Chinese Painting from tradition to modernity

Yan' Zhui PhD in Art History Postgraduate Student, Department of Theory and History of Art, Moscow Pedagogical State University 109052, Russia, Moscow, Ryazan str., 9 yanrui@bk.ru Other publications by this author

The development of Chinese painting can be divided into different stages according to the state and internal structure of painting in each period. The study of dynamics should trace the origins. Early Chinese painting can also be called the primitive state of Chinese painting, which was characterized by a high degree of integration due to the relatively weak level of development of human society.

1. Integration phase: initial state of culture

Each form of Chinese painting in any period has its own unique internal compositional logic and its own characteristics. Chinese painting in the initial period belonged to the earliest forms of Chinese culture, which had not yet formed into a separate artistic field, and cultural activity was inextricably linked with religion and magic. As a result, the culture of this period was characterized by a high degree of integration, practicality and utilitarianism. In the book "Studies of Modern aesthetic Culture of China" the author tells about what is meant by "high integration" ^[1,27c/48c]. Art did not form an independent field in primitive society, painting was based on theology, and there were no professional artists at this stage yet. Therefore, the initial state of Chinese painting is called the "integration stage".

The earliest Chinese drawings in Chinese society were tied to other objects and events. Later, art researchers discovered lines, drawings and reliefs in caves and on rocks, which we now call rock paintings. Stones are the earliest materials for painting and tools in the field of art (2,2c). On the stones, ancient people depicted the daily life of a person and expressed their wishes. Various rock carvings related to many aspects of social life are an important material for the study of the primitive period of human existence. Rock carvings can also be seen as a spiritual product of ancient people telling ancient stories in the form of artistic language.

The Alashan Mountains are one of the key sites for the protection of cultural relics in China, known as the "art gallery of Chinese nomads". In ancient times, Xianbians, Huns, Turks, Tubo tribes roamed here. Thus, they recorded scenes from their life on the rocks of the Alashan Mountains, reproduced for us the lifestyle, customs and aesthetic tastes of their time, and also expressed their expectations and desire for a better life in the future. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show ancient rock carvings. The images represent animals and hunting scenes located in the depths of the Alashan Mountains with a length of more than 200 kilometers, carved on rocks, on the peaks or near them. Since there are many animals in the vicinity, people carved images of wolves, horses, sheep, oxen and hunting to express their desire to possess them. Presumably, pastures were also located in these places. The vision of such rock carvings during cattle grazing inevitably evoked memories of hunting life in people, which carries national characteristics and a pronounced national spirit.

Figure 1. Rock paintings of the Alashan mountains. Images of animals. 

Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region.

Figure 2. Rock paintings of the Alashan mountains. Hunting scene.

Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region.

Let's give another example. In the Neolithic era (starting more than 10,000 years ago and ending more than 5,000-2,000 years ago), the surface of ceramics was painted with patterns, which is also a unique form of early Chinese painting. Such patterns could be seen on utensils used in everyday life. Figure 3 shows painted ceramics of the Neolithic era - an amphora with curls. We are attracted by the pattern applied to the body of the jug, which consists of wide and thick black stripes and thin zigzag stripes on the belly of the jug and above. The "shoulders" of the vessel create a vortex-like pattern with a very strong visual impact, using color contrast, sharp ascents and descents and intersections, similar to the rhythm of a continuous river flow. Similar decorative patterns also often appear in modern Chinese painting.

Figure 3. Painted ceramic amphora with curls. A new era. Height 37 cm, diameter 10 cm.

Cultural differentiation and differences are a source of conflicts within culture and in the process of development, but at the same time is a huge driving force of cultural transformation. In this sense, the original artistic culture belongs to a single culture, and there are no obvious conflicts and contradictions. If art wants to form a relatively independent structure with an integrated society, it must be "differentiated" to separate it from other fields, after which professional artists will appear. After the primitive stage, artistic culture entered the classical period, which is a great progress in the history of human civilization.

1. Stage of differentiation: from the initial state to the classical oneKarl Jaspers argued that "around 500 BC — from 800 BC to 200 BC in China, India, Persia, Palestine and Greece, the foundations of the human spirit began to be laid simultaneously or independently.

    And humanity is still based on these foundations."^[3,38c] It is clear that the V century BC is an important time node, Jaspers called this time watershed "axial time" and considered it as a period of classical culture.Classical culture broke through the chaotic and integrated state of primitive society.

After experiencing conflict and differentiation, Chinese painting entered the period of classical culture. "Classics" is a crucial historical form, which in China is also called "traditional". It is distinguished by the relative independence and maturity of art. At this stage, differentiation is mainly reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, the field of art is relatively separated from social activity. Chinese painting is an important branch of art. The invention of paper and other related technologies provides tools and media for Chinese painting. 

On the other hand, the various categories of Chinese painting are divided. Early paintings of primitive society laid the model foundation for Chinese paintings based on lines. Chinese painting gradually began to form an independent and increasingly perfect system. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589), professional branches appeared in Chinese painting, and various genres began to appear: landscape painting, flower and bird painting and figure painting. During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), religious painting turned to secularization, and the Chinese painting system itself became more perfect and mature. By the era of the Five Dynasties (907-979) and the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it reached its apogee, breakthroughs were made in creative concepts and techniques. Religious images have receded into the background, while landscapes and paintings depicting flowers and birds have become more common. During this period, painting achieved unprecedented prosperity, a large number of professional artists appeared.

If we take landscape painting as an example, then the themes of Chinese landscape painting are similar to Western landscape painting. However, Chinese landscape painting appeared earlier. According to literary records, "landscape painting was formed during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589), but landscape painting of this period was not completely separated from the influence of figure painting. In the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), it was completely independent, and landscape painting became a separate category. In the Five Dynasties (907-979) and the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1279) landscape painting gradually developed as one of the leading categories of Chinese painting" ^[4,136c].

The painting of traditional landscape paintings presents grand and open scenes with natural landscapes such as rivers, mountains and plants, and is then decorated with secondary figures to increase brightness and enhance detail(5,162c). In the traditional concept of the Chinese, mountains are associated with the moral character of a person, and the flow of water is associated with a person's temperament. Ancient Chinese paintings conveyed the desire to travel through mountains and rivers. Figure 4 shows the painting "Spring Walk", created by the Sui Dynasty artist (581-618) Zhang Ziqian, now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Figure 4, Zhan Ziqian, Spring Walk. Silk. The Sui Dynasty (581-618), 43 cm ? 80.5 cm, is kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

This landscape painting is the earliest independent landscape painting preserved in the world, and it has typical features of traditional landscape painting. Within the limited limits of the composition, the vast natural landscape is depicted from the perspective of a panorama from afar. White clouds in the upper right corner of the picture linger on high mountains and pavilions hidden in the mountains. The boats in the middle of the picture float in the middle of a calm lake. The chariots in the forest depicted on the left are elaborately decorated. The ratio between the size, distance and height of each object is presented very reasonably. The whole picture is natural and harmonious, corresponds to the objective laws of the development of nature. Zhan Ziqian showed the audience scenes of high mountains, swaying waves of water and ripples from the spring wind. This work fully demonstrates the creative level of landscape painting of the Sui Dynasty (581-618).

In the period of classical culture, the pictorial style of each category of traditional Chinese painting has its own laws and rules, and the differences in the styles of different Chinese painters in the same period are not very obvious. For example, the Tang Dynasty was the heyday of traditional Chinese figure painting. Many paintings have survived to the present day, and they still serve as a model for the study of Chinese painting. As shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8, the four famous Chinese figures are drawn by different artists, but they all follow traditions, and they all use the form of long scrolls. 

Figure 5. Ladies with flowers on a hairpin, Tang Dynasty, Zhou Fan, silk painting, 46 cm ? 180 cm. Collection of the Museum of Liaoning Province, Shenyang City.

Figure 6. Mrs. Gogo's spring walk. Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xuan. Silk painting, 51.8 cm ? 148 cm. Collection of the Museum of Liaoning Province, Shenyang City.

Figure 7. Silk preparation. Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xuan. Silk painting, 37 cm ? 145.3 cm. Originally owned by the Yuanmingyuan Collection, it is now in the Boston Museum, USA.

Figure 8. The Imperial palanquin. Tang Dynasty, Yan Liben. Silk painting, 38.5 cm ? 129.6 cm. The Palace Museum in Beijing.

Differentiation generates differences, and the appearance of differences means the formation of contradictions, and the movement of contradictions inevitably leads to the generation of conflicts, which gives a wider space for the development of Chinese painting. Classicism is actually a step-by-step process of the movement of Chinese painting towards "modernity".

3. Stages of conflict: from classical to Modern

Further deepening of differentiation is the direct driving force behind the transition of art from classical to modern. The differentiation that took place during the period of traditional Chinese painting was supposed to help Chinese painting form a complete system of painting and establish a special discipline. Then modern society, based on cultural differentiation, moved to more obvious contradictions. The appearance of modern Chinese painting disrupted the harmonious state of traditional Chinese painting, forming sharp confrontations and conflicts, and thus developed towards diversification. The rise of modern art began in the West in the 19th century, followed by a wave of globalization from the West to China, becoming increasingly intense (6.18c). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, due to drastic changes in the Soviet Union and in the East, the Cold War ended, which led to the differentiation and reorganization of various forces in the world's political and economic systems, and the world entered a new historical era of multipolarity [7.5c].

Driven by globalization, conflicts and recombinations between different national cultures or different cultural ideas of the same nation made up the unique cultural landscape of this period. Globalization and localization, homogeneity and heterogeneity, unification and diversification, and other opposing factors are discussed. During this process, contemporary artists strive to find a new harmony. While preserving Chinese classical art, they absorb and learn from Western modern concepts to develop Chinese painting into a new art form with diverse cultural connotations.

Xiao Yunzhu argued that "compared to economics, culture and art have their own characteristics. They have the uniqueness of the ideologies of various social systems, the uniqueness of various national cultural spirits and the unconventionality of individual creative spiritual activity. In addition to many common features, cultures of different peoples in the same picture of the world will inevitably have many differences, especially deep value differences. Economic globalization does not necessarily eliminate conflicts between different countries. It can also exacerbate conflicts between countries and ethnic groups with different cultural traditions"^[8].

"The development of cultural globalization is, in fact, a process of creating contradictions and conflicts, leading to more frequent and rapid cultural exchanges and interactions between different ethnic groups"^[9,145c]. We must understand that the significance of contradictions should be to strengthen interaction, complementarity, absorption and assimilation of high-quality foreign cultures in order to transform them and turn them into integrated cultures suitable for our own nation. At that time, the field of Chinese painting was generally independent, and a group of Western-educated artists brought modern factors into traditional Chinese painting. Xu Beihong (July 19, 1895 - September 26, 1953) emphasized the integration of Chinese painting into the concepts of Western painting at an early stage and emphasized the need for precision modeling and expression of light and shadow (10,217c). Based on the observance of tradition, he seeks to create a balanced structure that can integrate, despite the obvious conflict.

Figure 9 shows Xu Beihong's painting "Horses". The artist's style was influenced by the forms of Western painting, while using the brush and ink technique of Chinese painting and the method of "empty" expression, he also expresses Western volumetric and shadow effects. When forming spatial relationships between several horses, attention is not only paid to the charm and rhythm of the brush and ink, but also realism and a sense of space are added.

Figure 9. Xu Beihong. Horses. ink and paints on paper, modern period, 95 cm x 181 cm. Xu Beihong Memorial Museum.

Everything should be considered from the point of view of dialectics, a constant search for the most appropriate dynamic balance. The essence of Chinese painting is the art of tradition. If we talk about innovation in isolation from tradition, then such innovation is empty and meaningless. When foreign culture penetrated into China, it became both a shock and a guide for traditional Chinese painting. So a large number of innovators appeared in China who were brave enough to explore a new style of art, helping the art of Chinese painting to find the right direction from tradition to modernity.

4. On the way to the integration phase: the emergence of postmodernism

The "modern" conflict was inevitably followed by a second possibility of integration, i.e. the process of de-differentiation. "Since the late 1950s, new changes in Western society and culture have led to a phase known as 'postmodern'. By "postmodern" is actually meant the culture "after modernism"." The development of postmodernism in the 20th century indicates that the field of art is both independent and interdependent, and the boundaries between art and other fields are gradually erasing. "Artists are violating the stylized rules inherent in Chinese painting and are moving towards a more complex hybrid art. Chinese painting will be more inclusive and will represent the state of coexistence of several cultures" ^[11,257c].

The trend of cultural "dedifferentiation" has also been noticed by many Western scientists. American scientist Frederick Jameson (April 1934-) came to Peking University in the fall of 1985, where he conducted scientific activities. He wrote: "I mentioned the expansion of culture, that is, the culture of postmodernism has become comprehensive. Culture, industrial production and goods were closely integrated, for example, the film industry and the mass production of audio, cassettes, videotapes, etc. In the nineteenth century, culture was understood as listening to highly intellectual music, admiring paintings or going to the opera, culture was still a means of escapism. But at the stage of postmodernism, culture is fully popularized, and the distance between high culture and mass culture, pure literature and popular literature is erased. Commodification enters culture, which means that works of art become a commodity, and even theories become a commodity. Of course, this does not mean that theorists use their theories to make a fortune, but the logic of becoming a commodity has influenced people's thinking."^{[12,147-148c]}

Conclusion

"Dedifferentiation" has erased the boundaries between art and areas outside of art and the demarcation of boundaries within art. In the classical period and in the modern period, we believed that art is a strict discipline, it should be created by the artist manually, convey the psychology and spirituality of the artist, express a unique point of view and be a concentration of beauty. But in modern society, everyone can talk about art, the definition of art has become vague, art has moved from a specialized and elegant discipline into everyday life. Replicas and copies produced by a number of high-tech tools are also compared to works of art. Thus, art does not seem to be so pure.

The initial state of Chinese painting is an undifferentiated and highly integrated stage. The emergence of classical painting is a product of initial differentiation, whereas modern Chinese painting is a process of restoring balance in the conflict of further differentiation, and postmodernism is the study of deep integration. Modern Chinese painting is based on mastering the development from ancient times to the present day, studying the direction of development and characteristics of postmodern Chinese painting and the formation of the art of Chinese painting, in which several cultures coexist harmoniously.Only under the condition of deep knowledge and understanding of Chinese traditional culture, acceptance and study of the concept of painting of modern Western art, as well as the identification of dialectical relations between China and the West, traditional and modern art, which are simultaneously opposite and united, can the further development of modern Chinese painting be possible.