5.1 Traditional Chinese Aesthetics 中国传统美学

Aesthetics is abranch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art and beauty, with thecreation and appreciation of beauty. Traditional Chinese aesthetics is a modernperspective on pre-modern Chinese art which includes not only poetry,calligraphy and painting (as the most prominent scholarly arts) but alsoarchitecture, pottery, bronzes, music, martial arts and so on. Although itwould be impossible to find common traits to all of these disciplines, thethree above mentioned scholarly arts do share some common traits; and thesetraits did have an impact on a cultural identity for Chinese.

The firstcharacteristic of traditional Chinese aesthetics is to value “suggestiveness”(暗示性) as a poetic quality in a workof art. In poetry itself, this quality can be observed in a metaphoric languagewhich is, first of all, determined by images from nature; second, the focus ison meaning behind the language and the images. Hence, we find notions such as“meaning beyond words” (言外之意) or “images beyond images” (象外之象).  A suggestive quality isalso required in painting: ideally, a painting should convey a poetic image,something that reverberates（回向） beyond the actual painted scene (“the intriguing quality is beyondthe painting”，妙在画外).  Hence, traditionally, Chinese painting doesnot aim at mirroring the world in the sense of realistic representation of ascene.

A secondcharacteristic is the demand for a “vital quality” (qi) which should convey a sense of liveliness in a work of art.Here, specifically painting and calligraphy are implied. Such traits are notonly in accordance with the first principle of Chinese painting: “vitalresonance and live movement”(气韵生动), formulated by Xie He^①in the 5th century AD, but also touch upon natural ideas concerning a work ofart, i.e. notions of natural creativity: A work of art should – ideally – comeinto existence like a work of nature, by the workings of the Dao – the “way” ofthe universe (of which the force qiis only an agent). Intrinsic to this idea is the importance of the calligraphicline – the contrast of black and white and the preference for painting in blackink which emphasize the dynamic liveliness of the brushstroke. Movement anddynamics in black and white are aesthetically more interesting than staticcolor.

The thirdcharacteristic refers to the natural ideas already mentioned which promote thebalance between binary opposites (二元对立) in a work of art. In poetry, for example, we observe a preference(偏爱) forparallelism through which certain verses in a poem are antitheticallyjuxtaposed (对仗). Thisinclination toward harmonizing mutually not opposing but rather conditioningforces comes from the influence of yin-yang-thought.This can also be observed in a Chinese landscape painting (mountain and waterpainting): A landscape painting unites the two forces yin and yang as mountain(shan, a manifestation of the male yang-quality)and water (shui, a manifestation of the female yin); hence a landscape painting catches the harmonious naturalorder of the world.

The fourthcharacteristic in Chinese poetics and art theory gives weight to two seeminglycontradictory notions to naturalness (ziran) and regularity (fa). The stunningaesthetic effect of this unity of opposites can best be observed and studied inthe so-called “regulated poems” (律诗), flourishing in the golden age of Chinese poetry, the Tang Dynasty.These poems have to follow a strict set of rules concerning length and numberof lines, tone patterns, parallelism and the like. And yet, while reading theworks of poets of that time, one has the impression of absolute naturalness andease in style. Similar characteristics can be observed in Chinese paintingwhich also, traditionally, was defined by certain rules. Yet in the works ofgreat masters, one experiences a sense of freedom from rules and restrictions.Thus, the painter Shi Tao^① proclaims: “The rule of no rule is the highest rule”  (无法之法, 乃为至法). Itbasically means that all rules become so internalized that they turn out to benatural. The secret to this mastery lies in the notion of kung-fu, i.e.excellence after arduous practice leading to a “perfect intuitive control” overthe artistic medium which, traditionally, has been called “spiritual” (shen).

TraditionalChinese aesthetics, with its features of “suggestiveness”, “liveliness”,harmony of opposing (natural) forces, and, lastly, a spiritual quality ofnaturalness and regularity achieved by strictly training according to set rules(fa), creates an entirely different world of art in comparison to the Westerntradition. It is no wonder, then, that these characteristics were understood bythe Chinese themselves as the great features of Chinese culture. These featuresserve as fundamental elements of a Chinese cultural identity. Hence, in their History of Chinese Aesthetics, Li Zehouand Liu Gangji marked as the last and most important characteristic oftraditional Chinese aesthetics the idea that an “aesthetic consciousness” (美学境界) was regarded as the “highestand noblest consciousness to be attained in life”.

Abridgedand revised from

http://www.uni-trier.de/fileadmin/fb2/SIN/Pohl_Publikation/identity_and_hybridity.pdf

 

 

Notes:

① XieHe: 谢赫（479—502年）：南朝齐、梁间画家、绘画理论家。善作风俗画、人物画。著有《古画品录》，为我国最古的绘画论著。

② ShiTao：石涛（1642一约1707），清代画家、中国画一代宗师。

5.2Chinese Calligraphy 书法

Calligraphy is adistinguished form of Chinese traditional arts. It is not only a means ofcommunication, but also a means of expressing a person’s inner world in anaesthetic sense. It is a leading component of the four traditional arts, namelylute-playing, chess, calligraphy and painting.

Ancient peoplepaid great attention to calligraphy. It was the essential with which a candidatecould manifest his literary talent in the Imperial Examination, for it gave afirst impression to the examiners. Children had to learn and try to write well;even emperors themselves were good at calligraphy, for example, the versatileEmperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) has left us many examples ofhis handwriting on steles (匾额) in temples and palaces.

Practicingcalligraphy requires the basic tools of “four treasures of study” (writingbrush, ink stick, paper, and ink slab) as well as much concentration in guidingthe soft writing brush charged with fluid ink, and writing on the paper wherethe ink will diffuse quickly. Once the brush movement hesitates, a black markis created, so speed, strength and agility is the essence of fine artwork. Whenwriting, many calligraphers will forget all worries and even themselves,combining all thoughts in the beauty of their art. Thus it can be compared withQigong, which also can mould and improve a person’s temper and promote wellbeing.

Calligraphy,like a mirror, is a silent reflection of the soul. It is believed to have verve(神韵) of optimism, moderateness, or pessimism. Su Dongpo composed manybold and unconstrained ci (a form of poetry that flourished in the SongDynasty), also could write handsome characters in good taste. Today, althoughvarious modern ways have substituted the original calligraphy, Chinese peoplestill love the ancient form and practice it untiringly.

Calligraphy hasa history of more than 2,000 years, and evolved into five main ways of writing,each with different techniques. Even today, these are still followed andpracticed often as a hobby.

After theunification of the China in the Qin Dynasty, Prime Minister Li Si activelypromoted a unified form of writing based on inscriptions on bronze wares ofprevious states. This was the first example-- known as “seal script”(Zhuanshu). Calligraphers of seal script stress a slender font, moderate speedand strength, and even thick lines and strokes. When seen as a whole, it isquite round and contracted.

In the EasternHan Dynasty, people tended to simplify the seal character which had manystrokes and created the official script (Lishu). The new calligraphy appearedto be much neater and delicate, turning the round style into a flat one. Whenbeginning to write a horizontal line, one must let the brush go against thedirection of point like a silkworm, and concentrate on stretching steadily,then end up with warp like a swallow’s tail. This is one of the characteristics– “silkworm’s head and swallow’s tail”.

Just as the nameimplies, the regular script (Kaishu) features its regularity and varies fromthe flat font to a square one. In Chinese it provides a model that can befollowed by calligraphy lovers. It has developed since the late Han Dynasty andis today’s most popular and influential writing style. The period when regularscript thrived most was the Tang Dynasty, when Yan Zhenqing^①and Liu Gongquan^② successively established schools of their own styles.

Cursive script (caoshu)has more flexibility, for it only maintains the essence of each character andexpresses more personal exertion. Therefore, its value lies in appreciationmore than practicality. While the running hand (xingshu) makes full use ofconnecting lines between two strokes, it can be regarded as the quickly-writtenform of regular script. These two seem to be more unrestrained than theprevious styles.

Abridgedand revised from

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-calligraphy.htm

Notes:

① YanZhenqing: 颜真卿（709-784），字清臣，唐代中期杰出书法家。他创立了“颜体”楷书，与赵孟頫、柳公权、欧阳询并称“楷书四大家”。

② LiuGongquan：柳公权（778－865），字诚悬，唐代书法家，楷书四大家之一。柳公权书法以楷书著称，与颜真卿齐名，人称颜柳。他所创立的柳体以骨力劲健见长，后世有“颜筋柳骨”的美誉。