Triad of terms: 'Chung','da' and 'chuo'

Dear friends,

Wang Kuo-Wei, the famous 19th century scholar specializing in Chinese classics, used a triad of terms, chung, da, and chuo, as his measurement of excellence in evaluating literary work of the past.

Many are fa}iliar with two outstanding poets of the early T'ang period (seventh century), Li Po and Tu Fu. One of Li's poems starts with: "Look, didn't you see that the waters of the Yellow River come from heaven?" The word "heaven" forces the reader to go beyond the horizon to see the river's source and, thus, effectively creates the feeling of da. Here Li has suggested the vastness of nature and its boundless vitality.

Tu Fu had experienced the anguish and suffering of being a refugee during war time, and he fully understood the real misery of the people. Therefore, his poems are full of descriptions portraying their misfortunes, such as: In the red gates (the homes of the rich) there is spoiled meat and wine; bones (people who died from starvation) are scattered along the road. These words force one to contemplate the grievous inhumanity of man. It is this serious expression that illustrates the quality of chung in literature.

'Chung'

The word chung, which literally means "weight" or "heavy", is used figuratively to indicate the seriousness or gravity of a piece of art.

My painting Bone of Contention (Fig. 80) originated in the following manner. While in Hong Kong, I saw two friendly dogs, a mother and her offspring, suddenly engage in a fight over a couple of bones. I was moved and did a painting. My teacher later approved it and sent it back to me from Beijing with his comments. In comparison with my teacher's work, this painting is not chung enough in form, perhaps I was too much involved in the anatomical structure of the subject matter and consequently neglected the importance of the solid and direct quality which a serious chung work should posses.

The quality of chung can also be seen in the art of calligraphy.

A drama must be serious; music should be moving; and so with painting and calligraphy. Either form of content, or both, must carry the quality of weight and solidity, the quality of chung. Otherwise, the life of the work of art will not be lasting.

'Da'

The other quality, da, literally means "big," "great," or "vast." To the art critic, it refers to the dynamic expression which radiates from the rendered forms and goes beyond the limits of the composition. In other words, where da exists, the actual composition of lines and color ends, but the meaning and the expression stretch out beyond the boundary of the painting or calligraphy. It seems as if more paper or canvas is needed. A painting with the da quality does not confine the onlooker's eyes solely to the picture, for the drama of such a work has the power to lead the viewer out to the space surrounding it.

An outstanding figure of the Wen Jen style is Hsu Wei (1521- 1593), whose influence has been long lasting. His autumn leaves are an excellent illustration of the concept of da. The feeling of wind is suggested by the spontaneous dashes of lines, dots and wash. He did not fuss in the modeling of the forms, but, rather placed importance on his brushwork and, above all, on suggesting vastness of space. The simplification of lines is used to a great extent; for example, the whole face of the scholar is indicated by only two dots for eyes, and a dry S-curve suggesting his beard in the wind. Likewise, the entire body is gestured by just a few lines. The carefree brush strokes depicting the falling leaves and the sweeping sleeve make it seem as if the wind were a force completely outside the painting, yet filling up the entire space of the composition.

-- David Kwo