Chinese painting

Wall scroll painted by Ma Lin in 1246. Ink on silk, 110.5 cm wide.

Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The materials
used in Chinese painting, brush and ink on paper and silk, have determined its character and
development over thousands of years. Derived from callig raphy, it is essentially a linear art,
employing brushwork to evoke images and feelings. Once on paper, brushstrokes cannot be
erased or corrected, so a painter must have a complete mental concept of the painting before
even lifting the brush. Chinese painting is closely related to Zen Buddhist and Daoist ideals of
total concentration in the act of the very moment, and harmony between man and nature. The
painter must wor k with speed, pitch, live liness, confidence, and te chnical master y,
infusing spir itual ene rg y into the br ushstr oke s. Chinese paintings do not attempt to
captur e the actual physical appear ance of a subject, but r ather its esse ntial nature or
char acter . Chinese paintings do not have a single pe rspe ctive; every area of the painting
is interesting to the eye. Landscapes are often painted from a viewpoint above the scene, so
that many areas can be seen at once. In larg e scenes or landscapes, the eye is meant to travel
along a visual path from one area to another.
There are thr ee main subje cts of Chinese painting : HUMA N F IGUR ES, L ANDSCA PE S, and
B IR DS A ND FL OWE R S. Figure painting became highly developed during the Tang Dynasty,
and landscape painting reached its heig ht during the Song Dynasty. After Chinese painters
were exposed to Western art during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they began to
evolve new styles combining traditional Chinese painting with Western impressionism and
perspective. The aesthetics of painting and calligraphy have sig nificantly influenced the flowing
lines and linear motifs that decorate Chinese ritual bronzes, B uddhist sculptures, lacquerware,
porcelain, and cloisonné enamel.
Traditional Chinese painting
Traditional Chinese painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done
with a brush dipped in black or colored ink, typically on paper or silk. The finished work is then
mounted on scrolls, which can be hung or rolled up. Traditional painting also is done in albums
and on walls, lacquerwork, and other media. Chinese painting and calligraphy are judged by the
same criteria, the vitality and expressiveness of the brushstrokes and the harmony of the
composition.

There are two main techniques in Chinese painting:

Me ticulous - Gong-bi (工筆), often referred to as "cour t- sty le" painting , or "fine- line"
painting. This style of painting incorporates delicate Chinese calligraphy strokes and close
attention to detail. Fine brushes are first used to create an outline of the subject, and then the
artist goes back with softer brushes to apply layers of color washes until the desired effect is
achieved.

Fr ee hand - Shui-mo (水墨) loosely termed “ water color ”or “ br ush”painting. T he Chinese
character "mo" means ink and "shui" means water. This style is also referred to as "xie yi" (寫
意) or freehand style. This style emphasizes the interpretive aspect of brushwork and the
shading of ink, and seeks to express the essence of the subject, rather than the details of its
appearance. Only black ink and its shadings are used. Xie yi style has a freer, unrestrained look.

C hinese painting s do not attempt to captur e the actual physical appear ance of a subject,
but r ather its essential char acte r or quality. Landscape painters, for example, frequently
go out and observe nature, then come back to a studio to paint what they have experienced.
Many landscapes incorporate empty spaces to sugg est light or clouds. A flower may be
surrounded by blank paper, or paired with a bird or another flower that exists in a different
season or climate. Certain details mig ht be rendered with great care, to emphasize an aspect
of the subject matter, while others are left to the imagination. B old strokes contrast with soft,
barely washed areas. Chinese paintings do not have a sing le perspective or view point; every
area of the painting is interesting to the eye. Landscapes are often painted from a viewpoint
above the scene, so that many areas can be seen at once. In large scenes or landscapes, the
eye is meant to travel along a visual path from one area to another. Paintings on scrolls are
made to be “ read”from one end to the other, and the portions not being viewed can be rolled
up.

C hinese painte rs fr equently copy the wor ks of pr evious master s. Copying is reg arded as
a for m of spir itual and ar tistic se lf- discipline , and accur ate copies ar e admir ed almost as
much as the or iginals. Many ancient paintings are no longer extant but have been preserved
through copies that were made centuries later.
History
De ve lopme nt t o 221 B.C.E.

Long Fe ng Shi Nu Tu, Warring State s Pe riod s ilk painting

Chine se paint ing is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world, originating
around 4000 B.C.E. and developing over a period of more than six thousand years.[ 3] In its
seminal stages, Chinese painting was closely associated with other crafts such as pottery,
jade carving, lacquer ware and bronze casting. The earliest paintings were ornamental, not
representational, consisting of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Stone Age pottery
was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals. During the Warring States Period (403-
221 B.C.E.), artists began to represent the world around them.
Much of what we know of early Chinese figure painting comes from burial sites, where
paintings were preserved on silk banners, lacquered objects, and tomb walls. Many early
tomb paintings were meant to protect the dead or help their souls get to paradise. Others
illustrated the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius or showed scenes of daily life.
The earliest surviving examples of Chinese painting are fragments of painting on silk,
paintings on stone, and painted lacquer items dated to the Warring States period (481 -
221 B.C.E.). Painting from this era can be seen on an artistically elaborate lacquer coffin from
the Baoshan Tomb (fourth century B.C.E.) An early painting on silk from the Western Han
Dynasty was found along with exquisitely decorated funerary items in a tomb at Mawangdui,
Changsha, Hunan, China.
Ear ly Impe rial China (221 B.C.E. –220 C.E.)

An Eas te rn Han Dynasty lacque re d woode n box wit h 3-inch tall painte d figure s, s econd ce ntury C.E.

B eginning with the establishment of the Eastern Jin Dynasty]] (265–420), painting and
calligraphy were highly appreciated arts in court circles and were produced almost exclusively
by amateurs—aristocrats and scholar-officials—who had enough leisure time to perfect the
technique and possessed the sensibility necessary for great brushwork. Calligraphy was
regarded as the highest and purest form of painting. The implements used were the brush pen,
made of animal hair, and black inks made from pine soot and animal glue. In ancient times,
writing, as well as painting, was done on silk. After the invention of paper in the first
century C.E., silk was g radually replaced by the cheaper new material. Orig inal 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.
Artists from the Han (202 B.C.E.) to the Tang (618-906) dynasties mainly painted the human
figure. Paintings included images of immortals, emperors, court ladies, and common people
at their work.
After Buddhism was introduced to China during the 1st century C.E., the art of painting
religious murals on the walls of grottoes and temples gradually gained in prominence. Some
of the greatest treasures of Chinese painting are the frescoes found on the walls of the 468
Buddhist grottoes in Dunhuang in Gansu province.

Six Dynast ie s pe r iod (220–581)

Luos henfu by Gu Kaizhi (344-406 C.E.)

During the Six Dynasties period (220-589), people began to appreciate painting for its own
beauty and to write about art. References to individual artists, such as Gu Kaizhi began to
appear in written historical records, poetry and literature. Paintings illustrating Confucian
moral themes, such as the proper behavior of a wife to her husband or of children to their
parents, incorporated flowing lines and graceful figures.
Gu Kaizhi
Gu Kaizhi (Traditional Chinese: 顧愷之; Simplified Chinese: 顾恺之; Hanyu Pinyin: Gù K izh ;
Wade-Giles: Ku K'ai-chih) (ca. 344-406) was born in Wuxi, Jiangsu province and first painted
at Nanjing in 364. In 366 he became an officer (Da Sima Canjun, 大司馬參軍), and was later
promoted to royal officer (Sanji Changshi, 散騎常侍). He was also a talented poet and
calligrapher. He wrote three books on painting theory: On Painting (畫論), Introduction of
Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉勝流畫贊) and Painting Yuntai Mountain (畫
雲台山記). He wrote:
"In figure paintings the clothes and the appearances were not very important. The eyes were
the spirit and the decisive factor."
Copies exist of three silk handscroll paintings attributed to Gu, including Admonitions of the
Instructress to the Palace Ladies (女使箴圖), an illustration of nine stories from a political
satire about Empress Jia (賈后) written by Zhang Hua (張華 ca. 232-302).
Six principles

The Sakyamuni Buddha, by Zhang She ngwe n, 1173-1176 C.E., Song Dynast y.

Xie He (Traditional Chinese: 謝赫; Simplified Chinese: 谢赫; Hanyu Pinyin: Xiè Hè; Wade-Giles
: Hsie h He , fl. fifth century) was a Chinese writer, art historian and critic of the Liu Song and
Southern Qi dynasties. Xie established "Six points to consider when judging a painting" (绘画
六法, Huìhuà Liùf ), in the preface to his book The Record of the Classification of Old
Painters (古画品录, G huà P nlù). In evaluating "old" and "ancient" practices, he identified six
elements that define a painting:
1. "Spirit Resonance," or vitality, the overall energy of a work of art. According to Xie, if
a painting did not posses Spirit Resonance, there was no need to look further.
2. "Bone Method," or the way of using the brush. This refers not only to texture and
brush stroke, but to the close link between handwriting and personality. At that time
the art of calligraphy was inseparable from painting.
3. "Correspondence to the Object," or the depiction of form, including shape and line.
 4. "Suitability to Type," the application of color, including layers, value and tone.
5. "Division and Planning," placement and arrangement, corresponding to composition,
space and depth.
6. "Transmission by Copying," the copying of models, not only from life but also from
the works of antiquity.

Sui and Tang dynasties (581–

960)

Sun Wei was a note d paint er in Sichuan are a at the e nd of the Tang Dynas ty. This piece , his only authe ntic
work e xtant, de picts a we ll-known st or y, "Zhu Lin Qi Xian" (Se ve n her mits with super b talent e njoying the ir

life in bamboo for es t during the We ijin per iod [ 220~420 C.E.]).

Spr ing Outing of the Tang Cour t, by Zhang Xuan (713－ 755 C.E.)

A mural painting of Li Xian's tomb at the Qianling Mausoleum, date d 706 C.E., Tang Dynas ty

During the early Tang period, painting styles were mainly inherited from the previous Sui
Dynasty. Figure painting, the "painting of people" (人物画) became highly developed during
this period, especially in Buddhist painting and "court painting" depicting the Buddha, monks,
nobles, and other famous figures. Brothers Yan Liben (阎立本) and Yan Lide (阎立德) were
two major figures from this period. The works of Yan Liben, personal portraitist to the
Emperor Taizong, which include Emperor Tang Taizong Meeting Tibetan Emissaries (太宗步
辇图) and Emperors of Previous Dynasties (历代帝王图) are historically notable. Artists such
as Zhou Fang illustrated the splendor of court life in paintings of emperors, palace ladies, and
imperial horses. Figure painting reached the height of elegant realism in the art of the court
of Southern Tang (937-975). Depictions of scenes and activities such as feasts, worship and
street scenes provide a valuable historical record of the appearance, expressions, ideals, and
religious beliefs of the people.
Shan shui (山水, "mountain water") landscape painting developed quickly in this period and
reached its first maturation. Li Sixun (李思训) and his son Li Zhaodao (李昭道) were the most
famous painters in this domain. The great poet Wang Wei (王维) first created the brush and
ink painting of shan-shui, literally "mountains and waters" (水墨山水画), and combined
literature, especially poetry, with painting. These monochromatic and sparse landscapes (a
style that is collectively called shuimohua) were not intended to reproduce exactly the
appearance of nature (realism) but rather to grasp an emotion or atmosphere and capture
the "rhythm" of nature.
The theory of painting also developed, and themes from Buddhism, Daoism, and traditional
literature were absorbed and combined into painting. Paintings on architectural structures,
such as murals (壁画), ceiling paintings, cave paintings, and tomb paintings, became
widespread. An example is the paintings in the Mogao Caves in Xinjiang.
The use of line in painting became much more calligraphic than in the early period. Most of
the Tang artists outlined figures with fine black lines and used brilliant color and elaborate
detail. One Tang artist, however, the master Wu Daozi (吴道子, 680 - 740), who is referred
to as the "Sage of Painting," used only black ink and freely-painted brushstrokes to create
ink paintings that were so exciting that crowds gathered to watch him work. After Wu Daozi,
ink paintings were no longer thought of as preliminary sketches or outlines to be filled in with
color, but were valued as finished works of art.
Wu's works include God Sending a Son (天王送子图), a depiction of the Heaven King holding
his newborn son Sakyamuni to receive the worship of the immortals. Wu created a new
technique of drawing named "Drawing of Water Shield" (莼菜描). A famous myth relates that
the Emperor Xuanzong of Tang China commissioned Wu Daozi to paint a mural on the wall
of the palace, depicting a nature scene set in a valley containing a stunning array of flora and
fauna. Wu Daozi painted a door on the side of a mountain. According to the myth, the artist
clapped his hands and entered the door, inviting the Emperor to come and see; sadly the
door shut and he was lost forever.

Song and Yuan dynasties (960–

1368)

The "Four Ge ne rals of Zhongxing" painte d by Liu Songnian during the Southe rn Song Dynas ty. Yue Fe i is the

s econd per son from the left . It is be lie ved to be t he "tr ue s t por trait of Yue in all e xtant mat er ials."
[7]
Buddhist Te mple in the Mountains, e le venth century, ink on s ilk, Ne lson-Atkins Mus e um of Art, Kansas City
(Miss ouri).

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), landscapes of more subtle expression appeared;
immeasurable distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain
contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena.
Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of the artist to
reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to Daoist and Buddhist
concepts.
Figure painting was expanded during the Song Dynasty, to deal with subjects other than
religious themes, such as historical events and stories of everyday life. Techniques of figure
painting also became further refined.
While many Chinese artists were attempting to represent three-dimensional objects and to
master the illusion of space, another group of painters pursued very different goals. At the
end of Northern Song period, the poet Su Shi (Simplified Chinese: 苏轼; Traditional Chinese:
蘇軾; pinyin: S Shì, Su Dongpo (蘇東坡), 1037–1101) and the scholar-officials in his circle
became serious amateur painters and developed a new style of painting, using their skills in
calligraphy to make ink paintings. From their time onward, many painters strove to freely
express their feelings and to capture the inner spirit of their subject instead of describing its
outward appearance.
During the Southern Song period (1127-1279), court painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui
used strong black brushstrokes to sketch trees and rocks and pale washes to suggest misty
space.

Zhang Zeduan

De tail of the original Qingming Scroll by Zhang Zeduan, early t we lft h ce nt ur y.

De tails of the paint ing "Along the Rive r Dur ing Qingming Fe stival," the e ight ee nth ce ntury re make.

One of the most famous artists of the period was Zhang Zeduan (Traditional Chinese: 張擇端
; Simplified Chinese: 张择端; Hanyu Pinyin: Zh ng Zédu n; Wade-Giles: Chang Tse - tuan)
(1085-1145 C.E.), alias Zheng Dao, painter of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, a
wide handscroll portraying life in a city. The original painting’
s myriad depictions of people
interacting with one another reveals the nuances of class structure and the hardships of
urban life in China during the twelfth century. It also documents technologies, such as the
designs of ships and passenger boats used in Song China.[ 8]

Late imperial China (1279–

1895)

First pie ce of Dwe lling in t he Fuchun Mountains , by Huang Gongwang ( 1269 - 1354). He be gan s er ious studies
in paint ing only at the age of 50. In 1347, he moved to t he Fuchun Mountains (s outhwe s t of Hangzhou, along

the northe rn bank of the Fuchun River ), whe re he spe nt the last years of his life and made a number of

paintings on the natural lands cape .

Six Gentle men, by Ni Zan, 1345.

Zhao Me ngfu, Autumn colors on the Qiao and Hua mount ains (le ft half)

Zhao Me ngfu, Old Tre e and Hor se s

During the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), painters combined the arts of painting, poetry, and
calligraphy by inscribing poems on their paintings. These three arts worked together to
express the artist’
s feelings more completely than one art could do alone. It was not unusual
for scholars to add their seals or writer comments on paintings or copies of paintings in their
collections.
A tradition of painting simple subjects—a branch with fruit, a few flowers, or one or two
horses—began to develop during the thirteenth century. Narrative painting, with a wider
color range and a much busier composition than Song paintings, was popular during the
Ming period (1368-1644).
Some of the greatest Chinese painters, including Zhao Menghu (Traditional Chinese: 趙孟頫;
Simplified Chinese: 赵孟頫; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhào Mèngf ; Wade-Giles: Chao Me ng- fu, 1254–
1322) and Ni Zan (Ni Tsan,倪瓚 (1301-1374)), painted during this period. Zhao Menghu’ s
rejection of the refined, gentle brushwork of his era in favor of the cruder style of the eighth
century is considered to have brought about a revolution that created the modern Chinese
landscape painting.

Ni Zan was part of the wealthy and disenfranchised Confucian literati who lived during the
decline of the Yuan Dynasty and formed a movement that radically altered the traditional
conceptions of Chinese painting. Their paintings depicted natural settings that were highly
localized, portraying personally valued vistas that reflected their individual feelings. In 1364,
criticized because his paintings of bamboo did not show a likeness to real bamboo, he said:
“I use bamboo painting to write out the exhilaration in my breast, that is all. Why should I
worry whether it shows likeness or not?”
The subjects most widely painted by the Confucian literati were the so-called four virtues of
bamboo (a symbol of uprightness, humility and unbending loyalty), plum (a symbol of purity
and endurance), chrysanthemum (a symbol of vitality) and orchid (a symbol of purity), as well
as bird and flower paintings.
The first books illustrated with colored woodcut prints appeared around this time; as color-
printing techniques were perfected, illustrated manuals on the art of painting were
published. Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden), a five-volume work first
published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook for artists and students ever since.
Some painters of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) continued the traditions of the Yuan scholar-
painters. This group of painters, known as the Wu School, was led by the artist Shen Zhou.
Another group of painters, known as the Zhe School, revived and transformed the styles of
the Song court. Other famous painters of the Ming Dynasty include Dong Qiochang (T’ ung Ch’
i-Ch’ang), Huang Gongwang (Hunag Kung-wang), Wen Zhengming (Wang Cheng-ming)[ 9].

Shen Zhou

Lofty Mount Lu, by She n Zhou

Shen Zhou (Chinese: 沈周; pinyin: Sh n Zh u, 1427–1509), courtesy name Qinan (启南), was
accomplished in history and the classics, and his paintings reveal a disciplined conformance to
the styles of the Yuan Dynasty, to Chinese historical traditions, and to orthodox Confucianism.
He is most famous for his landscape paintings and for his “ boneless”renderings of flowers,
meticulously created in the style of the Yuan masters. His inherited wealth afforded him the
luxury of painting independently of patrons, and he did so in a way that, while revealing his
historical influence, was uniquely his own. He frequently combined experimental elements with
the more rigid styles of the Yuan masters. Much of his work was done in collaboration with
others, combining painting, poetry, and calligraphy at gatherings with his literati friends. For
painters of his Wu School, painting was a form of meditation, rather than an occupation.

Qing Dynasty

Two Bir ds
During the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), painters known as Individualists rebelled against
many of the traditional rules of painting and found ways to express themselves more directly
through free brushwork. In the 1700s and 1800s, great commercial cities such as Yangzhou
and Shanghai became art centers where wealthy merchant-patrons encouraged artists to
produce bold new works. Major painters of the Qing Dynasty include Wu Li, Gong Xian (Kung
Hsien), Bada Shanten (Pa-ta Shan-jen; Ju Da or Chu Ta), Shitao (Shih-t’ ao; Daoji or Tao-chi)
and Wu Changshi (Wu Ch’ ang-shih), and Ren Bonian (Jen Po-nien; Ren Yi or Jen I).

The Shanghai School, 1850-1900

Self por trait by Re n Xiong

Afte r the poe ms of Da Mei by Re n Xiong

(t it le not known) by Re n Xiong

After the bloody Taiping rebellion broke out in 1853, wealthy Chinese refugees flocked to
Shanghai where they prospered by trading with British, American, and French merchants in
the foreign concessions there. Their patronage encouraged artists to come to Shanghai,
where they congregated in groups and art associations and developed a new Shanghai style
of painting. One of the most influential painters of the Shanghai School (海上画派 Haishang
Huapai or 海派 Haipai) was Ren Xiong, who died of tuberculosis in 1857 at the age of 34.
Members of the Ren family and their students produced a number of innovations in painting
between the 1860s and the 1890s, particularly in the traditional genres of figure painting and
bird-and-flower painting. The new cultural environment, a rich combination of Western and
Chinese lifestyles, traditional and modern, stimulated painters and presented them with new
opportunities.[ 10]
The most well-known figures from this school are Ren Xiong (任熊), Ren Yi (任伯年, also
known as Ren Bonian), Zhao Zhiqian (赵之谦), Wu Changshuo (吴昌硕), Sha Menghai (沙孟
海, calligrapher), Pan Tianshou (潘天寿), Fu Baoshi (傅抱石). Other well-known painters are:
Wang Zhen, XuGu, Zhang Xiong, Hu Yuan, and Yang Borun.
Wú Ch ngshuò (Wu Junqing (1844-1927)), a poet, calligrapher and carver of seals, later
associated with the Shanghai school, helped to rejuvenate the art of painting flowers and
birds. He considered carving seals and painting as integrated disciplines. His disciple, Wang
Zhen (Chinese: 王震; Wade-Giles: Wang Che n (1867-1938)), a successful banker and a
member of the Shanghai school, was a master calligrapher as well as a painter of flowers,
birds, personages and Buddhist subjects. The works of both these painters enjoyed
considerable popularity in Japan, where Wang is known as O Itei from his variant Chinese
name of Wang Yiting (Wang I-t'ing).

Modern Chinese painting

In the late 1800s and 1900s, Chinese painters were increasingly exposed to the Western art,
and an artistic controversy arose over how to respond to it. Some artists who studied in
Europe rejected Chinese painting; others tried to combine the best of both traditions.
Perhaps the most beloved modern painter was Qi Baishi (Simplified Chinese: 齐白石;
Traditional Chinese: 齊白石; pinyin: Qí Báishí, also Ch'i Pai- shih) (January 1, 1864 -
September 16, 1957), who began life as a poor peasant and became a great master. His best
known works depict flowers and small animals and he is known for the whimsical, often
playful style of his watercolors.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, as an extension of the New Culture Movement (1917
–1923), Chinese artists started to adopt Western painting techniques, and oil painting was
introduced to China. Some artists, including Zhang Daqian, Lin Fengmian, Pang Xunqin and
Wu Zuoren, studied or worked abroad.
The Lingnan School, 1900-1950

Wang Zhe n, Flowe rs 1931, Nantoy s Colle ction, Japan

Pe onie s and Daffodils (牡丹水仙图), Wu Changs huo, Jilin Pr ovincial Muse um

Budda (佛像图), Wu Cha ngshuo , National Ar t Mus eum of China, Beijing

Until 1843, Guangzhou (Canton) was the only legal port for trade between China and the
outside world. This region, commonly referred to as Lingnan, produced some of the most
important Chinese political thinkers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Along
with new political ideas, a distinct style of Cantonese painting began to evolve in the
nineteenth century, and came into national prominence during the first part of the twentieth
century. The leader of the Lingnan School of painting was Gao Jianfu (1879-1950?). After the
overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, he and his followers, including his younger brother
Gao Qifeng, promoted the development of a New National Painting (xin guohua), combining
the local style with elements of Western and Japanese realist painting. Their intention was to
create art that would be more accessible to ordinary citizens than the traditional literati
painting of the past.[ 11]

Guohua
As part of the effort to Westernize and modernize China during the first half of the twentieth
century, art education in China's modern schools taught European artistic techniques, which
educators considered necessary for engineering and science. Painting in the traditional
medium of ink and color on paper came to be referred to as guohua (国画, meaning
'national' or 'native painting'), to distinguish it from Western-style oil painting, watercolor
painting, or drawing. Various groups of traditionalist painters formed to defend and reform
China's heritage, believing that innovation could be achieved within China's own cultural
tradition. Some of them recognized similarities between Western modernism and the self-
expressive and formalistic qualities of guohua, and turned to modernist oil painting. Others
believed that the best qualities of Chinese civilization should never be abandoned, but did not
agree on what those qualities were. One group of guohua painters, including Wu Changshi,
Wang Zhen, Feng Zikai, Chen Hengke, and Fu Baoshi, were influenced by similar nationalistic
trends in Japan and favored simple but bold imagery. Wu Hufan, He Tianjian, Chang Dai-chien
and Zheng Yong, based their work upon a return to the highly refined classical techniques of
the Song and Yuan periods. A third group, dominated by Xu Beihong, followed the footsteps
of the Lingnan school in trying to reform Chinese ink painting by adding elements of
Western realism.

People's Republic of China

In the early years of the People's Republic of China, artists were encouraged to employ
socialist realism and art became a vehicle for propaganda to educate the masses. Some
socialist realism was imported from the Soviet Union without modification, and painters were
assigned subjects and expected to mass-produce paintings. This regimen was considerably
relaxed in 1953, and after the Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956-57, traditional Chinese
painting experienced a significant revival. Along with these developments in professional art
circles, there was a proliferation of peasant art depicting everyday life in the rural areas on
wall murals and in open-air painting exhibitions.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966 –1976), art schools were closed, and publication of art
journals and major art exhibitions ceased. Many artists and intellectuals were exiled, lynched
or imprisoned. Some traditional arts almost disappeared. As part of “ the elimination of Four
Olds campaign,”museums and temples were pillaged and art treasures were defaced and
destroyed. Traditional landscape painting was proscribed by the Communist government
because it was not considered to address social needs. Under difficult and dangerous
circumstances, some Chinese artists continued to paint landscapes; liberated from traditional
constraints and formulas, they took new directions.
Painting since 1979
Following the Cultural Revolution, art schools and professional organizations were reinstated.
Exchanges were set up with groups of foreign artists, and Chinese artists began to
experiment with new subjects and techniques.
Brightly colored "peasant paintings," a form of Chinese folk art featuring traditional
decorative elements borrowed from other crafts such as embroidery, batik and paper-
cutting, are widely produced in rural areas.

Xu Beihong

Xu Beihong, Galloping Hors e

Xu Beihong (Traditional Chinese: 徐悲鴻; Simplified Chinese: 徐悲鸿; pinyin: Xú B ihóng) was
primarily known for his shuimohua (Chinese ink paintings) of horses and birds. He was one of
the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a new
modern China at the beginning of the twentieth century, and one of the first to create
monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes.[ 12] He studied art in Tokyo in 1917, and at
the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1919 to 1927. After the founding
of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xu became president of the Central Academy of
Fine Arts and chairman of the Chinese Artists' Association. Xu is considered to be responsible
for the direction taken by modern art in China. The policies enacted by Xu at the beginning of
the Communist Era continue to define the Chinese government’ s official policy towards the
arts and the direction of the various art colleges and universities throughout China.
Xu Beihong was a master of both oils and Chinese ink, but most of his works were in the
Chinese traditional style. In his efforts to create a new form of national art, he combined
Chinese brush and ink techniques with Western perspective and methods of composition. As
an art teacher, he advocated the subordination of technique to artistic conception and
emphasized the importance of the artist's experiences in life.
 Materials

Brushes
Throughout most of its history, Chinese painting has been done with brush and ink on either
paper or silk. The ancient Chinese used the expression “ yu pi yu mo”(“ to have brush, to
have ink” ). Chinese brushes have finer tips than Western water color brushes, and are much
more versatile; a single brush can be used to produce an infinite variety of strokes by
pressing the center, back, side, or tip onto the paper or silk with varying degrees of force
and speed, lifting, pressing, pausing and transiting to the next line. There are various types
of paint brushes:
· Hsieh chao pi: Crab claw brushes, in large and small sizes
· Hua jan pi: Brushes for painting flowers
· Lan yu chu pi: Brushes for painting orchids and bamboo
· T’
u hao pi: Rabbit's hair brush, used for calligraphy
· Hu ying pi: Hunan sheep's hair brush, used for calligraphy
Wash painting brushes are similar to the brushes used for calligraphy and are traditionally
made from bamboo with goat, ox, horse, sheep, rabbit, marten, badger, deer, boar or wolf
hair. The brush hairs are tapered to a fine point, a feature vital to the style of wash paintings.
Different brushes have different qualities. A small wolf-hair brush that is tapered to a fine
point can deliver an even thin line of ink (much like a pen). A large wool brush (one variation
called the big cloud) can hold a large volume of water and ink. When the big cloud brush
rains down upon the paper, it delivers a graded swath of ink encompassing myriad shades of
gray to black.

Ink
The strength and quality of the ink creates additional variations. Thick ink is deep and glossy
when brushed onto paper or silk, while thin ink gives a lively, translucent effect. It is possible
to convey light and darkness, texture, weight and coloring simply through the thickness of
the ink. In addition, ink can be used dry or wet, pooled, splashed, splattered, clumped or
dotted on the paper. Brush techniques include not only line drawing, but the use of stylized
expressions of shade and texture (cunfa) and dotting techniques (dianfa) to differentiate trees
and plants and also for simple embellishment.[ 13] The charm of a brush-and-ink painting
comes not only from the artist’ s intentional self-expression, but from the interaction of the
ink with the textured paper or cloth.
In wash paintings, as in calligraphy, artists usually grind their own ink using an ink stick and a
grinding stone but modern prepared inks are also available. Most ink sticks are made of
densely packed charcoal ash from bamboo or pine soot combined with glue extracted from
fish bone. An artist puts a few drops of water on an ink stone and grinds the ink stick in a
circular motion until a smooth, black ink of the desired concentration is made. Prepared inks
are usually of much lower quality. Ink sticks themselves are sometimes ornately decorated
with landscapes or flowers in bas-relief and some are highlighted with gold.
Paper and silk
Chinese paintings were done on silk until the invention of paper around the first
century C.E. This paper was made from a variety of materials including wood pulp, old fishing
nets and bark. Modern Chinese paper, often known as rice paper in English, is often machine
made. It is classified in degrees according to weight and the sizing used to make the paper.
Rice paper is very absorbent, and the amount of sizing it contains dictates the quantity of ink
used to make strokes on it. Some rough papers absorb ink quickly like a sponge; others
have a smooth surface which resists ink.[ 14 ]
Silk must be treated with alum and glue before use, making it less absorbent than paper.
Paper quickly came into favor with calligraphers and painters because it was available in a
variety of textures and finishes, and because the brush strokes showed up more clearly on
paper.

Color
Color inks are created by mixing water with ground mineral pigments. In Chinese painting,
color is not used to show the effect of light on the subject, but to convey information about
the subject. Adding traces of brown to rocks, leaves, and moss tells something about the
season of the year or the weather conditions. In Chinese landscape painting (shan shui),
colors represent the five elements that make up the universe, and the directions of the
compass.[ 15] Modern Chinese painters often mix several colors on a single brush, or mix their
colors with black inks to obtained more natural and richly varied colors.

Landscape painting
Many critics consider landscape (shah shui) to be the highest form of Chinese painting. The
time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907-1127) is known as the
"Great age of Chinese landscape." In the north, artists such as Jing Hao, Fan Kuan, and Guo
Xi painted pictures of towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp,
dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stone. In the south, Dong Yuan, Ju Ran, and other
artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done
with softer, rubbed brushwork. These two kinds of scenes and techniques became the
classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.

Bird and flower painting

Bird-and- flowe r paint ing (Traditional Chinese: 花鳥畫, Simplified Chinese: 花鸟画 hu ni o-
huà, Japanese: 花鳥画 kach -ga, literally 'flower-bird painting') is a genre of Chinese painting
devoted to depicting a wide range of natural subjects, including flowers (plants), fish, insects,
birds, and pets (dogs, cats). Lin Liang (:zh:林良|林良), Qi Baishi (齐白石), and Zhang Daqian
(张大千) are representatives of this genre.
Flower painting derived from the Buddhist banner paintings, brightly decorated with flowers,
which were brought into China from India when Buddhism was introduced in the 1st
century C.E.. These paintings became popular during the Tang dynasty, and by the 10th
century C.E., had become a distinct category of painting (huahua) using its own brush strokes
and color wash techniques. Flower painting combined with the Chinese tradition of painting
birds and animals.[ 16] Many artists during the Song Dynasty worked in this genre, producing
paintings of such things as plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, chrysanthemums, pines and
cypresses. Certain birds and flowers, such as plum blossoms and nightingales, were always
paired. The strokes used to paint the stems of flowers or the beaks of birds were similar to
brush strokes used in calligraphy.
Bird-and-flower paintings were an expression of the Daoist ideal of harmony with nature.
Once an artist mastered the brush techniques for a particular subject, he would gain the
ability to express his own inner character and his relationship with nature through a few
simple strokes.
Re fe r e nce : https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chinese_painting