Simplification is the standard of Chinese art
Dear friends,
Following the historical development of the art of brushwork, my next introduction is its philosophic background.
Although in the Far East aesthetics has not been an independent discipline, its study in China can be traced back to 600 B.C., when Confucius was deeply involved in searching for as well as elucidating a philosophy of aesthetics. Materials in this field are abundant, albeit scattered, in classics, poems and inscriptions on paintings of various periods in history.
Aesthetics standards, of course, are rooted in the cultural and philosophical tenets of a people. In China, the major influences have been Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism, particularly the Chan sect of Chinese Buddhism, which was established in the Tang dynasty (7th century).
Lao Tse (born 571 B.C.), the founder of the Taoist philosophy, was a contemporary of Confucius. He believed that the desires and ambitions of man were the cause for the social unrest and turmoil so prevalent in his age. He preached the virtue of withdrawal and non-action, that is non-interference in the affairs of others, both on the part of individual and states. He urged conduct which is not motivated by self-interest or the pursuit of fame, wealth, position and tasks of grandiose scale, concepts which were embraced by many of the scholar-painters.
Deities and spirits had no place in his scheme of things, for from experience he was convinced that "Heaven and earth are not kind. They treat everything as straw dogs." His view of the cosmos, instead, was that Tao and Ch'i, the existent form of Tao, are the vital life forces in all things natural. From Yin and Yang, the complementary positive and negative forces, whose union is essential for creation, sprang the heavens, earth, man and all things natural in the universe. Ch'i is the force which harmonizes Yin and Yang. All things have their own particular qualities, and their own particular characteristics, all from Tao. Everything natural acts spontaneously, effortlessly. The way of pine is not the way of a willow; the way of a falcon is not the way of a blue jay.
These concepts were later translated into fundamental principles of brushwork, where their embodiment in painting and calligraphy make the works an affirmation, as it were, of these philosophic precepts. For the viewers, a mystical experience is the desired result. Since the term Tao is so abstract and difficult to define, Lao Tze used another word, Wu meaning void, to elucidate his philosophy of nature. Tao is Wu. We gave three examples to explain the function of space, or void:
"Thirty spokes support the hub of a wheel. Because of the space within the hub, the cart is able to move. Vessels may be made of clay; it is the space inside that makes them useful. Build a room with a door and windows, it is the space through the door and windows which is useful."
The concept of the reality of empty space is to be seen reflected in both calligraphy and painting. For instance, the empty space left in Chinese painting is not actually blank; the empty space has the function of denoting something present which has not been painted into the picture. For instance, in a painting of fish, the lines portraying the fish must be effective; at the same time, they should also be able to suggest the space surrounding them; in other words, the existence of water.
Lao Tze stressed simplicity, a tenet which greatly influenced Chinese life. Consequently, simplification becomes a standard of art. An artist is content with simple themes; he strives for the simple approach, economy of line and color. Subdued color becomes an aesthetic standard. In subject matter, landscape and other nature themes become more important than figure form, for in the Taoist thinking man's place in the scheme of the nature is rather insignificant. In a nature painting, man will occupy a modest space. This is quite opposed to the Western art, which is a humanist art, for human form is the main them in Western painting and sculpture.
-- Kwo Da-Wei