Lin Yutang's paintings

Chinese painting is the flower of China culture. It is famous for its unique charm and color tone, which is different from western painting. This difference is just like the difference between China's poetry and western poetry. However, it is not easy to grasp this difference and express it. Of course, some styles and atmospheres of China's paintings can also be seen in western paintings, but they are completely different in essence and have very different expression techniques. China's paintings are extremely economical in materials, which shows that there are a lot of blanks in the picture. The starting point of this construction is to achieve the harmony of the picture itself, thus producing a vivid charm. His bold and free brushwork left a deep impression on people. In the process of creation, the artist screened and transformed the material, and some inappropriate and discordant elements were removed from the picture in front of him. What we see is a perfect whole, very loyal to life, but not the same as here. The composition is clearer, the rejection of the material is stricter, and it is easier to find the characteristics of contrast and concentration. The material reality presented to us is actually the material reality presented to artists at the beginning, which is not the same as the objective reality, but it does not lose its basic similarity and understandability. It is subjective, but it does not express the artist's self as strongly as modern western painting, nor is it understood by the public as western painting. China's paintings can give people a strong subjective impression of things without any misinterpretation. It doesn't try to show everything the artist sees, but leaves the audience with a lot to imagine, but it's not some puzzling geometric figures. Sometimes China's paintings attach great importance to the intermediary object, and only one plum blossom appears on the screen, even if you have finished. However, despite the intervention in material reality to such an extent, painting itself is not a strong expression of the artist's self, and does not give people any unpleasant feelings, but makes people feel a kind of extreme harmony with nature.

How is this effect achieved and how does this unique tradition develop?

This artistic tradition was not acquired by accident, nor was it discovered by accident. I think many of its characteristics can be summarized by the word "lyric", and this lyric comes from a certain spirit and culture of human beings. We must remember that China's paintings are closely related to China's calligraphy and China's poetry in verve and skill. Calligraphy endows it with skills and basic expressions, which determines its future development; China's poems endow it with charm. In China, poetry, painting and calligraphy are closely linked sister arts. In this way, the best way to understand China's paintings is to study the factors that influence the establishment of this special China tradition.

In a word, this special tradition, which we call lyric, is the result of two opposites.

These two oppositions are going on in modern western painting circles, but in the history of China painting, they have already appeared as early as the 8th century. One is against tying the lines drawn by artists to the objects to be painted, and the other is against copying the material reality like a camera. China's calligraphy helped solve the first problem, while China's poetry helped solve the second one. Studying these two objections and the origin of this artistic tradition will help us to understand why China's paintings have these characteristics today.

The primary problem of China's painting, which is also the primary problem of all paintings, is: paint is painted on canvas and ink is painted on silk. How to deal with lines and strokes? This is a purely technical problem, that is, "brush strokes"

No artist can avoid this problem. The use of brush strokes will determine the style of the whole work. If only lines are used to mechanically construct painting objects, lines themselves will have no freedom, and we will get bored sooner or later.

This is also the rebellion we see in modern art. In China, this rebellion was initiated by Wu Daozi (about 700-760), who solved this problem through the bold and free use of brushes. Artists don't save lines, but let them play. We will see the same principle in China architecture. ) In this way, what we see is not the rigidity and lack of originality of Gu Kaizhi (346-407), and even more or less like lines drawn by pen drawing. What we see is the so-called "medicated diet" initiated by Wu Daozi, which is full of twists and turns, ingenious and natural. In fact, Zhang Xu, a student of Wu, got inspiration from his teacher's paintings, thus creating the calligraphy of Crazy Grass. Wang Wei (699-759) further developed and improved the brush strokes in painting, and sometimes simply abolished the traditional brush strokes.

The technique of "sketching" is generally regarded as the originator of "Nanzong". We will soon see the far-reaching influence of Nanzong School of Painting.

The second question is how the artist's personality should be projected into the work before it can be called art; Beyond simple photography without giving up truth and harmony? This resistance to mechanical imitation of reality is also the cause of all new trends in modern art, which can be said to be an escape from material reality and a way for artists to express themselves in their works. The same change in China's art history was brought about by a new school in the 8th century. At that time, people were tired or dissatisfied with the camera-like reproduction of material reality.

It's the same old question: How can artists integrate their emotions and feelings into their objects without creating grotesque pictures? This problem has long been solved in China's poems. The so-called change is only for simple precision and craftsman-like triviality. The contrast between the old and new painting schools is vividly shown in a story: during the reign of Emperor Tang Ming, two Sichuan landscape paintings were hung on the palace wall, which were made by Li Sixun (651-716) and Wu Daozi respectively. It is said that Li Sixun, as a great painter of the Northern Sect, spent about a month painting and painting gold. Wu Daozi, however, splashed ink like a cloud, completing the panoramic view of Jialing River in one day. Tang Zan said, "Li Enxun's work in January and Wu Daozi's work in a day, each according to his ability."

When this revolution against small-scale craftsmen came, Wang Wei appeared. He himself is a first-rate landscape painter. He absorbed the spirit and skills of China's poetry, including impressionism, lyricism, verve and pantheism. In this way, the "ancestor of Nanzong" who made China painters enjoy a high reputation was influenced by China's poems.

In chronological order, the development of China's painting is as follows: It seems that China's artistic genius began to realize his value in the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries. It was during this period that artistic criticism and literary criticism developed. Wang Xizhi (32 1-379) was born in a noble family at that time and became a "book saint". In the following centuries, due to the influence of Buddhism, stone carvings of Datong and Longmen appeared. The Northern Wei Dynasty developed a calligraphy style, which is now called "Weibei", which was the rubbings of inscriptions at that time. This calligraphy style raised China's calligraphy to a very high level. In the author's opinion, Weibei is the best calligraphy style in the history of calligraphy. It is an extraordinary style of writing, which is not only beautiful, but also integrates beauty, strength and work. Sheikh of this era took the lead in establishing the principle of "vivid charm". This principle has become the central principle of all paintings in China since 1400.

Then came the great 8th century, which became the most primitive period in China's history for some reasons. The author himself couldn't say clearly whether it was painting, poetry or prose creation. However, one of the reasons can be traced back at least to the previous centuries, and the troubled times mixed with new lineages. Both Li Bai and Wang Wei were born in the northwest of China, where racial mixing is most active, although we lack more accurate data to prove this.

In any case, human thoughts have become more free and primitive. A large number of first-rate poets have emerged in this century, such as Li Bai and Du Fu. Paintings include Li Sixun, Wang Wei and Wu Daozi, calligraphy includes Zhang Xu cursive script and Yan Zhenqing regular script, and prose includes Han Yu. Wang Weisheng was born in 699, Wu Daozi is about 700 years old, Li Bai is 70 1 year old, Yan Zhenqing is 708 years old, Du Fu is 7 12 years old, Han Yu is 768 years old and Bai Juyi is 772 years old. This century also produced a peerless beauty, Yang Guifei, who accompanied the emperor and beautified the court with the poet Li Bai. However, this era is not good at peace.

In any case, "Nanzong" finally came into being. What interests us most is the vice president, because it has the most China characteristics. This kind of painting is called "master painting". In 1 1 century, Su Like Dongpo (1035- 1 1), Mi Fei (105D- 1 107) and others. Su Dongpo even drew a bamboo without knots. Someone asked him why he came here, and he replied, "When bamboo was born, it was born with knots." Su Dongpo is a great writer and poet, especially in painting bamboo. He likes bamboo very much. He once said, "Eating without meat is better than living without bamboo." The bamboo he painted is very similar to his "Drunken Books and Weeds", with a splash of ink and no color. The way he paints is to eat and drink, get drunk, then dip in ink, wave freely, or write books, or draw bamboo, or write poems. Once, in this state, he wrote a unique question on the wall where he invited his master: "The jejunum is full of wine, and the liver and lungs are gnashing their teeth; If you want to do it, you can't go back and write to your snow wall. " Here, painting is not "painting", but "writing" like writing. The same is true of Wu Daozi, who often inspires painting after drinking or when friends are dancing swords, and integrates the rhythm of sword dancing into his works. Obviously, because this stimulus is fleeting, it needs to be repeated in a very short time, otherwise the effect of alcohol will disappear in a short time.

However, there is a wonderful painting theory behind this euphoria. China painters left a large number of rich artistic criticism works. They will "shape"

(the physical form of an object), "reason" (the internal law or spirit) and "meaning" (the artist's own concept). "Literati painting" is a resistance to passive photography. This technique can be seen everywhere through the ages. Scholars in Song Dynasty paid more attention to "reason", that is, the inner spirit of things.

Paintings that pursue precise details are made by commercial painters, while real artistic paintings should be devoted to expressing the spirit. It can be seen that the problem can't be solved just by getting drunk.

But this kind of painting is not painted by professional artists, but by scholars, which is of great significance. It is this amateur nature that enables them to paint in a relaxed and happy spirit.

1 1 century, "literati painting" began to appear, which was called "ink play". Painting is a means of entertainment for literati, just like calligraphy and painting. They have no heavy mental burden. It seems that the literati's calligraphy has been very accomplished, and they have more energy to spend on other arts as a happy and interesting adjustment. They used exactly the same tools: the same vertical axis, the same pen and ink, the same clean water, everything on the desk, no need for a palette. Meade, one of the swordsmen's masters in painting, sometimes even uses roll paper instead of brush, or bagasse and lotus stalks.

When inspiration and the magic of wrist bottom come, there is nothing that artists can't do. Because they have mastered the art of conveying the basic rhythm, the rest are second. Today, you can even draw with bare fingers and a flexible tongue tip, and dip it in ink and apply it to paper. Painting was, and still is, a pastime for scholars.

The artistic conception of this game can be used to explain some characteristics of China's painting, which is called "Yi". The closest English translation of this word is "fugitivenelss", which means improvisation and vagrancy, but it also means romanticism and retirement spirit. Li Bai's poems are also famous for their relaxed and happy romanticism. This "easy" feature is called the highest standard of chivalrous painting, which comes from the spirit of the game. Like Taoism, it is also an effort made by human beings to escape from the noisy world and gain spiritual freedom.

If we realize how the spirit of bachelors is confined within the framework of morality and politics, we can easily understand their wishes. Scholars at least tried their best to restore their freedom in painting. Ni Yunlin (1301-1374) was a great painter in Yuan Dynasty.

This is exactly what he is good at. He said, "How can I compare it with paradox, the complexity and sparseness of leaves, the inclination and straightness of branches?" He also said: "The so-called painter of the servant is nothing more than a rough brushwork, not seeking the shape, but just chatting for self-entertainment."

Therefore, we should see some influences of China's calligraphy in the figures and landscapes of ink painting in the Southern Song Dynasty. First of all, people can see a quick, powerful and rhythmic stroke. In the zigzag lines of pine trees, we can see the principle of curve in China's calligraphy. Dong Qichang said, to draw a tree, every line must have twists and turns. When talking about calligraphy, Wang Xizhi said, "Every stroke must have a 30% discount." Dong Qichang also said: "Literati's painting should be based on the method of writing strange characters in grass." People can also see the brushwork of "flying white" from the curve of the painted strange stone. This kind of brushwork is dry pen, and there is not much ink left. In this way, there are some gaps in the center of the line: we see the shape of seal characters on the branches intertwined with green vines. This is the secret that Zhao Mengshun revealed to us. Moreover, the artistic use of blank position is also an important principle in calligraphy. As Bao Shenbo said, proper blank space is the first essence of calligraphy.

In order to make the composition suitable, leave blank, etc. We would rather sacrifice formal symmetry, like the characters in contemporary Yu Youren.

In China's calligraphy, balance is not important, but if the composition and blank layout are wrong, it is unforgivable, because it is enough to prove that this person's calligraphy is not mature.

People can further understand the application rhythm of brush from the simplicity and harmony of China's painting composition, which is the so-called "brushwork meaning". "Meaning" is the "concept" in the artist's mind. To create a Chinese painting is to "express your thoughts"-"freehand brushwork". The painter had a clear idea before the brush strokes touched the paper. His so-called painting is to draw his thoughts step by step with strokes. He can't tolerate irrelevant things destroying his complete thinking. He added a twig here and a leaf there to make the painting an organic and verve-filled whole. After he expressed his basic ideas, he was done. So this painting is alive, because the ideas it expresses are alive. It's like reading a beautiful and humorous short poem. When the words are finished, the charm is still there and the youth is endless. Artists in China call this technique "meaning first, meaning first". China people are experts in suggestive art and pay attention to "enough is enough". They like good fragrant tea and olives, which can bring "aftertaste", which can only be felt by chewing olives for a few minutes. The effect of this painting technique is called "ethereal", which means to express a vivid image with economic design.

China's poems give spirit to China's paintings. When discussing poetry, we pointed out that there are more poets and painters, painters and poets in China than in the West. Poetry and painting both come from people's minds, so naturally they have the same spirit and internal strength. We have seen how painting affects poetry in perspective, because the eyes of poets are also the eyes of painters. But we will also see how the painter's spirit shows the same impressionism, the same suggestive techniques, the same rendering of the unpredictable atmosphere, and the same pantheism that blends with nature. These are the characteristics of poetry. Poetry and painting are often the same thing. As long as the artist's mind can grasp the former and give it the form of poetry, then a little cultivation can also grasp the latter and show it in the form of painting.

First of all, let's explain the perspective that puzzles westerners. We want to make it clear once again that China's paintings should be done on the top of a high mountain. Looking down at the ground from a height (such as an airplane 6000 feet above the ground), its perspective effect is bound to be unusual. Of course, the higher the observation point, the fewer lines meet in the center. This point is also obviously influenced by the right-angle axis of Chinese painting. This rectangle requires a considerable distance between the close-up view at the bottom of the drawing axis and the horizon above the drawing axis.

Like modern western painters, China painters are willing to describe the intangible reality, but they are deeply impressed by it, so they adopted impressionist techniques. The fault of western impressionism is that it is too alert and too logical. Although artists in China are also very creative, they can't create artistic grotesque to scare ordinary people. As we have already explained, the foundation of Chinese Impressionism lies in the theory of "intentional first and writing later". Therefore, the significance of painting lies not in the material reality, but in the artist's concept of treating reality. They remember that they are painting for people around them, so they must understand all kinds of concepts. They are bound by the golden mean. As a result, their impressionism became human impressionism. The purpose of their painting is to convey a complete concept, and thus decide which one to choose from the picture, thus resulting in the "ethereal" feature.

Since a complete concept is the most important thing, artists must try their best to obtain this poetic thing. In the Song Dynasty, the Royal Academy of Painting set up a competitive examination. Here, we can see how the consideration of this poetic concept overrides other standards and ranks first. Those paintings that express the most complete and outstanding ideas always win the competition, without exception. The best ideas are always expressed by hints. This has become an obvious feature. Themes themselves are poetic enough, because they are always a sentence extracted from a poem. However, the artist's originality lies in the use of the most ingenious hints when interpreting this sentence. A few examples are enough. During the period of Song Huizong, the title of an exam was such a poem: "Selling restaurants by the bamboo lock bridge".

Many competitors regard the restaurant as the center of the whole painting. However, one person only drew a bridge, next to a bamboo forest, and a signboard with the word "wine" was faintly visible inside. There is no hotel in the photo. This painting won the championship because it hides the hotel in imagination.

Another topic is a poem by Wei: "No one will cross a boat in the wild". The poet used a hint technique to imply silence and desolation through an abandoned ship, but the painter further used this hint technique. Winning the championship is to express silence and desolation through such a technique: there is a waterfowl perched on the boat, and the other is flapping its wings and flying to the boat. These two birds show that there is no one around.

There is also a picture to set off the luxury of Zhumen's family. A modern western painter, out of disgust at depicting reality, will also try to hint, but he may magically draw a string of saxophone through a glass full of champagne and put it on a woman's chest. The woman's chest is hidden behind a car wheel that shows three quarters, and the car is passing by the chimney in Cunard, and so on. The impressionist painters in China only painted a luxurious house as the background, with the door half open and half closed. A maid poked her head out and poured out a basket full of exquisite delicacies of this rich boy, such as duck feet, litchi, walnuts, palm seeds and so on. These things are painted in great detail. There is no door-to-door feast here, but it can be measured by the discarded things thrown into the garbage. Therefore, concept is everything, and the poetry of works depends largely on this concept. It is ashamed of straightforward description and often tries to imply. The motto of artists in China is: Leave some room for imagination.

However, if China's paintings are only satisfied with emphasizing ideas rather than emotions, China's paintings will come to a dead end. Because once this happens, the art that should mainly resort to feelings and senses will degenerate into a mathematical game or a logical problem. No matter how clever the idea is, no matter how clever the technology is, it won't bring us great art if these things can't create an atmosphere that will bring us emotional buzz. This can be seen in all great paintings, whether China's paintings or western paintings. Therefore, emotion is everything. Two waterfowl perched on a small boat to indicate that there were no boatmen nearby. And this brings us into a lonely and desolate mood. Otherwise, painting is meaningless. Why did this ship go against the current? Because it only floats in the middle of the river, no one cares, so it will make us feel sad and touch our emotions, and this painting will become vivid and meaningful. If the wine ribbon by the bamboo lock bridge can't remind us of the people in the hotel, time is slowly wasting and people live in peace, people can spend the afternoon talking about the fisherman's rheumatism and the queen's affair when she was young-if the wine ribbon can't remind us of these, what is its value?

Therefore, emotional arousal is everything, whether painting or poetry, which reminds us of the problem of "charm" or "vivid charm", which is the highest ideal of China's painting in 1400. It was initiated by Sheikh, supplemented in detail by other painters, and repeatedly discussed and debated by many people.

We must remember that painters in China don't want to be precise in details. Su Dongpo said: "On painting and shape, you can see that there are children in the neighborhood." But what can the painter offer us besides realism? What is the ultimate goal of painting? The answer is that artists should convey the spirit and charm of scenery to us to arouse our mood. This is the highest goal and ideal of China's art.

We still remember how artists go to famous mountains every once in a while to refresh themselves in the air of Shan Ye and purify the dust of urban thoughts and suburban enthusiasm piled up in their chests. He climbed the highest peak to get moral and spiritual sublimation and listened to the waves of the sea. For several days, he sat in the weeds in the barren hills and hid in the bamboo forest, absorbing the spirit and vitality of nature. After communicating with nature, he should convey his harvest to us. When his mind communicates with the verve of things, it also communicates with the verve of things. He will re-create a picture for us, full of emotions and emotions, as changeable as nature. Like Mi Youren, he may have created a landscape painting for us. The painting is full of clouds, stones and trees, and all the details are immersed in a humid atmosphere. He may be like Ni Yunlin, painting the barren Qiang people in autumn, with only a few dead leaves hanging on the branches, showing a desolate and sad scene. Under the power of this atmosphere and overall rhythm, all details will be forgotten, leaving only the central emotion. This is "vivid"

-The highest ideal of China's art, poetry and painting are once again integrated.

This is the message of China art, which teaches us to love nature, because unique and truly outstanding Chinese painting is a landscape painting that describes nature. The best landscape paintings in the west, such as Connor's works, also bring us the same atmosphere and the same feeling of nature.

But unfortunately, China has fallen behind in figure painting. The human body is considered as an ornament of natural objects. If people usually appreciate the beauty of women's bodies, there is no trace of such appreciation in painting. The implication of Gu Kaizhi and Chou Shizhou's paintings of ladies lies not in the beauty of women's bodies, but in the beauty of lines floating in the wind. In my opinion, this worship of human body beauty (especially female body beauty) is the most prominent feature of western art. The biggest difference between Chinese and western art lies in the difference of inspiration sources: the inspiration of orientals comes from nature itself, while the inspiration of westerners comes from female body. A female figure painting is called Meditation, and a naked bathing girl painting is called Morning in September. Nothing can shake the hearts of the people of China more than this. Today, many people in China still can't accept a fact in western culture: find a living "model", take off your clothes and stand in front of people and stare at them for several hours every day, then people can learn some basic essentials of painting.

Of course, there are also many westerners who only want to hang Whittler's oil painting Mother on the mantelpiece to meditate, but dare not meditate on female figure painting like Meditation. Today, many people in Britain and America still tell others with regret that the French paintings in the house are decorated in this way when the house is rented; Some people say they don't know what to do with Christmas presents from friends. They always avoid this topic when talking, but just call these things "art" and the people who create these works "crazy artists". Nevertheless, in fact, the origin and inspiration of orthodox western painting still belongs to Dionysus Dionysus. It seems impossible for western painters to find anything else without a naked or almost naked human body. Chinese painters use a plump and beautiful partridge as a symbol of spring, while western painters use a dancing fairy to symbolize spring, followed by the god of agriculture and animal husbandry. Painters in China are very interested in the lines of developed limbs of cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers and frogs. Scholars in China meditate on these paintings on the wall every day, while western painters can't be satisfied with such works as enel's Reeris or Magdalena.

(1) Connor (Cotot,1796-187s), a French painter.

(1) Whittler (whistlet,1834-1903), American impressionist painter and printmaker.

② enel (Hennet, 1829— 1905) was a French painter.

This new discovery of the human body is one of the most powerful influences of western culture on China today, because it changes the source of artistic inspiration, thus changing people's whole world outlook. In the final analysis, this should also be said to be the influence of Greece. The Renaissance brought the revival of body worship and a heartfelt declaration that life is beautiful. A large part of China's tradition, though without Greek influence, has enough humanity. However, it is extremely rare to publicly declare that the human body is beautiful in China. However, once we open our eyes and see the beauty of the human body, we forget it next time. This discovery of human body and worship of female body will inevitably become the most powerful influence from the west, because it is linked with one of the strongest instincts of human beings, that is, sex. In this sense, we can say that the art of Apollo, the sun god, has been replaced by the art of Dionysus, the god of wine, in China. Most ordinary schools and even most art schools no longer teach China traditional art. They also learned to depict female human bones from living models or classical (Greek and Roman) sculptures. There is no need to use Plato's aestheticism to defend the worship of nudity, because only old artists will be indifferent to the beauty of the human body, and only they will make excuses. The worship of the human body is full of sensuality and needs to be so. True European artists don't deny it, but publicly declare it. Therefore, we can't make such accusations against China's art. Whether people like it or not, once this trend is introduced, it will take off in Shenshi.