Priya Kapoor
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. In ancient China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly appreciated arts, practised by amateurs, aristocrats and scholar-officials who had the time to perfect their brushwork. Original works by famous calligraphers have been highly valued throughout China's history and are displayed in the same way as paintings. The six principles of Chinese painting were established by writer, art historian and critic Xie He in the 5th century. The principles refer to the flow of energy that encompasses the theme, work and artist, as well as the way of using the brush, among other things. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, artists were encouraged to employ socialist realism. Following the Cultural Revolution, Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and techniques.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Art forms | Painting, calligraphy, interior design, tapestry, floral decoration, pottery, metalwork, enamelwork, lacquerware, jade, silk, architecture |
| Tools | Brush pen made of animal hair, black inks made from pine soot and animal glue |
| Materials | Paper, silk, gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, coloured glass, enamel, precious stones, semi-precious hard stones, wood, amber, lacquer, and jade |
| Subjects | Landscapes, flowers, birds, historical figures, royalty, dragons, nature |
| Styles | Freehand style (xieyi hua), ink wash painting, shanshui hua (mountain-water paintings), qinglü shanshui (blue-green landscape), jinbi shanshui (gold-blue-green landscape), oil painting |
| Notable artists | Gu Kaizhi, Zhang Xuan, Zhou Fang, Wu Daozi, Bian Wenjin, Lü Ji, Dai Jin, Ma Yuan, Xia Gui, Wang Yani, Tiancheng Xie, Yan Liben, Wang Xizhi, Wen Tong, Zhang Zeduan, Gu Hongzhong, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang |
| Notable works | Along the River During the Qingming Festival, The Night Revels of Han Xizai, The Record of the Classification of Old Painters |
| Philosophies and theories | Individuality of expression, suppression of the decorative in favour of intentional plainness, "Six principles of Chinese painting" |
| Influence | Chinese art influenced the art of its East Asian neighbours |
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What You'll Learn
The influence of calligraphy
Calligraphy has been revered as a fine art in China since ancient times. It has been associated with spiritual communication and was viewed as a reflection of the writer's spiritual attunement. The ancient Chinese believed that writing was a divine tool that exposed the essential mechanics of the metaphysical world.
Calligraphy and painting share the same materials and techniques, and both arts have long been appreciated in court circles, often practised by aristocrats and scholar-officials. The two art forms are considered inseparable, with calligraphy influencing the development of painting in China.
The Song dynasty marked the elevation of painting to a fine art, as it became closely allied with calligraphy in aim, form, and technique. The written word holds a central role in traditional Chinese culture, and calligraphy reflects the importance of the word in China. Emperors asserted their authority by engraving their pronouncements on mountainsides and stelea, and scholars, who valued the written word, assumed dominant positions in society.
The physical gestures produced by the wielding of the brush in calligraphy and painting reveal much about the artist, including their impulsiveness, restraint, elegance, and rebelliousness. The way of using the brush, or "Bone Method", is one of the six principles of Chinese painting established by Xie He in the 5th century. The "Bone Method" refers to the texture and brush stroke, as well as the close link between handwriting and personality.
The calligraphic tradition continues to influence contemporary Chinese artists, and the two art forms remain closely intertwined, with artists drawing on the correspondence between speech, symbol, and referent that is unique to the Chinese language.
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Painting materials and techniques
Painting in China has a long and rich history, with materials and techniques evolving over time. Here is an overview of the development of painting materials and techniques in China:
Ancient China
In ancient China, painting was highly valued in court circles, with aristocrats and scholar-officials practising the art form due to their leisure time. Brushes were made of animal hair, and black ink was created from pine soot and animal glue. The ancient Chinese painted on silk, but after the invention of paper in the 1st century AD, this became the predominant medium due to its lower cost.
Imperial Times and the Jin Dynasty
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, painting and calligraphy were among the most highly appreciated arts. The implements remained the same: brush, ink, and now paper or silk. Calligraphy was considered the highest and purest form of painting, with the art form judged by the vitality and expressiveness of the brush stroke and the harmonious rhythm of the composition.
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty saw the emergence of figure painting at the royal court, with artists such as Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang depicting the splendour of court life. Most Tang artists outlined figures with fine black lines and used brilliant colour and elaborate detail. However, the master Wu Daozi stood out by using only black ink and free brushstrokes to create his ink paintings. This period also saw the development of new colours, including blues, greens, yellows, and browns, derived from cobalt, iron, and copper.
Song Dynasty
During the Song Dynasty, an assumed awkwardness or understatement in technique was admired as a mark of the amateur and gentleman. Bird-and-flower painting was popular, with artists such as Bian Wenjin and Lü Ji carrying forward this tradition from the Northern Song. Landscape painting also flourished, with artists such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui using strong brushstrokes and pale washes to suggest misty space.
Yuan and Ming Dynasties
The Yuan and Ming Dynasties are known for their ceramics, with blue and white decorations inspired by earlier Chinese paintings. Artists continued to refine the ink wash painting tradition, with Wen Tong becoming famous for his ink paintings of bamboo, often painting with two brushes in one hand.
20th Century
In the 20th century, Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and techniques, influenced by exchanges with foreign artists. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) saw a breakdown of class barriers between amateur and professional artists, and the encouragement of socialist realism. After the revolution, artists boldly conducted innovations, including the development of new brushing skills and the integration of traditional Chinese and Western painting techniques.
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The role of the artist
During the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) and the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), a landowning and merchant class emerged, bringing new patrons for the arts. This led to the development of the concept of "fine art" associated with the educated gentry, who were often amateur practitioners of poetry, music, calligraphy, and painting. The distinction between lower-class professionals and elite amateur artists influenced the character of Chinese art. Aristocrats and scholar-officials, with their leisure time, dominated the artistic landscape during the imperial times, treating art as a form of self-expression and a means to showcase their status in society.
The "Six Principles of Chinese Painting," established by Xie He in the 5th century, outlined the key elements that defined a painting, including "Spirit Resonance" (vitality) and "Bone Method" (brush technique and the link between handwriting and personality). These principles emphasized the importance of the artist's inner spirit and expression in their work, a philosophy that was particularly embraced by the Yuan dynasty's Four Masters, who valued individual expression and intentional plainness in their art.
The arrival of the Communist Party's Propaganda Department after the founding of the People's Republic of China significantly impacted the role of artists. Artists were organized into associations and provided with stable incomes and working environments. During this period, socialist realism was encouraged, and painters were assigned subjects, often mass-producing paintings in the style of Soviet Union socialist realism.
Following the Cultural Revolution, Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and techniques, influenced by exchanges with foreign artists. They boldly conducted innovations, such as the development of new brushing skills and the integration of traditional Chinese and Western painting techniques. This period saw the rise of artists like Wang Yani, who contributed to the freehand style (xieyi hua) in contemporary artwork.
Overall, the role of the artist in China's painting history has been shaped by social and political changes, the evolution of artistic philosophies, and the influence of foreign artistic styles. Artists have expressed themselves through various media, including ink, paper, and silk, reflecting their individual skills, social status, and the cultural beliefs of their respective eras.
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Landscape painting
The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental, consisting of patterns or designs rather than pictures. During the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 BC), artists began to represent the world around them. In the period following the Han dynasty, Buddhism spread across China, and artists began to illustrate stories of the life of the Buddha on earth and to create paradise paintings. In the background of some of these brightly coloured paintings, we can see examples of early landscape painting. The mountains are simple triangles, and the water in the river is portrayed in a bold, diagrammatic way, conveying a sense of movement.
By the Tang dynasty (618–907), two schools of landscape painting had emerged. One, practised by the court painter Li Sixun and his son Li Zhaodao, was highly decorative and meticulous, employing precise line techniques and mineral colours blue and green. This style became known as blue-green landscape (qinglü shanshui). The other style is painted in monochrome ink. In these ink-wash paintings, the purpose was not to reproduce the appearance of nature but rather to grasp an emotion or atmosphere so as to catch the "rhythm" of nature.
During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, landscape painting was an art form associated with the elite. In the seventeenth century, landscapes began to be transferred to ceramics, a medium that could be enjoyed and used by ordinary people.
In the twentieth century, the modern movement in Chinese art was launched by the Cantonese artists Gao Jianfu, his brother Gao Qifeng, and Chen Shuren. They had studied in Japan and were inspired by the "New Japanese Style", incorporating Euro-Japanese characteristics into their work.
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Figure painting
During the Six Dynasties (222–589) and the Tang dynasty (618–907), the foundations of figure painting were gradually established by major artists such as Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi. In the Tang dynasty, figure painting flourished at the royal court, with artists like Zhang Xuan and Zhou Fang depicting the splendour of court life through paintings of emperors, palace ladies, and imperial horses. Most Tang artists outlined figures with fine black lines and used brilliant colours and elaborate details. However, Wu Daozi, referred to as the "Sage of Painting", deviated from this style by using only black ink and free-flowing brushstrokes to create captivating ink paintings.
During the Song dynasty (960–1279), figure painting expanded beyond religious themes to include historical events and stories of everyday life. Techniques of figure painting were further refined, with artists attempting to represent three-dimensional objects and master the illusion of space. At the end of the Northern Song period, the poet Su Shi and his circle of scholar-officials developed a new style of painting, utilising their calligraphy skills to create ink paintings that expressed their feelings and captured the inner spirit of their subjects.
In the early 20th century, the Shanghai regional style emerged, influenced by artists such as Ren Bonian and Wu Changshuo. One of the pioneers of this style was Ren Yi, who revived the archaic style of the Ming master Chen Hongshou while incorporating touches of Western-style realism. Fu Baoshi, who studied painting in Japan, developed a new national painting style that fused Western realism with traditional Chinese brushwork techniques.
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Frequently asked questions
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. It is traditionally done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments; oils are not used. The most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls.
During the Warring States period and the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the growth of a landowning and merchant class brought new patrons for the arts. After the Han, the concept of "fine art" emerged as the product of the leisure of the educated gentry. During the Jin dynasty, people began to appreciate painting for its own beauty and to write about art. From this time, individual artists, such as Gu Kaizhi, started to emerge. During the Tang dynasty, figure painting flourished at the royal court. Beginning in the Tang dynasty, more and more paintings were landscapes, or shanshui hua (mountain-water paintings). During the Yuan dynasty, the ruling Mongols distrusted the Chinese intelligentsia, which created a heightened sense of class identity and individual purpose that inspired their art. Following the Cultural Revolution of 1966–76, Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and techniques.
In ancient China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly appreciated arts in court circles. They were often practised by the same people, usually aristocrats and scholar-officials, who had the leisure time necessary to perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great brushwork. Original writings by famous calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's history and are mounted on scrolls and hung on walls in the same way that paintings are. The "Six principles of Chinese painting" were established by the writer, art historian and critic Xie He in the 5th century. These principles refer to both painting and calligraphy.
