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China can boast of a succession
of great painters for the past twelve centuries, with some worthy
of note who lived and worked much earlier. As Chinese writing is,
in its earlier form, merely a kind of pictorial representation of
ideas, writing and painting developed together, and the distinguished
penman is usually also a painter of note. By the end of the third
century BC painting was a developed art, as distinct from writing,
and since that time several schools have flourished and given place
to later developments.
It
is unnecessary to go into a history of the art, which followed about
the same periods of advancement and decline as porcelain making. Developed
without any outside influence, Chinese painting is entirely different
from European, and foreigners, until they adapt themselves to the
Chinese point of view, find in it much to be desired. Chinese painting
is an art of lines, rather than of colors and one in which imagination
and poetry are more important than technical details. Landscapes,
the symbolic figures of Buddhism and Taoism and famous figures of
Chinese history make up the principal subjects of the pictures. The
painter always strives for harmony of composition and subtlety of
conception. If a beautiful female character is to be portrayed, she
must be surrounded by graceful animals, billowy clouds or swaying
reeds, If it is a stern warrior who makes up the principal figure
in the picture, the artist will probably paint massive mountain peaks
in the background. The first thing the foreigner notices in Chinese
paintings is the lack of perspective. The Chinese reply to this criticism
is that it is unreal and therefore inartistic to represent space and
distance on a flat surface where it cannot exist. |
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