Sheng and Shu: The criteria of art

Dear friends,

Sheng and Shu literally refer to food: Sheng is the quality of food in its natural, raw or uncooked state, while Shu is applied to food upon ripening, maturing or after having been cooked. In Chinese arts, these words are often utilized to describe the manner of brushwork, whether spontaneous and natural, as opposed to studied, formal and well-polished. These are descriptive criteria, rather than values applied in order to judge artistic merit.

A Shu painting can be compared, as it were, to a person who is well-dressed, well-polished, very polite and always wearing a smile. In other words, urbane. As a rule, this kind of painting, highly decorative, is quite salable.

On the other hand, in Sheng calligraphy, the expression is straightforwardly serious and strong, usually with a distinct, individualized identity and with raw edges. The artist will continue in this style, whether people like it or not.

Ku Ning-Yuan of the Ming period (15th century), in his treatise A Guide to the Art of Painting, stated: "Artists of the Yuan period (1260-1368) were Sheng in using the brush, Chuo in planning the composition; consequently, profoundly significant."

Indeed, most of the Yuan painters were followers of the early Sung masters (10th century), as were Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, Tung Yuan, etc. None of their great works were Tien, "sweet". Neither were they Shu, "overcooked" or too dexterous or polished. Their works, on the whole, are spontaneous, straightforward, Sheng, "raw", or "natural", so to speak. Regarding planning, they were meticulous about their composition. None of them was commercially minded, and therefore they were Chuo. A Chuo work is usually imbued with a profound meaning and a lasting attraction.

A picture reproduced from a landscape by Wang Yuan-Ch'i (1642- 1715), for example, supports Ku Ning-Yuan's statement quoted above. The flavor is Sheng; the power conveyed by the combination of line, design and texture results in the Ch'i sought by all Chinese artists. The seals on the lower right corner are those of three collectors.

Another picture, also a landscape, reproduced from a painting by Chang Tseh-Ning of the 19th century, is obviously made by a competent hand. Graceful in appearance, rich in content. The statement of each part of the composition is clear. More people would probably prefer to live with this kind of agreeable work. However, purely from an art critic's point of view, no matter how charming it is, it is too well-done, and therefore, it is Shu. It is not strong enough to be identified as a great work. The chances are nine out of 10 that a Shu work will be feeble.

Sheng may help an artist to discover a much broader road to the higher and deeper goals in the domain of art.

Another picture demonstrates the difference between Sheng and Shu in calligraphy. The style of writing by Chao Meng-Fu illustrates qualities of Shu and the style by Liu Kung-Ch'un, illustrates qualities of Sheng.

Chao's writing style is fluid. The strokes are smooth, swaying, not angular. His lines linger at their ends. There is a trace of an "S" curve even in his straight lines. These are the qualities of Shu. Liu, on the other hand, known for his high fidelity, a person who would never compromise his own basic principles, shows in his style a most definite, clear-cut, bony quality; above all, not "well-cooked" and not smooth at all. Note the firm, angular shoulders, the cuneiform shapes. These mark the very quality of Sheng.

To be Shu is not necessarily a drawback. However, from an artistic angle, Sheng is much more expressive as far as aesthetic evaluation is concerned.

-- Kwo Da-wei