animal has different characteristics and habits, so it is necessary to make detailed observation and sketch before painting.

Observation and sketch of animals and beasts

Ancient painters in China attached great importance to observation. For example, Yi Yuanji, a painter of the Northern Song Dynasty who is good at painting monkeys, used to wander between mountains and lakes and observe the movements of wild animals, so his paintings of wild animals are very interesting. Every time Li passes by the thatched cottage and sees the royal horse inside, he will observe it all day and have no time to talk with the guests, so he can draw the characteristics of a horse. Huang Valley praised in his poem: "Our bones are fleshy during the day, and his writing is like a broken bamboo." According to legend, the famous horse painter in Yuan Dynasty once learned from Zhuang that "the horse rolls the dust". His mother, Guan Furen, peeped through the window and saw a horse rolling up dust. Therefore, Zhao Yong can acquire his temperament by riding a horse. It can be seen that the high achievers in ancient times attached great importance to observation and even imitated their movements in person in order to vividly express the characteristics and interests of animals and beasts.

In Su Dongpo's inscription, it is mentioned that Du, a collector in Shu, exposed his paintings and calligraphy one day. A shepherd boy saw the bullfighting painting worn by one of the axes, Dai Song, clapped his hands and laughed, saying, "This painting is also a bullfighting, with the bullfighting power in one corner and the tail between the two strands. It's a fight now, ridiculous. " "The shepherd boy often lives with the cow and finds that when the cow fights, the oxtail is tightly sandwiched between two stocks. However, the observation of Dai Song, a famous cattle painter in the Tang Dynasty, was not thoughtful enough, which led to mistakes, and it is worth learning from.

Chinese painting has always advocated "both form and spirit, vivid with form", and painting animals and beasts is no exception. Only by careful observation and mastery of manner can the painting be vivid. Although animals also have five senses and limbs, their ability to express feelings is not as rich as that of humans. However, we can't ignore their delicate dynamics and expressions. Every animal has its own unique way of expressing emotion. In addition, animals also have many special habits and dynamics, such as deer, tigers and other ears can turn in all directions at will, like a listener, can detect the slightest sound; The pupils of cats, tigers and other eyes can be opened and closed sensitively with the change of natural light, just like the aperture principle of cameras; An animal's tail has a balancing function and can adjust various postures. Attention should be paid to these characteristics.

Painting cats shows the characteristics of agility, while tigers belonging to the cat family show the sense of majesty and bravery; When you draw a donkey, you should draw a silly and funny taste. A horse belonging to the dental department must have a heroic character during the day. Before you start a day's work, you must study the character of each animal.

When sketching, you should know something about animal anatomy, at least observe the relationship between its bones and muscles. The ancients often said that it is difficult to draw bones from tiger skin, which means that ordinary people often over-describe the beauty of tiger skin and ignore the importance of its bones and muscles in showing tiger strength.

Sketch is a necessary means to accumulate creative materials and capture vivid images. But it is a method of combining observation with dictation, drawing vivid images instead of reading them one by one. For animals and animals that are dynamic during the day, we should master the attitude, especially pay attention to the moment when they transition from one dynamic to another. Only a few strokes are needed to accurately show the characteristics of animals and animals, and its dynamic trend depends on the comparison and combination of lines in different directions. Taking the sketch of Professor Liang, who is good at animal painting, as an example, and the monkey picture book in ink painting, we can find that it is very helpful to observe and sketch frequently.

Freehand brushwork in heaven

The freehand brushwork of painting animals and animals can be seen in brick paintings in Han Dynasty and Wei and Jin Dynasties. There were Zen tigers in Shi Ke's paintings in the Five Dynasties, but it was not until the Ming Dynasty that freehand brushwork became more popular. For example, there are animals in Shen Zhou's sketch book, and Guo Xu's "The Cow's Back Flute" has vivid changes in dry and wet shades, and it is full of fun to sweep out the cow's hair with a broken pen and dry ink. Modern animal painters mostly express themselves in freehand brushwork, such as Xu Beihong's "Two Horses", which combines the concept of light and shade of western painting with the correct knowledge of anatomy and shows the spirit of unrestrained galloping. Lin Yushan's tiger shows fierce and majestic momentum, and Qi Baishi and Li Keran's cattle all have unique personalities.

Freehand brushwork expresses rich content with concise pen and ink, which can arouse the imagination and appeal of the viewer. Therefore, in freehand brushwork, details should be simplified or omitted, such as cumbersome light and shade. Eyes are vivid places that can be exaggerated. As for the arrangement of scenery, it must be arranged according to the different habits and living environment of various animals. For example, animals that grow in tropical areas are not suitable for plants in cold areas. Animals, such as cattle and horses, can be left blank without setting off the scenery, or some grass can be dyed on the ground, such as Xu Beihong's horse, so that viewers can associate freely.

The freehand brushwork of the tiger: firstly, the tiger was painted with light ink, and the tiger body was painted with ochre and gamboge, and then the white powder on the mouth and chest was dyed with slightly thick ink, and the ochre was dyed for the second time. After the thin ink breaks the fine hair of the front silk, it is demonstrated that the eyes and ears are painted with thick ink and the stripes are hooked again. The second time, it was dyed with white powder and thick ink, and the white powder was used to draw the beard. Finally, the scenery is finished. Almost all paintings are done at the same time, and the layers are aggravated.

The main types of traditional paintings in China. In ancient times, Chinese painting did not have a clear name, and it was generally called Danqing, which mainly refers to scroll painting painted on silk and paper and mounted. Known as Chinese painting in modern times, it is different from foreign paintings such as oil paintings (also known as western paintings) imported from the west. It is a painting created by China's unique pen and ink and pigments according to the long-term expression and artistic law. Chinese painting can be subdivided into ink painting, heavy color, light crimson, meticulous painting, freehand brushwork and line drawing according to its materials and expression methods. According to their themes, there are figure paintings, landscape paintings and flower-and-bird paintings. There are various forms of Chinese painting, such as long scrolls (also known as hand scrolls) and horizontal curtains, banners and nave, album pages and bucket squares, folding fans and round fans painted on fans. Chinese painting reflects the social consciousness and aesthetic taste of the Chinese nation in ideological content and artistic creation, and embodies China people's understanding of nature, society and politics, philosophy, religion, morality, literature and art related to it.

Ethnicity

Chinese painting has a long history. As early as 2000 years ago, silk paintings appeared in the Warring States period, before which there were primitive rock paintings and painted pottery paintings. These early paintings laid the foundation for later Chinese paintings to take lines as the main modeling means. During the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the society changed rapidly from a stable unity to a split, and the impact and integration of foreign culture and local culture made painting mainly religious, while local historical figures and literary works took a certain proportion, and landscape painting and flower-and-bird painting also sprouted at this time. At the same time, consciously grasp painting in theory and put forward evaluation criteria. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, social economy and culture were highly prosperous, and painting also showed all-round prosperity. Landscape painting and flower-and-bird painting have matured, religious painting has reached its peak, and there has been a tendency of secularization; Portraits mainly show aristocratic life, with characters with characteristics of the times. By the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, it was more mature and prosperous, figure painting had turned to depicting secular life, religious painting had gradually declined, and landscape painting and flower-and-bird painting had become the mainstream of painting. The appearance of literati painting and its development in later generations greatly enriched the creative concept and expression method of Chinese painting. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, ink and wash landscapes and freehand brushwork of flowers and birds got outstanding development, and literati painting became the mainstream of Chinese painting, but its last stream went to imitation, which was farther and farther away from the times and life. Since the end of 19, western artistic expressions and artistic ideas have been introduced into Chinese painting for a hundred years, and many schools, famous artists and constant reforms and innovations have emerged in the cultural environment that inherits the traditional Chinese painting.

/kloc-After the 9th century, a large number of painters gathered in Shanghai, Beijing (including Tianjin), Guangzhou and other central cities with developed politics and economy (especially commerce and culture), that is, Jiangsu and Zhejiang painters with Shanghai as the center, such as Ren Yi, Xu Gu, Wu Changshuo, Huang, Liu Haisu, Pan Tianshou, Zhu Zhan, Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Lu and so on. Northern painters with Beijing as the center, such as Qi Baishi, Jin Cheng, Jin Cheng,,, Jiang, and Li Keran. A group of Lingnan painters with Guangzhou as the center, such as Gao, Chen, He Xiangning,,, and so on. With the changes of the situation and times, painters in the above areas have also migrated. For example, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, many painters came to the southwest. After 1949, many painters, such as Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi and Zhao Shaoang, moved abroad and Hong Kong and Taiwan. Today, most provinces and cities in China have established painting academies. In addition to the three centers, many new centers have emerged, and the number of painters has expanded unprecedentedly.

Among the modern painters in China, many painters inherit and adhere to the basic pattern of traditional painting. They either follow the principle of imitating and inheriting the techniques and demeanor of the previous generation of painters, or try to change while inheriting the tradition and form their own style while preserving and developing the tradition. The former includes Jincheng and Gu, while the latter is represented by Qi Baishi, Huang and Pan Tianshou.

Since the May 4th New Culture Movement, with the massive introduction of western art and the deepening of the anti-feudal struggle, the reform of Chinese painting has become a new trend of the times. Represented by Gao, Liu Haisu, Xu Beihong and Lin Fengmian who studied in Japan and Europe and America, he advocated the integration of realism of western art and creative ideas of modern western art with Chinese painting, found a new way of reform and innovation of Chinese painting, and made Chinese painting glow with new vitality. Among them, Gao and other Lingnan painters advocate compromise between China and foreign countries, integration of ancient and modern, and combine Japanese painting with traditional water-rushing, powder-bumping and boneless painting to create a new style with a strong sense of the times. Xu Beihong integrated the realistic techniques of western painting into traditional pen and ink, which enriched the expressive force of Chinese painting. Lin Fengmian harmonizes China and the West, absorbs the simplicity and vitality of folk art, and forms his own unique style with far-reaching artistic conception and novel form. In addition, Chen Zhifo integrated the colors of Chinese and foreign decorative arts into the creation of meticulous flower-and-bird painting, and Zhang Daqian borrowed some techniques of western abstract expressionism to create splash-ink painting; Inspired by western paintings, Li Keran directly sketched and created scenes. Wu Guanzhong used the tools and materials of Chinese painting to express the traditional poetry and realm of Chinese painting with the forms and concepts of western modern art, and made important achievements.

With the changes of the times, Chinese painting has changed from the aristocratic art of literati and nobles to the "people's art", from the ivory tower in the past to a crossroads. Chinese painting has undergone profound changes in theme and content. Painters turned their attention to social reality and created a large number of outstanding works with the characteristics of the times.

In the 1920s and 1930s, painters argued endlessly about the innovation and development of China's paintings. For example, Kang Youwei put forward the idea of "restoring ancient ways as innovation" and "combining Chinese and western styles as a new era"; Xu Beihong advocated that "those who are good at ancient laws should keep them, those who reject them should continue them, those who are not good should change them, those who are insufficient should increase them, and those who can take western paintings should be integrated"; Liu Haisu proposed to "develop the fine arts inherent in the East and study the elites of western art"; Lin Fengmian advocated "reconciling Chinese and Western arts and creating art of the times"; Chen Shiceng actively analyzed and answered the characteristics and significance of literati painting. Lin Shu, on the other hand, opposed innovation and called on people to despise "new foreign learning" and only take "ancient meaning as the Sect"; Jincheng, on the other hand, strongly advocated: "We should not forget the method of spreading sage and knowledge, and inherit the old chapter." In the late 1940s and 1950s, there was a discussion about whether sketch could be used as the basis of Chinese painting modeling, and how to treat pen and ink skills and various new Chinese paintings. In the mid-1980s, in the rapidly changing social environment of reform, opening up and modernization, how to innovate Chinese painting to meet the aesthetic needs of the times was deeply discussed in theory and practice.

Modeling characteristics and expression methods

Chinese painting embodies the traditional philosophy and aesthetics of the Chinese nation in terms of observation and understanding, image shaping and expression techniques. In observing and understanding objective things, we adopt the method of seeing the big from the small and seeing the big from the small, and observe and understand objective things in activities, and even directly participate in things, rather than appearing locally or being limited to a fixed point. It permeates people's social consciousness, thus making painting have the cognitive function of "learning to paint after a thousand years of solitude" and the educational function of "warning the world with evil and showing the future with good". Even the purely natural objective objects such as mountains, rivers, flowers and birds are consciously linked with people's social consciousness and aesthetic taste in their observation, understanding and performance, and they express their feelings by taking advantage of the scenery, which embodies the concept of "harmony between man and nature" of China people. Chinese painting pays attention to conception, conception writing and image thinking, and the unity of subjective and objective artistic images. Modeling is not limited to superficial similarity, but emphasizes "beauty lies between similarity and difference" and "difference". Its image-building aims to convey the expression and emotion of the object and the painter's subjective feelings. Therefore, we can abandon those parts that are not essential or have little connection with image characteristics, and those parts that can reflect the five senses can be portrayed through exaggeration or even deformation.