Cheng: How to understand the relationship between quality, emotion and reason in China's traditional painting?

In traditional Chinese painting, the relationship between literature and quality essentially refers to the relationship between the external form and the internal beauty of artistic works, that is, the relationship between content and form.

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The concept of literary quality has a long history. Confucius takes benevolence as the quality and propriety as the text. He thinks that a person's "quality is better than literature" is rude and vulgar, and "literature is better than quality" is flashy. Only when the quality is consistent, the inside and outside are unified, and he is gentle, he is a perfect gentleman. Confucius regards people's inner moral quality as "quality" and people's external performance in speech, behavior and decoration as "text".

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Liu Xie, a great literary theorist, thinks that "quality" is the internal essence of things, while the external perceptual form of things is "text". Liu Xie pointed out: the flow of water quality produces ripples; Trees can only bloom when they are full. It can be seen that literary talent depends on the intrinsic quality and is more important than literary talent. Others think that literary talent is literary talent and simplicity, which obviously narrows the meaning of literary talent.

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Confucius' thought of paying equal attention to both literature and quality and unifying literature and quality has far-reaching influence on the history of Chinese aesthetics and literary creation. China's literary theory and creative practice have always opposed the view that quality is more important than literature, and that quality is better than literature, and that both literature and literature are equally important, and literature is better than quality.

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The unity of the beauty of implication and form, and the unity of content and form has always been an important aesthetic standard to measure art.

It is precisely because China's aesthetic thought emphasizes the unity of literature and quality that China painters attach great importance to the improvement of their own self-cultivation, thinking that "painting is character" and "how can you paint high if your character is not high?"

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Ye Xie, an aesthetician in Qing Dynasty, especially emphasized the cultivation of aesthetic subject. He believes that the inner cultivation of artists includes four aspects: talent, knowledge, courage and strength. He thinks that these four things intersect and are indispensable. Without one, "you can't be an author." He also believes that "the four have no order" and "if you want to be ignorant of the prophet, then none of them can be trusted". "Without knowledge and courage, it is false, reckless and ignorant, and its words run counter to the truth. Ignorant talent, although the theory of vertical and horizontal, thinking extravagant, but not chaotic, black and white upside down, tiring. Ignorant and powerful, it will be stubborn and hypocritical, enough to mislead people and confuse the world, and it will do great harm. If you are in the SAO altar, you are all elegant sinners. " Ye Xie's "knowledge" is essentially knowledge, a world outlook and methodology. It is not difficult to see how comprehensive, profound and dialectical China's classical aesthetic thought is to the cultivation of artists.

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Literature and quality are interdependent and cannot be neglected, but they are complementary to each other, but they are not without dominant aspects. In the unity of literature and quality, quality is fundamental, literature is the product of quality, and literature serves quality. Liu Xie put it well: "The body is solid but the calyx vibrates, and the text is attached but qualitative." Although the calyx is beautiful, it depends on the ontology and is the product of the ontology. Only good quality and high quality can produce elegant and high-quality "literature". Because of this, China painters often say that "character comes first, painting comes second", painting is the reflection of character, and character is the basis of painting. Only by constantly improving their cultural literacy and artistic accomplishment can artists create good works worthy of the times and the people.

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Emotion and reason actually refer to the emotional factors and rational content of works of art.

China's traditional Confucianism, which has great influence, holds that art should not only show human emotions, but also show a kind of ethical and political content. This kind of emotion is not a general emotion, but an emotion full of kingly politics and rational spirit, and this rationality is not abstract rationality, but should be emotional rationality. Ji Le wrote: "A gentleman delights in his way, while a villain delights in his desire. If you want to control your desires by Tao, you will be happy and not chaotic; If you want to forget the Tao, you will be confused and unhappy. " In essence, this requires the unity of emotion and reason, making art a tool of moral education. This view emphasizes the expression of "rationality" and limits the expression of emotion.

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Contrary to the above view, it is the view of "Fate School". Fatalism school puts the expression of emotion in a high position. Xiao Gang of the Six Dynasties put forward: "We should be cautious in establishing people and dissolute in writing." Now some people say, "Be honest in life, but not in painting." Fatalism pays special attention to the significance of expressing emotions to art.

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In fact, "emotion" and "reason" are not antagonistic, but unified. The so-called "reason" is what the ancients called "ambition", which is also the ethics advocated by Confucianism. Broadly speaking, it is the essence and law of things. The so-called "emotion" is the artist's mood, mood and feelings.

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Neo-Confucianism and Taoism after the Song Dynasty are the continuation and development of Confucianism. The main tendency of art in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties is to advocate rationality, and art should play an educational role and meet the requirements of etiquette and righteousness. However, there are also some artists and theorists who oppose the stale moral preaching and advocate that art should focus on expressing artists' feelings. Li Zhi and his admirers held high the banner of expressionism in the Ming Dynasty, which had a great influence on the art at that time and later generations.

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In short, the understanding of the relationship between reason and reason, except for a few people who separate the two, the vast majority of people advocate that the two should be unified, combined and promoted each other, with equal emphasis on emotion and reason. Love cannot be divorced from reason, otherwise it is promiscuous, hypocritical and evil. "Reason" cannot be separated from "emotion", but should be "moved by emotion, understood by reason" and blended with reason. Liu Xie put it well: "Lovers are literary classics, and lyricists are rational latitudes;" It will become a weft after correction, and then it will be smooth. "

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In art, oppose irrationalism and weaken the social function and ideological education significance of literature and art (literary works cannot be without rational content); We are also opposed to empty and abstract discussion and preaching, and we should show our true feelings and sentiments about life with vivid, vivid, typical and touching images.