Beijing

Chinese Landscape painting is the most popular style of painting in the rich artistic legacy of traditional China. Landscape painting was at first less popular than figurative, historical and religious paintings, however during the mid and late Tang Dynasty (618 - 906), it surpassed other styles of expression to become the embodiment of the theoretical and philosophical principals that inspired and propelled Chinese artists to create.

Unlike the Western painting tradition, which under the strong influence of science emphasized proportion, perspective and realistic depiction of form, the Chinese artists never felt compelled to restrict themselves to the limited view of the individual. Instead, they developed a more abstract and free spirited attitude towards art. The Chinese artist inspects the world from unrestricted, shifting points of view, this is also known as the 'shifting perspective' method  (San Dian Tou Shi) and is essentially different from the strict and realistic western 'single perspective'. This unique feature enabled Chinese painters to free themselves from the limitations of of human vision and permitted more freedom to improvise using ones imagination.

The fifth century great art theorist and painter Zong Bing says in his Introduction to Landscape Painting: " One can easily see that both mountains, Kunlan and Langyu, can be easily framed within a small square inch......when the brush sweeps across the scroll for several feet, it has actually traveled a distance of more than thirty miles". A Chinese Landscape painting can encompass a vast panorama and bring the whole universe within its reach. The distortion of reality, far from being a shortcoming, is actually a mechanism used to transcend conventional boundaries. 

Just as composition was free to break the rules of human perspective so was the depiction of form and subject. The importance of realistic depiction was subordinate to the expressive quality of the painting. Expressing the essence and mood of the painter is what the Chinese refer to as Xie Yi (写意) or "writing the meaning". This concept is central for understanding and appreciating the beauty of Chinese painting. As early as the fourth century a.d. the famous artist and art theorist Gu Kaizhi brought forward the concept of 'form expressing spirit', according to this theory, form and content are merely means to express the inner nature and spirit of the subject. According to Gu, form that fails to convey something beyond its obvious attributes such as size, proportions and color, does not qualify as being quality art. During the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1126), this ideal reached a new stage with the establishment of the Literati School of painting. The haughty scholars of this period, such as Su Shi (Su Dongpo) and Mi Fu, claimed that the depiction of reality and the concentration on techniques that stress dimensions, depth and proportions are “tricks that should be kept for children”. In other words, what the scholars of the Song tried to state was what the real goal of art should be, namely, the transformation of feeling and mood into visual data, not the imitation of the world we see.

Chinese Landscape painting can be divided into two dominant trends, the 'Blue and Green Landscape Painting' style (Qing Lv Shan Shui) and the 'literati School' style or xie Yi. The former stresses the use of fine outlines which are colored in with blue and green tones, usually accommodated by very fine decorative gold. This style required meticulous brushwork and strong foundations in painting techniques, emphasizing the ornamental value of the work. These Landscapes were usually done by professional court artists who were commissioned by the imperial family and the aristocracy. Beyond the court, on a more commercial level, works were commissioned or sold directly to collectors and private buyers. Blue and green landscape paintings were usually refined and majestic, this suited the prevailing fashions and aesthetic inclinations of the upper classes. The Literati School, on the other hand, stressed free and expressive brushwork. Paintings were usually executed with ink in different tones with very little or no color at all. This school displayed a carefree style of painting which did not necessarily require the skills of an expert artist. It was dominated by scholars, intellectuals and government officials who entered the world of painting as a form of leisure using techniques borrowed from calligraphy. The Literati painter had no real intention of selling his art, painting was a way to satisfy his spiritual needs and indulge in a world of beauty and emotion.

These two schools of painting dominate the history of Chinese Landscape painting but it seems that the Literati style had more appeal to the aesthetic demands of the Chinese. This style raised Chinese art to an unprecedented level of abstractness and expressive power. Here the mountains, water, sky and clouds are merely a traditional format through which the artist expresses his cosmological view and his inner feelings.

In Chinese metaphysics the world is composed of two basic opposing and complementary forces called Yin and Yang. The cosmos is simultaneously composed of substance and void. This so-called 'void' has a presence and existence of its own and is just as important and central as the material elements we can feel and see. Chinese artists often use emptiness and bare surfaces of paper as an integral part of their work. Spirit and material, Yin and Yang, presence and void all oppose each other and simultaneously act as complementary and interdependent forces. The Chinese name for Landscape Painting, "Shan Shui Hua", literally meaning 'Mountains and Water Painting' comes to show how the balance of Yin and Yang appears in nature. The imposing mountains protruding to the sky are the masculine power of Yang while the gentle clear water is the feminine Yin energy. Yang as ink that composes form, Yin as the empty and bare paper representing mist, water and sky - Both forces present and real.

Chinese landscape painting borrowed many aspects from Chinese calligraphy which explains why these two forms of art became intimately relate. Under the strong influence of calligraphy, different kinds of brush strokes were developed into what is known as Cun Fa or 'texture method' in English. This technique came to equip the painter with better means to texture stone surfaces, tree barks, vegetation and other features present in a typical Chinese landscape. Different types of strokes were developed as a new way for the artist to express his individuality. As in Calligraphy, each stroke has its 'inner substance' and is carefully executed. There are different strokes used for different purposes, they may be straight or curved, hard or soft, thick or thin, pale or dark, and the ink may be dry or running.

The Chinese also developed techniques of Ink Splashing (Po-Mo). This technique uses ink diluted with different quantities of water in order to give different visual effects such as backgrounds, clouds, mist and the coloration of stones and trees. Ink Splashing usually involves complicated technique and high skills in controlling ink and water. Through a deep understanding of how ink and water interact on the paper, the Chinese turned this technique into one of the elements which gives Chinese Landscape Painting its special atmosphere and unique appeal.

 In the West, until Turner perhaps, traditional landscape painting always resembled nature and was immediately recognized as a natural scenery. Maybe an ocean, a rural scene or a green pasture with winding rivers, but it was always visually related to the nature we all know and live in. Chinese Landscape painting can be different in the sense that it always contains mountains, sky and more often than not, water. The final result, however, will not necessarily be immediately identified as depicting these features. They are a kind of template 'infrastructure' which the piece of art is based on. In the west painting is free to go anywhere, it can depict a vast variety of landscapes, variations are common and much expected. In China, landscape painting is more confined to accepted forms and has led many westerners to believe it was rather repetitive and monotonous. It seems like this misunderstanding is a result paying more attention to form instead of paying attention to brushwork. Variations become much more apparent once one focuses on the expressive qualities of the painting such as brushwork and the use of ink.

A landscape painting is there for the viewer to enter. He or she can indulge themselves in the unique world the artist chose to depict. One can start at the bottom and follow little trails heading to a temple or a peasant hut, then continue and walk through the mountains and pass by waterfalls and winding rivers. The painting is a sanctuary for the sole and each artist strives to create a new world and a unique 'kind' of nature. Chinese Landscapes usually includes small human figures that blend harmoniously into the vast world around them. Man and nature interact and complement each other to reach a state of balance and harmony.     

In this section you will find helpful information concerning all facets of the Chinese landscape painting tradition. Our contents also include an On-line Discussion Forum and an On-line Shop which offers Chinese art supplies including guides on technique for the lowest prices on the web.

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