I
There is a passage in Prince Nian's "Gleanings" which reads: "A native of the country of Liedi Qianxiao was good at painting. In the first year of Emperor Shihuang's reign, he offered it. Containing Danqing to gargle the ground, that is, the image of demons and monsters and weird things. He drew the ground with his finger, which was a hundred feet long and as straight as ink. Within a square inch, the four blasphemies, the five mountains, and the charts of the kingdoms were painted. And painted as dragons and phoenixes, Qian Zhu if flying, are not fine point, or point of flying away also". From this story, it seems that as early as the first year of Emperor Shi Huang, Chinese and Western art began to have exchanges. Of course, at that time, the West still refers to the western region. Unfortunately, "Gleanings" is a novel, can not be equal to the history of the same, but the Qin Shi Huang annexation of the six countries, the unification of China's momentum, it is not too outrageous to infer that there were foreign artisans to pay homage to the art. The craftsmanship of painting was very strong at that time, and probably individual craftsmen were very skilled, as the painter in this story might be. From today's point of view, he would have been a remarkable avant-garde painter and miniaturist, except that this "fine point art" is a myth. However, it is this "trick" that has had a profound impact. It has been recorded in writing that at least Wei Xie of the Western Jin Dynasty dared not point his eyes at the figures of the Seven Buddhas, and Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty did not point his eyes at the figures of the Seven Buddhas for several years after they were painted. Once also in the Waguan Temple painting Vimalakirti, to perform eye-dotting for the temple to raise losses of millions of huge; and Zhang Shengxiao's painting dragon eye-dotting the story of breaking the wall and flying, and still used as idioms.
After the Eastern Han Dynasty, Buddhism was introduced to China, and the influence of Buddhist art on Chinese art was even greater, with monuments such as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang leaving historical testimony. If we look at the Gandhara art characterization, it can be said to have indirectly introduced the positive Western art. Of course, the direct introduction came after the Ming and Qing dynasties. So, firstly, it added a new kind of painting to China. Secondly, it had a profound impact on Chinese painting itself, as exemplified by the practice of masters such as Xu Beihong and Lin Fengmian.
And the influence of Chinese art on modern Western art is also remarkable. Through the Silk Road to bring Chinese artifacts to the West for the time being, more directly, is the Tang Dynasty Chinese art to Japan. Japanese art was of special significance to the emergence of modern Western art. Many of the Post-Impressionists were influenced by Japanese painting. In Manet's Portrait of Zola. Van Gogh's "Papa Tanguy", "Self-Portrait with a Bandaged Ear" and other works have appeared in the background of the Japanese ukiyo-e prints, and Van Gogh had seriously copied the Japanese prints with oil paintings. In Gauguin's Still Life and Japanese Prints, Japanese prints have directly entered the theme. Cézanne, out of prejudice, once called Gauguin "the maker of Chinese figures". (9) Herbert Reed, in his pursuit of the role of modern art in the world, was a pioneer of Japanese printmaking. In tracing the visual and technical origins of modern art, Herbert Reed pointed out that one was Japanese and the other English. In discussing the Japanese influence, he said: "There are many Impressionist painters who were ostensibly influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e woodcuts, but only in the works of Van Gogh and Gauguin is the full effect of the influence of this art evident. Both painters attempted to create similar art forms in the language of oil painting. Indeed, a painter such as Whistler, who had imitated the structural and compositional features of Japanese prints, added to this system an impressionistic coloring that spoke of atmosphere, conceivably with the help of Chinese painting, but without essentially departing from the style of Monet or Degas." (10) As for the impact of Western modern art on the Chinese art scene in turn, this was a well-known event at the end of the century. It is conceivable that in the future there will be even wider exchanges, and even more profound influence on each other.
Two
Cézanne once contemptuously called Gauguin "the maker of Chinese figures," a view that resided in his rejection of the decorative element. Of course, it was also a fundamental ignorance of Chinese art. Whether Cézanne ever saw an original Chinese painting has not been proven. However, some missionaries to China who saw Chinese paintings always thought that the figures were thin and seemed to have no bodies in their garments. It is true that it is difficult to understand the connotation of a foreign culture. When Western oil paintings were first introduced to China, the people of China were contemptuous of these works, calling them "artisanal" and laughing at them for their lack of ink and brushwork. Of course, at that time, most of the propaganda brought by the missionaries, however, even if you see the masterpiece, due to the difference in concepts, may not be able to increase a few points of reverence. Lin Shu in the late Qing Dynasty, the attitude towards Western painting is considered objective, he talked about Western painting in the "Spring JUE Zhai on painting", on its realism is highly appreciated: "the image of the most decent, as the Westerners paintings." "There is a great difference between near and far in the realm of painting. There is a painting of a large tree in the sky, but outside the tree, people's trees are like beans or saplings. That is, the distant mountains are not more than an inch. With binoculars to peer at, the shape to the real". However, he still believes that: "seems to be like ear, but the viewer as a photo, no meaning".
After the Opium War, the Chinese and Western exchanges, mutual understanding gradually deepened, and mutual exclusion still exists. Such as Kang Youwei after traveling in Europe, had encouraged praise for the Greco-Roman art, which mentioned the significance of the works of the human body structure of the accurate portrayal, that the tendons and veins do not see, exquisite not out. Later on, people from the West also came to China to study Chinese painting. However, as a creation of the times, the West did not give Chinese art the same status, and as a circulation of goods, the West did not put Chinese art on the same level. Of course, here is first of all subject to economic strength, politics and other major issues, however, the difference of different cultural systems is also an important factor. For example, after all, Westerners can not be like the Chinese people as the taste of traditional Chinese art, especially in Chinese painting, paper, brush, ink produced by the charm, and even prefer these materials themselves, that is only a few strokes on the paper, a few moments that is, but for the watercolor of the Western painting only. And oil painting and is in and is oil, and is the outer frame and is the inner frame, the process is complex, difficult to produce, preservation of long time, etc., of course, the price is not the same as a "paper". On the other hand, in China itself, although Western painting has had some beneficial effects on Chinese painting, after more than half a century of practice, people are rethinking this journey, and the Chinese painting majors in some art colleges are beginning to draw in a Western style not as completely as they did in the past, which is a rational response.
Three
In fact, a Chinese view of Western art may not be without **** same language. Socrates attached great importance to carving the object's "state of mind" and "spiritual qualities" through the eyes, and his conversation with the painter Barasus was a way of peeling away the layers and forcing the issue step by step, arguing that people often use the "look" of their friends or enemies. He argues that one often looks at others with the "look" of a friend or an enemy, and that painting can "portray this look in the eye". Moreover, "nobleness and generosity, lowliness and meanness, modesty and intelligence, pride and folly, must be expressed in looks and postures," so that "the beautiful and good and lovely" and "the ugly and evil and loathsome " two widely differentiated characters are depicted. (11) Leonardo da Vinci also emphasized the "state of mind", "intention of thought", "inner intention", etc., but he attached more importance to expression through movement. He said: "The most important issue in painting is that the action of each character should express its mental state, such as desire, ridicule, anger, pity, etc.". He also said, "The movements of the figures in a painting should express their inner intentions in every situation. (12) The essence of these statements is to "transmit God," and the former, in particular, is almost like "A plug to transmit God," and if the above-mentioned transmission of God is the God of the object, then Gauguin, Van Gogh, and the later Expressionists and so on can be said to transmit the God of the author, and it is very distinct. The first is that the author of the painting is the author of the painting, and the author of the painting is the author of the painting.
In addition, some specific examples can be cited from theory and practice. For example, in ancient China, there is the so-called "poetry is invisible painting, painting is a silent poem", and the ancient Greek philosophers also put forward the same proposition, their statement is: "painting is a mute poem, the poem is able to talk about the painting". Another example, China's ancient "Cao Yi out of the water", "Wu belt when the wind", in the ancient Greek works, Ludwig's throne of relief "the birth of A沸洛迪忒" that kind of wet close to the clothes portrayal, "Victory Goddess Nichai" in the kind of the wind to spread, The sculpture of "Nichai, Goddess of Victory," with her windy and fluttering sash, is a perfect footnote to these two sentences. Wang Wei "Yuan An lying in the snow" painting banana in the snow, was criticized, but Shen Kuo for its defense, said it is "the creation of reason into the gods, back to the sky, it is difficult to talk to the layman". And that "the beauty of painting and calligraphy, when the God will be difficult to seek the shape of the instrument" ("Mengxi Bianan"). This kind of artistic treatment is even more common in Western art. Even highly realistic works can cite many examples. According to the analysis of relevant sports experts, the "Discus Thrower" by Milon of Ancient Greece, the athlete's hands and feet with the posture of throwing up is bound to fall. Undoubtedly, the ancient Greek sculptors who had skills that are still difficult to reach were not bad at sculpting this movement, but on the contrary, they obeyed an ideal pursuit in this way. The fact that Engel's "The Great Courtesan" is considered to have an extra vertebrae is not a mistake on the part of the master of the academy, but rather an intentional arrangement in accordance with the composition of the picture. Goethe's account of a landscape by the Dutch painter Lupins is closer. In this painting, there is the phenomenon of the projection of the trees and the light source contradictory to the laws of nature, Goethe said: "Lupins is precisely the way to prove his greatness, to declare that he stands higher than nature in the spirit of freedom, and to deal with nature according to his higher purpose...". In this genius he shows the world that art is not entirely subject to the necessities of nature, but that it has its own laws". (13) This is obviously a kind of argument of "making reason into God". It can be seen that "the mystery of the creator" in the Chinese and Western painting world is not "rare". It is also because of this *** same "reason", so art can become beyond the East and West, North and South of the human *** same spiritual wealth.
Four
So far, the words should come back. It seems that the ultimate goal of Chinese and Western art is still the same. However, due to the different connotations of the national spirit, as well as the differences in tools and materials, each has its own characteristics. It is difficult to generalize about the strengths and weaknesses of each, and the scientific attitude is to take the strengths and complement the weaknesses. As the cultural exchanges between the East and the West become wider and deeper, people will realize more about the essence of their respective national arts from the comparison, and develop their own arts in the process of new experience and elaboration.
Front, on the respective differences traced back to the Lao Zhuang and Pythagoras, in fact, on the initial focus they also have a certain **** the same. Ancient Greece and China's Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods are similar, and perhaps the development of the human mind can sometimes be very similar. The Pythagoreans believed that the supreme principle governing all things was number, that "the whole heavenly body is a harmony and a number", and that "beauty is harmony and proportion"(14). First of all, the numerical point of view is used to explain the rhythm and harmony of music, such as the length of the articulating body, the speed of vibration determines the length and height of the sound, resulting in a variety of different tones. In addition, the proportion of different numbers will appear different intervals and so on. This is the origin of the aesthetic theory of "neatness in change". Here, is to use the analysis of the eyes to treat art, to "cut" art, so, "cut" out of the auditory tone, visual "Golden Ratio" ... ... "Neatness in change" focuses on "change". In the doctrine of Laozhuang, the law of the universe is "Tao", which has an eternal and absolute ontological significance. The Laozi explains the evolution of all things by saying that "Tao gives birth to one, two to two, two to three, and three to all things"; and that "everything under the sun is born out of existence, and existence is born out of nothing". In a sense, this is also "number", however, compared with Bi's "number", the former is a real number, the latter is an imaginary number. Perhaps the most fundamental sameness and difference is here.
Our ancestors, from the very beginning, set up an organic and holistic concept of unity, and used it to explain nature and people. However, we focus on the totality, the "unity", and therefore, the prominent number is "one". "One", "Taiyi", "Yiyuan", and later "the unity of heaven and man".... "One is also the basis of all things, the invincible way" (Huainanzi. The interpretation of the book"), "too long as the two instruments, the two instruments born of yin and yang" (Lu Shi Chunqiu. The Great Music"). The one here refers to the chaos derived from the Tao, and in the chaos there are two interdependent yin and yang opposites. Dong Zhongshu emphasized that "Heaven and mankind are one" (Chunqiu Fanlu. Deeply investigate the name"), and thus put forward "heaven and man induction"; Zhu Xi also said: "heaven and man one thing, inside and outside the same reason; circulation and implementation, the beginning of no interval" ("class of speech"). Here, people and nature are in a chaotic whole regular operation, "small circumference" and "big circumference" is unified, can be mutual induction. Here there is no God, no commandments, no dominating deity. Even the Tao, which gives birth to all things, has to "follow the law of nature" and let all things develop naturally. This chaotic view, so that the Chinese art aesthetics appeared in a series of chaotic, so that people can only understand and difficult to convey the word: "God, gas, rhyme, bone, meaning, spirit, nature, feelings, reason, escape, wonderful, interesting, flavor ... ... ... ", just one word, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple, so simple. It is just one word, so simple, yet so aptly used. This is the most concise summary of the different ideal realms of artistic beauty, the pursuit of Chinese art form.
People and things are also chaotic. In the Biblical myth, when God made the first woman, he used anatomical surgery to remove a rib from Adam's body to make Eve, and here he practiced "cutting", of course, with a high degree of science and technology. The Chinese theory of the creation of man is: "Nuwa rolled up the yellow earth and made man. When she was in the middle of her work, she couldn't afford to do it, so she put a rope in the mud and lifted it up to make a human being" (Taiping Yuban, Volume 78, citing "The Book of Customs"), which is also a form of "kneading".
Perhaps the better expression of this concept of dialectical unity is Chinese medicine. Unlike Western medicine, which recognizes the human being in an anatomical way, Chinese medicine explains the material existence of the human body and its inner movement in terms of qi, essence, bone, blood, yin, yang, and five elements, and explains the organic connection of the human body in terms of meridians and collaterals. In addition, when observing the health of human beings, it always links human beings with nature, and links human spiritual factors with physiological health factors. Huangdi Neijing. Yin and Yang should be like a great theory" said: "the sky has four hours of the five elements in order to birth, growth, harvesting, hiding, in order to produce cold, stone, dry, wet, wind. People have five viscera and five qi to produce joy, anger, sadness, sorrow and fear. Therefore, joy and anger injure qi, cold-璁 injure form, violent anger injures yin, and violent joy injures yang". In Chinese medicine, yin and yang are used to explain systems and their functions, and the names of the organs are essentially symbols of a system. Therefore, the so-called "injury to the liver in anger, sadness in joy, injury to the spleen in thought, injury to the lungs in worry", etc., actually refers to the impact of these psychological factors on the overall physiological functions. These empirical findings have been increasingly emphasized by modern medicine. Interestingly, the Pythagorean school had a similar view. They believed that "a healthy body is due to the balance of cold, heat, dampness, and dryness in the body."(15) Zhu Guangqian, in his History of Western Art, is even more specific: "They put forward two views with mystical overtones, one of which is that the 'small universe' (of man) is similar to the 'small universe' (of the human being). They put forward two mystical views, one of which is that the 'small universe' (human beings) is similar to the 'big universe' (similar to the Chinese Taoist view of the 'small circumference of the heavens'), and they believe that the human body is a celestial body, which is governed by the principles of number and harmony. People have inner harmony, and when they encounter outer harmony, they are in harmony with each other, so they are happy to be in tune with each other. This is why man can love beauty and appreciate art. Another view is that the inner harmony of the human body can be influenced by the outer harmony. They applied this concept to medicine and came to a conclusion similar to the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory in Chinese medicine. Not only in the physical aspect, but also in the mental aspect, the inner harmony can be influenced by the outer harmony....". They did not, however, follow this line of reasoning. However, they did not follow this path. In the long journey of exploration of nature, China and the West are sometimes on the same starting line, only to go their separate ways after the footsteps have been taken. Westerners are very rational to analyze and dissect each part, while Chinese people are very emotional to understand and play with the chaotic whole. Therefore, the Chinese press the pulse, look at the tongue to know what disease, and headache may not cure head, foot pain is not necessarily medical feet. Needle sizzling recipe has the so-called "head and neck to find the back of the stream", the foot plate under the Yongquan point is actually related to the treatment of rhinitis, and in the ear can be found in the whole body parts....
Promoted to the object, is the "eye without the whole cow", "predecessor of the horse" theory. Particularly should be detailed, there are artifacts of "nothing from nothing", "Laozi" Chapter 11 is a typical discussion: "30 spokes **** a hub, when it is not, there is a car. When it is not, it is useful to have a tool. When there is no such thing, there is a room for it. Therefore, there is for the benefit, not for the use of". That is to say, with the hollow in the middle of the hub, there is the role of the car, with the hollow in the middle of the vessel, there is the role of the vessel; with the windows and doors in the middle of the four walls of the gap, there is the role of the house. There is a discursive unity between existence and nothingness. Moreover, it is "nothing" that determines the function of "something". Therefore, on the metaphysical view, there is Gu Kaizhi's neglect "four bodies" and heavy "A plug"; there is the main line of Chinese painting to their own changes and give each other with the composition of the characteristics of the combination; there is a Chinese painting hooks, chapped, dotted, dyed program; there is a landscape trees and rocks in the chapped, point on different. In the chapped, point on the different types; there is the ink and the whole picture processing on the "counting white when black". At the same time, there is also the program of the Chinese opera, virtual.... As a result, the Chinese people regard "painting" as "writing" painting, writing, writing, writing, writing, writing, writing, writing, such as writing their own thoughts in a single breath; the Chinese people say "acting" opera as "singing" opera; the Chinese people say "acting" opera as "singing" opera. Chinese people say "acting" opera as "singing" opera, and "watching" opera as "listening" opera, listening to the singing voice like a song, expressing emotions and chanting. They themselves are a self-contained world, they do not mainly want to explain what the object is, but want to use the object to explain what "I" am. Thus, the Chinese believe in the ancient truth: "The metaphysical is the Way, and the metaphysical is the vessel" (Yi. The Chinese believe in that ancient truth: "The metaphysical is the Way, and the metaphysical is the tool" (Yi.
Finally, if we want to summarize from that "number", it is that they are a real number and we are an imaginary number; they are precise mathematics and we are vague mathematics; they emphasize the material and we emphasize the spiritual; they are on the analytical side and we are on the comprehensive side; they are on the rational side and we are on the emotional side; they are on the sub-material and we are on the emotional side; they are on the sub-material and we are on the emotional side; they are on the sub-material and we are on the emotional side. They emphasize the metaphysical, we emphasize the metaphysical. Patiently, they are opposite in their approach, probably because they pay too much attention to the anatomical analysis of the local part of the object when they look at it, and therefore emphasize very much on starting from the whole when they work on it. This is the case with oil paintings, where the first thing to consider is the outline, color tone, and blocking; this is the case with plays, where the first thing to consider is the entire rhythm of the stage and the atmosphere of the environment. We, on the other hand, probably pay too much attention to the unity of the organic whole, so we tend to start directly from the localization when we start, which is the case in Chinese paintings, where the eyebrows and eyes are painted first, and then the whole body is expanded. In Chinese opera, the main character sings, and the supporting characters stand aside, without echoing.... The word "brush" in Chinese painting, in the sense of a tool, does not find an equivalent in English; it is translated only as "brush", and "painter" as "painter". The word "painter" is synonymous with "painters". As a meaning, the word "brush" for "ink" is even more difficult to find an apt translation. Oil paintings are made with brushes, while Chinese paintings are made with brushes. The former focuses on the result, while the latter takes into account the process. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. In terms of the weight and realism of the object, Western painting is much stronger than Chinese painting. For example, in the creation of historical paintings, it is obvious that oil paintings are more convincing. However, if we compare their angels with our flying skies, the latter is undoubtedly more immortal. Even if those solid human bodies in Western paintings have wings, people still find it hard to believe that they can fly.... Chinese and Western exchanges, mutual influence, first of all, on the one hand, is to take the strengths of others to make up for their own shortcomings. On the other hand is to know oneself and know the enemy, the opposite of its intention, to promote their own strengths, avoiding the shortcomings of others, based on their own characteristics of the play. In the present perhaps the latter is more important.
There are many peaks in the world of art, the Chinese nation is one, the Western nation is another. Comprehensive grasp of the aesthetic qualities of Chinese and Western art, not only for communication, but also more importantly in the climb - we climb these peaks, will be more confident; we view these peaks, will be more clear.