Chinese Painting----The quite way to draw butterflies and roses

Ink-and-wash painting------The Shrimps

It is possible to use ink alone to create a rhythmic balance between brightness and darkness,if the way of using water is correct.

Immeasurable existence as the Light

The inscription on this painting originated from the Buddhism. It means an enlightened being as the divine one . As the deity is immortal, so it also means the forever existence. And the word “light”（光） in the description is a metaphor of everlasting life.    The images in the painting embodied symbolical meanings . The images of crane , pines , cypresses and precipitous mountains appeared as auspicious symbols of longevity. In the foreground there are a pair of precious birds ,  sliver pheasants, which is to add some vitality in the painting and also for the composition purpose.    As landscape is the paramount and enduring theme of Chinese painting , I search among the “ancients” for inspiration, and sought to revitalize ancient ideals with more contemporary notions. Therefore I emphasize to express the solid rocks and the majesty mountain scenery so in some measure it shows fidelity to the visual aspect of nature . For the purpose to create the magnificent beauty of mountains , the foreground is peak girdled by clouds and mist. In the middle, the mountains begun to build up to a crescendo in the tallest peaks, while endless ranges are suggested in the upper part.

The beauty of stone

Jade is stone;in fact crystal,jadeite,ruby,sapphire, et cetra are none other than stones.Their being deemed as precious stones and standing out from the same kind are nothing more than the excellent quality,the unique beauty which make them of position. Whether it is jade,or precious stones, they all have alluring color and luster comparable to that of gold. Therefore the desire of wearing the precious stones as to enhance our beauty are evoked. They are categorized as jewelry and are treasured up for fear of damaging it. We tend to overlook some stones which candidly expose themselves in the wide- open area and undergo the endless erosion,severe test by rain and wind. All the effeminacy and luxury are scaled off and the austere spirit manifests. This is a kind of natural wonder which is beyond the creation of manpower.

People who like to collect such kind of natural wonder mostly love the eroded stones produced from the provinces at Tai Woo county and Ying De county in China. These kinds of stones lie in water near the waterfront so the quarry workers have to dive in the water to chisel the stones of groteque shapes with their iron hammers and chisels. If the stones are really big ,it would be bundled up with thick ropes and winched out of water by the apparatuses installed on ships. The type of stones,with criss-coss grains all over the bodies, because of the swash of stormy waves make the surface covered with a lot of concave holes,be named as “the holes of billiards”. The large rocks would be choosen as the rockeries placed in the courtyards or gardens allowing some majestic feeling be added to the charming sights. As for the small rocks,placing on the teapoys or decorating the bonsai would be applicable to the enjoyment of admiring the beauty. Whether it is rockery or intricate stone,it should have a proclivity of vicissitudinous charges and then would suit the taste for particular appreciation. Some arty virtuosi heard that somewhere the famous garden fell into disuse and had some old rockeries for sale,or they noticed some stones bearing the inscriptions of some celebrities being brought to market; they would offer a high price to buy it. In fact,such kind of stones is the same as that in the mountains or at the wilds,for they are exposed to the weather in the same way.As there is no difference of the stones,so why should we separate the old from the new?

What is the criteria do we use when judging the quality of the stones for appreciation? Ancient stone evaluative terminologies are penetrant,thin,wrinkled,leakage,ugly,stubborn,clumsy. Judging from the adjectives, the traits of the rockery are insulated with the elegant,splendid ambiances,and we also do not want to be linked with such descriptions. This is something out of the compass of human power, and should be ascribed to the extremely fine craftmanship of Mother Nature. Man with the superiority of its own wits established the modern world invested with our form of values, we habitually thinking , planning and pers uing the goal in life according with the established orientation. We are accustomed to the complacencies of the pursuit of well being and blissfulness,being under the impression that we are the ruler of the existing world.Only when nature bring its mightiness into full play,destroying our constructions and paralyzing our transportations, then we would realize that who Is truly the master. Those wrinkled thin rockery,ugly clumsy stone is the masterpiece of nature who finished it effortlessly. Thus masterpiece is a microcosm of the real circumstances outside our comfort zone. Placing it in our own created little world, the meteorology of nature would be led into our living environments.

The stone collectors besides knowing how to choose stones,they also have to know how to arrange them. Some stones should be placed on the ebony pedestals,some rocks should be put in the

container with water,that should not be misplaced. Moreover,the ebony pedestal with stone should be put on small table adjacent to the bright window;while the stone in basin should be situated at the winding balustrade. To speak of the stones of the bonsai, only those showing stratiform resembling the folds of mountains could manifest the momentum of nature;what is more the set-up of the bonsai should also be attentive. The flowers and plants growing on the stratified rockery should be compact with vigorous branches,and futhermore even a small spot of moss,a little stem of grass should also be laid out meticulously. With all these elaborations facing the bonsai, our ideological levels transcending the boundaries of the physical environment,get into contact with the vast ,boundless space of thousand miles away.

Therefore not only the glittering stones of the quintessence of mother earth are valuable,but those recorded the vestige of ancient history with the leakages and sores are also priceless.The long distant past, the time scale over which unpreditable changes occurred in matters left them retaining some indefinate duende. Ancients had a saying:the millenary turpintine dropped into the ground and turned to be amber.Also said that: the ice which had gone through thousands of years, changed into crystal. It is a metaphor about the spotless beauty of the unflawed limpidity of ice anologious to that of crystal. Such glacial beauty as a goddess of northland ,coupled with the remote indistinctness, seems having an aura of mystery. No wonder the mediums would use crystals as a vehicle to communicate with the unknown territories. Refering to practicality,in China at the Stone Age there were tools making of crystals,which have been produced at many places,almost in all provinces, in China. The rough classification of crystals is “the nothern black,the southern white”. The southern area of China produces clear,colorless stones which are hard and as shiny as glass; the northern area of China produces crystals black in color. Some crystals are purple for the mixture of manganese;when the mixture is plant that the color would be dark brown being named citrine. Furthermore,the crystal with the mixture of other kind of stones, cross-grained, it’s popular name is“haired crystal”, and the course-grained is named “bristle crystal”. All the above mentioned is the main sorts of crystal which is a kind of common and ancient gems. China is a vast territory with abundant resourse, where produces many kind of stone with different temperaments, but only one kind of stone which would consubstantiate with human as an organic whole. Only jade was deemed having the affinitive nature with human.

One of the reasons is that jade is moderate in temperament with mild body temperature. It is suitable for wearing all the year round compared with other precious stones which should only be wore in summer, especially not to be wore in winter. It is because other stones’ cold nature with the indistinguishable biting chill which could harm the health of the wearer. The innate sleek and warm character is the inherent virtues of jade.Such properties of jade could better the blood circulation of human body,could milden our nature,that was why the ancient people wore jades all the time. The other precious jewelry attracts people’s attention by it’s glaring luminosity. Ancients thought that such splendors were the remaining internal heat skimming over the surfaces of the stones,and such light is pleasing to the eye,not to the heart. The glory of ancient jade being latent within is a kind of solemn and quiet aura assimilating with the awe-inspiring bearing restrained inside of a sage who preformed an accommodating manner. Therefore the integrity of jade is much more superior to the general stones ten million times.

The photo shows a cup shaped container with the height of 12.3cm which was carved and polished from a jade. This is an antique of Han dynsaty(from B.C.206 to A.D.220).From it’s partial erosion with brown and purple color,we can see that it is an unearthed relic,not being handed down from generation to generation. This was originally a treasure of the collection of Qing court;now in the possession of the Palace Museum. It is a wine container named “Vessel with Phoenix and One-legged Dragon Motif”.Mostly the unearthed jades were furnishings and accessories,so it is rare to excavate a whole piece of jade curved in the shape of an utensil. Moreover,both the body and lid of the vessel without damage were skilfully and delicately carved the low relief of the variant dragon and phoenix pattern, contrasting with the three-dimensional sheep heads’carving which symbolizes good luck.The handle of the vessel is cloud-shaped form and the bottom of it are three beast’s legs. The whole vessel is the combined craftsmanship of sculpture,relief and linear engraving.It embodied the beauty of pristine and sprightly,which being constituted in a harmonious whole. It is a national heirloom for there is no other one in China. Furthermore,the finishing touch on the translucent aura of mystery by the hand of human,with the earthy flavour of it’s being excavated from underground; consequently, there is certain inwardness between human and jade.They are interrelated and interacted on each other.

Therefore the ancients thought that jade is a living material and have strong affinity with human. When the jade was lay hidden in the earth,it would absorb the immediate elements into its body.Then the action of acidification in its body occurred,which led to the loss of properties of itself after a considerable period of time. There is a saying in the past: The buried jade,in the course of one thousand years, it’s quality is similar to stone;two thousand years,it’s appearance is associable with decayed bone;six thousand years without exacavation,it would decompose as mud. However no matter how rotten the jade is, as long as being unearthed,in the caress of human’s hand, the character of jade would gradually recover. When the jade comes to life again,it would evacuate the differentiated matters out of its body,or would melt the absorbents into its veins,and then produce a kind of pulp to fill in the gaps. As a result,the original color of the jade changes,or beautiful patterns appears. Undergoing such noticable transformation in it’s appearance, the whole body of the jade becomes even more grossy,much more glittering and translucent,coruscating extraordinary splendor. In the past,such action of transforming was named as” casting off one’s old self”,which in a certain sense is quite similiar with the transfiguration of a mortal who thoroughly remould oneself is reborn as a celestial being.

Therefore nothing can rival the sublime status of jade in ancient China, and the extent of using jade in daily life is vast,from the important affairs of state,such as sacrificial rites,grand ceremonies,royal engagements,the seals for the emperors,ect.,to folkways and civil life,for instance,betrothal gifts,study apparatuses,accessories,tableware, wine containers,even the ornaments of houses and chariots. Jade had blended in every aspects of life far back in history and could be considered as the prevailing custom of a given time. Therefore at that time wearing jade was the necessity for gentlemen and they would not put away the wearing jades without reason. Besides,the close affiliation of jade and human was personified as an affinity between oneself and the Sage whose virtuous spirit redolent of pristine ideals would always remind us of the continuing efforts of inner cultivation. By making unremitting efforts, we would some day turn into a Sage. Nowadays, in this modern world,most people

adore the flashy beauty,and few people have a strong admiration for the inner beauty of the pristine stone.

Talking from a Traditional Chinese Painting of a Beautiful Lady

From the painting we can see an elegant lady who was reclining on a fragrant censer and she allowed her imagination to roam at large. We could not know what is in her mind via the visual information, but the overall linear construction is so fluent that while viewing it, we are as if seeing the floating clouds and flowing water unrolling their gracefulness in nature and maybe it implies her tranquil mind. The reposing figure is stable with the triangular composition,but at the same time as light as though it were waving in the space with a fluid rhythm. This subtle blend of serenity and vigor,of firmness and disembodied freedom ,maybe described as the particular configuration of the comfortable,cozy ambient and the sweet-natured femininity being coherent and let us fall under the charm of easiness and carefree. This is a master piece by the late Ming artist Chan Hong Shou.

It is common notion of many Chinese gifted men of letters to seek bosom friends in the brothels at that time. They would rather keep company with the straightforward female entertainers in the brothels than associate with the hypocrite guardians of morality. Moreover many fair ladies were of great versatility but they missed their ways and became prostitutes. The talented gentlemen’s efforts of working their ways up to the offical careers were set back by the repeated falls in the competitive examinations. Therefore the geishas and the dejected literatus were fellow sufferers having mutual sympaty. Chan Hong Shou shared this common notion as he was one of the frustrated geniuses.

The age-old intimate relationship of geisha and literati enhanced the deep understanding of both sexes. In the late Tang Dynasty, and Five Dynasty many frustrtrated literatus gave free rein to their thoughts and feelings in composing songs to the geishas to sing, and it is a unique fascinating, enchanting form of classical poetry.By reading the poetry, the ability to show every consideration to female seemed to be natural of the opposite gender. Many gentlemen could use the manner of the first person to describe the deep feelings and sentiments of the women.

In the Five Dynstry, Mister Qiu, honoured with high official title, wrote a poetry named ”pouring out the heartfelt emotion” of a deserted lady’s train of through:” Where is the heartless man who has left me in this early hours? Without tidings. A closed-door boudoir. Frowning. The moon is descending.

How can you not wanting to find me? Have to stay in the quilt alone. Exchange our hearts. Then you would know how deep is my yearning.” A truly great man could conceive the resentment of the abandoned infatuated lover of her emotional conflicts between hatred and concern. We could feel the intense grinding pain of fascination with hopeless devotion. Being a pretigious man, Mister Qiu descended to wrote the pathos of the Boudoir. Nevertheless, it is one of the characteristics of Chinese literature.

The relationship between literatus and prostitutes were not restricted within the sexual appeal, as there were spiritual communications between them. In Ming Dynasty, the famous courtesans Miss Yue and Miss Ma had talents for composing poems and creating painting, and the gentlemen of refined tastes admired that they were both gifted and glamorous. Therefore the ladies’ works were touched up by the gentlemen and the standard of their works could be upgraded. At that time, their paintings were extolled in the intellectual circles and are valued at a certain price today.

If the relationship of the two genders are linked by hearts, such unison would be much more long-lasting, much more coherent. The western femalebeauty is too directly exposed, too forthright. The extreme aesthetic form is the female nude bodies in western culture ; in consequence of the full exposure of the body with such qualities as lifelikeness, sensuousness, as a person of flesh and blood, passionate impulse would give rise to the allure of sensuality. In late nineteenth century, many art forms were named “Salome”, including drawing, watercolor,oil painting and sculpture. The subject matter in the variety of works of art is a coquettish woman and a man’s head which sometimes is placed in a dish,sometimes is suspending in mid-air while sometimes the head is hung on the evil woman’s fingers .”Salome” is an ancient legend of the Hellenistic period, and it is strange that in the late nineteenth century European art and literature showed intense favouritism towards this story and diverse aspects of this theme are developed in further formal inventions. No matter what forms of art they are, the inevitable tragedy is the motif. In a certain sense men are easily bogged down by the bewitching charm, for the caltivated spirit just could not extricate itself, and the aftermath could be devastating.

Venus is a paragon of beauty that at first glance offer greatly pretty impression displayed in a proportional,harmonic manner. Such faultless goddess beauty of human shape has become an object of reiterant worship by many worldly artists. However when the holy love turned into the secular love , vexation would occure. The entanglements of sacred love and profane desire,the withheld but promised femininity are the dualistic values which put the mortality in the dilemma, and being the perpetual theme in the works of art, the visual matter with its connotations strikingly demonstrated the intened expression.

A sixteenth-century painting named “The Gorgeous Show” represents a well-rounded naked goddess Venus who is bestowed with the sweet kisses and heartly laughter by the Cupid and the junior Cupid.

Nevertheless, one of her hand is holding an arrow of love,another hand the forbidden fruit; and within the two-dimensional world of the picture we discover the mask associating with hypocrisy, the snake as symbol of scourge. In the background are the faces of jealousy and suffering; the glaring sight is the predestinator stretching out his strong arms above the goddess gazing her with angry eyes. The vacillation between the earthy lust and the holy love is real torture in life and it has been the ideology being reflected in Western culture.

Fictitiousness and some certain sense of apathy would enable us to detach ourselves from some practical sense of our physological need and then the pure appreciation could be evoked. This is perhaps most helpful of analyzing some detail in a work and the abstract pattern organizing the visual matter in such a way could convey to the eyes with all its essential aspects. Therefore, in during with the female beauty, Chinese arts make use of a kind of stylized,simbolized idiosyncrasy to express a pretty lady. A depicting image of a woman with mouth as small as a cherry, phoenix eyes with single eyelids is the expression of female beauty. The lady’s body is covered with the undulating vividness  of the swinging curved lines. The beautiful linear configuration not only holds back the sensual associations, but it lso let us find out that the feminine distinguishing characteristics of delicacy and gracefulness is the virtual aesthetic value. “The Beautiful Lady”,painted by Chan Hong Shou really is a vivid, lively young woman of charm. The elegant and quiet fair-skinned face is so delicate which is the traditional Chinese literary gentlemen use their poetic sensation to capture the feminine engaging demeanor. This kind of natural beauty could not be find in the circle of the pious men.

Only in the case of keeping a distance from reality, we can completely be in the appreciative frame of mind, If we do not keep distance from the reality, destruction could happen. A tragedy happened long  time ago.An audience went up to the stage and stabbed an actor who played the role of a cunning scoundrel. The audience was captivated by the consummate acting and did not have the ability to step back to appreciate the brilliant acting.He had not cultivated the proper attitude towards arts.

The visual interpretation of the curved line with the characteristics of veiled passion analogizes with the sentimentally attached classical poetry as they underscore the pregancy of poetry. So smoothly are the graceful curves blended into a whole of great overall rhythm, so delicately is the construction of the beautiful lady, that we seem to see simple nature at the same time that we marvel at the skill and mastery of the artist. Of course the agitations originated from the relationship of the opposite genders are left behind.

The Preparatory and Unfinished Work of Lotus Land(part 5)

The innovation of traditional Chinese painting involved stages of development which are phases in the elaboration and growth of a new language for me to interpret the nature’s rhythms which had also stricken a deep chord of the heart of the former artists.Therefore the precursors told us to have reference to the reality of nature rather than only the studying of the masterpieces of tradition.

Although I had not wandered with my sketchbook or camera to draw inspiration from the natural world where are for most artists an inexhaustible reservoir of energy,images,emotions, rhythms and light,I found that refering to photographic magazines is a great help for the construct and germination of a painting.From the two illustrations here people can see the similarity of the layout of my work and the photo. Nevertheless,I am not copying the details of the appearance of the ingredients being shown in the photo.I would add a swan in my painting and I would refer to other resources to form an ideal elegant image of a swan.Also, there are abundant referential materials helping us to mold the image of the depicting subject to prefection.Furthermore, it is a delightful experience to veiw the photos of the Lotus again and again.

In Egyptian mythology,the Lotus is associated with the sun,because it bloomed by day,and closed by night.The Lotus is even believed to have given birth to the sun! From the photo above,we could see that the light pink lotuses blooming amid the verdure of the leaves seem like luminaries.As the image of the Lotus is analogous to an illumininant,then it is no wonder why Lotus is a sacred flower for Hindus and Buddhists.And it is symbolically equal to the Buddha for Buddhists.The omnipesent power of light can dispel the mist and the endless darkness in our world,and a Buddha’s seat in the form of a lotus flower symbolized a state of pure consciousness, peace,light and joy.So,Buddha is sometimes depicted sitting on a Lotus flower,symbolizing the avatar who had overcame the pain of that prevails in the material world,all the darkness being removed,and merged with the nirvana light.

According to Buddhism,Buddha was an avatar.The true nature of the Buddha,as totally enlightened,is the inexpressible absolute,neither one nor many,identical with the cosmos itself.And the shafts of light being emitted from above show the analogy with the omnipotence of the Buddha.Therefore Lotus is a symbol of both illuminating the world’s darkness and enlightening people’s inner mind to get wisdom.

For this reason,the course of depicting this splendid flower is both finding an art form of perfection and through meditation to approach the ultimate source of enlightenment.My unfinished work only recorded my initial attempt to express the miracle of beauty. light and life of the sarced flower. I made use of the tecnique of gouache to draw the petals as to manifast the shining nature of the lotus while the leaves of it were created with the traditional linear expression to show the continuing changing curvilinear forms of them.

An artwork would come into being stage by stage,and the introspective power to understand the unspeakable message from the nature would also grow little by little

in my mind.

      

brush and ink

The Chinese ancients used the expression“pi mo”(brush and ink) to describe the particularity of Chinese painting. Therefore brush and ink are not only deemed as a kind of materials just for the works of art;they are another interpretation of our philosophy of“Yin and Yang”.In traditional painting,using ink to good effect is prominent,for the subjects’inner qualities could be depicted delicately from the various comsistencies of the ink.Such significances rested in the subjects are in a static state and it is the meaning of“Yin”,so ink is related to Yin.

However the inner qualities have to be brought out,to make it visible,otherwise they

could not be seen and the aesthetic sensibilities of viewers could not be aroused.

Then the manipulation of the brush brings the inner beauty and meaning outwardly.

As“Yang”means dynamics and energy,the various strokes made by the brush are related to Yang.

In the photo we can see there are different kind of brushes to suit for our need of expression.The bigger ones are used to depict larger objects,for instance the leaves of lotus.The tiny one is used to draw insects or the tentacles of the shrimps.The hair of the brushes are from animals,for instance,normally from sheep,foxes and horses.But there are some rare kinds made from the hair of human foetus or the feathers from chickens.The brush with chicken feathers is the most difficult to handle,for the sopped feathers are as soft and weak as the cooked noodles.It is not easy to make it move on the paper.

In the photo we can also see the inkstick and the inkstone. There are shining decorative silver and gold patterns on the inkstick.Do you think that it is gorgeous?

Some inksticks even imbedded with pearls for the purpose of long-lasting.When the inkstick is ground on the inkstone with fresh water,ink of various consistencies can be prepared depending on the amount of water used.But nowadays we can save our labour by using the ink liquid.

A symbol of the Handover-----Bauhinia Blakeana (part 2)

In the year 1999 , I graduated from the Tsinghua Academy of Arts .Back to Hong Kong I depicted another picture of the same subject matter and the reason of it I had made it clear in the inscription, of which is the wish of Bauhinia as a symbol of the “peaceful ambiance” connecting Hong Kong and Mainland China. Although the mauve color of the Bauhinia is not so eye-catching as the golden souvenir being bestow upon Hong Kong, the auspice of prosperity is the same.

During the long history of China’s cultural evolution, the accumulation of our civilization has never ceased even in time of trials and tribulations. Now the commitment of inheriting our cultural heritage  has reached our hands to develop and pass to the future generations. If we are not aware of our responsiilities, it is meaningless to celebrate the reunification.  We could have clear minds in the  peaceful ambiance, and the direction of cultural innovation could be easier to identify.

A symbol of the Handover-----Bauhinia Blakeana (part 1)

Chinese civilization is one of the oldest in the world, and the powerful traditons attracted me, locally born and bred in Hong Kong, went to explore the territory. Before the reunification, I passed the entrance examination with arduous efforts and was admitted to study in Beijing Central Academy of Arts(Now merged with Tsinghua University). I studied the Master of Arts and Crafts at the key of university in China and could have the incidental chance of participating in the celebration of Hong Kong’s handing over to the mainland China. The university had winned the national open competition of disigning a souvenir to give Hong Kong as a present to commemorate the important event. I also painted a picture of Bauhinia Blakeana to pay tribute to the greeting gift.

The sculpture designed by the Central Academy of Arts used Bauhinia as a prototype, which is the five- petaled cluster of the curvilineal shape of glittering beauty and feature of this flower,and is a comparison of the painting in which the mauve, star-shaped blooms showing an auspice of prosperousness. It can be seen from the photo provided of placing the model of the giant sculpture in front of my painting. What is the reason that the Academy could win the competition? It is because the appearance of the sculpture is neither too figurative nor too abstract. It is not a real portrait of Bauhinia,but by viewing the visual elements constructing the form we could find the characteristics of the flower. The sculpture lets you know what it is and besides the pleasant image,there is something more in it. Taking a close look,we could see the thin and flexible filaments inside. We anticipate the full bloom of it. My painting is the adumbration of what would happen of the sculpture.

 Nowadays, the tourists come visiting Hong Kong would take photos of posing in front of the sculpture, which is situated before the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre , as the keepsakes. Such an interlude in the celebration of the reunification is little known.

A Spring Scenery in Loyang

Peony is a propitious symbol of wealth and prosperity in China long long time ago.Therefore in China,many places such as residences,restaurants and other business centres, paintings with the motif of peony would be hung as a mascot.

The most bright and colourful peonies are grown in the county Loyang, in Honan, China.The blossoming season of peonies is in the late spring;so the meaning of the inscription on the right is : A spring scenery in Loyang.

(dimention:28 inchesX18 inches)

Painting is a kind of two-dimensional works of art, thereby many artists facing the same problem of reproducing the all-aroundness of the visual conception directly in a single plane. We grapple with the problem of selecting the perceptually preferred aspects best suited to convey the visual concepts of the three-dimensional world. It is also related to the aesthetic senses which could develop and enrich gradually through the experiences of manipulating all means of two-dimensional expression, and to be built up to levels of higher sophistication. However it would take a long time by self-discovering.

In traditional Chinese Painting, there are some kinds of books dealing with the above mentioned problems. There are diverse topics for the beginners to learn the best ways of representing a certain kind of thing. These books are the elementary introduction of how to have the successful two-dimensional expression. There are both verbal definition and visual illustration to help us to render the basic visual forms and to organize these forms.

For example, in the chapter of flower, there are rules telling us the basic methods to have the all-around concept of the offshoots of the trunk as to avoid the unpleasant effect. The picture which I depicted above , only two branches crossed each other, and the third branch would not coincide the formed point of the branches. It is the basic norm to prevent the visual statement from being equivocal and ambiguous.

At the same time, however, traditional Chinese painting is not the fidelity to the outward appearance

 of things. The single plane is viewed as the locus of directed perceptual forces of attraction and repulsion. The peony in the painting exhibits a particular predominant direction; thus results a pull in that direction. The dark short branches on the right stabilize the pressing movement and the visual dynamics is established in balance.

The traditional works of aesthetic value are our mentors. In the past, all the valuable originals were in the hands of a few scholars and officials. During early Ch’ing dynasty (1644-1911) Mr. Wong Gai compiled the teaching notes of an art teacher of the former dynasty and enriched it. With the follow-up edition of later period, the complete volumed work really helped people a lot as how to represent the best aspect of nature, and how to render the interaction between the energetic life force and the tendency toward balance to reach a fuller conception of dynamics activating the human mind and reflected in the mind’s products.  

The canopy of the heavens

The painting above was created by a man of letters who withdrew from society and lived in obscurity. His name is Gong Xian (from 1619 to 1689). In 1644 the foreign clan overthrew the Ming dynasty and the Ching dynasty emerged as the ruling power. Quite many scholar-gentlemen abandoned the conventional lives to go into retreat for the invasion of their motherland . Many officials declined to serve at the Court ,and some persons even killed themselves so as to avoid the inauguration in the Court, while some became Buddhist monks. From Mr.Gong’s living period, we could imagine how much he had suffered in his lifetime.

In his painting we could feel his own salvation in the enormity of nature. The man on the right is so tiny that the implication of the insignificance of human existence is obvious. The occident culture eulogize the utmost charm of the human bodies and hence the lamentation over the deterioration of the outward man is the unavoidable aftermath. However if we ignore the flesh and draw our attention to nature, we will find that the everlasting life force stored in nature seems to be the sources of energy which could animate the existent. Therefore the hermetic art of finding the secret of longevity encapsulated the early period of history; at that time ,quite many people making full-time effort to cultivate their spiritual and religious lives, abiding by the teachings of Taoism. Maybe such attitude towards nature had been diffused in the mind of the scholar-gentlemen in China, then whose landscape paintings were imbued with the taoistic spirits.

Communing with nature is the attribute of our landscape painting, which was named National painting ,for the embodiment of certain theopathy in such special form of arts make it unique. Furthermore the ancient Chinese people were not just concerned with the sphere on which human had been dwelling; they also exerted themselves to communicate with the cosmos through meditations with the belief that it would be the real liberty of human as the soul no longer being trapped in the body. Our spirits travelling in the canopy of heavens is the joyous freedom which is beyond all the pleasure on earth.

Let us hark back to look at the painting; the blank space is not empty. Just the opposite, it seems can generate power to blur the background or make it clear with its movement, for there is dynamic inherent in the void. Leaving blank in a painting is as important as brushing strokes in Chinese painting. The harmonious and serene ambience of the traditional Chinese painting is not just the static image.  The leaving blank is invested with energetic properties which is as the creative power of the wild blue canopy above. 

While holding the brush, the artist’s personal concerns disappeared, and his heart  insulated from the real world. His spirit was high up in the sky, and with the skill of his heart, his brush was generating vivid images with the spontaneous strokes. Therefore every stroke is full of power with animation through spirit consonance. It is the expressive power of the brush comes from. The Supreme Will is in the sky, which manifests itself as visibly in the laws of destiny as in the laws of nature. The traditional Chinese literati connected with the Supreme Will, and didn’t think that the mortal bodies are the most important. Maybe this ideology helped them survived the hardship in life.

The three-dimensional conception of the Chinese culture

The illustration above showing a scene of the concubines’ daily lives gives us an impression that they are having fun by making up a party and playing music .The event maybe took place in the palace chamber of the imperial court of the Tong Dynasty and the neutral ground of the picture keeps us focusing at the green oblong table which all the resplendently dress-up ladies were sitting around. The presentation of the table refutes our visual experience. The farther end of the table is longer then the frontal side.

If we apply three-dimensional space to visual representation, the conception of a converging world would impart its own characteristic expression. The painting will establish rather direct connection between the events in the picture space and the viewer with its central perspective. We continue to look into the illusive pictorial space, and our eye sights will focalize to a point of emptiness. When arriving at such focal point, the feeling of plunging into nothingness really makes one feel uneasy. Especially Chinese culture adores vitality and the life force, so the abyss of treacherous unknownness is not what we want.

The divergent shape of the table worked out as an elementary device of spatial representation to enhance the feeling of substantial existence. Chinese culture express the perceptual world in the centerless continuum by isometric perspective. Moreover, the average Chinese people love happy ending; we don’t like the tragedy of love story; therefore in many famous Chinese operas, when the actress died, her soul could go into another newly dead body to continue the love story. Another example is that a lover died for their misconstruction of mutual communication. The other lover committed suicide for it. The ending is that they both incarnated into butterflies fluttering their wings gracefully away. Death ended the love story of Romeo and Juliet, and maybe this is the different concept of life between Chinese and the Western.     

Lotus Land(part4)-------A wild goose in the lotus pond

A fresh piece of canvas or a blank piece of paper is not just a kind of painting materials for an artist.It is similar to a little plot of land in which the seed of creative genius is sowed,and then a distinctive form of art gradually develops,and begin to take shape.However,sometimes the little plot would turn into an epitome of arena for artistic concepts to rival each other in it.

This painting should be considered as the pendant of<A wild duck in the lotus pond>.I started my work without having a set goal in mind for how the painting would appear.But the restful mood and the poetic grace should be the main theme that the primary subjects,the setting,color and touch would be fashioned into the textured vision and such vague imagery kept linger in my mind.I made a serious effort to visualize it and I had worked in a similar vein for quite a long time,and continued to work in this way as the integration of primary subject and setting remained my foremost concern.

Exemplified in this painting,a screen of lotus leaves and flowers in the immediate foreground hides partial sights of the pond.The blurred apprearance of the pond indicated at the far upper right is my intention to express the ambient light refracted from the constructed atmosphere.At the lower right of the composition,where the pond surface lightened with rippling whites demonstrated the shimmering play of light and shadow which were the irradiative effects of the mild autumnal sunshine.

I also wanted to render a new emphasis upon spatial complexity in this work. Therefore the scale-down size of the wild goose implied that there was a certain distance to the lotus on the left.And by placing the individual images to obstruct one anotheralso could signify spaces among them.Moreover,I have abandoned any concerns for naturalism in my treatment of the tones where everything is envolped in the autumn tints.

During the process of painting,I am not sure where my experiments would lead.I only know that I am captivated by finding an overall harmony which is to translate the classicizing qualities of Chinese traditional values into a contemporary setting, marrying the immediacy of visual experience with the more static,into something more enduring,something more solid.I had made every effort to project my way of thinking into the small piece of paper,and did not notice that time flied.

Lotus Land(part 3)-------A wild duck in the lotus pond

I paint in order to advance my understanding of painting.Therefore there is combination of the results of my research with the ideas and techniques of various sources in my works.

The natural world can only exist with the help of light,and it is the ever-changing quality of light which gives things their colours. Colour is therefore dependent on light. Such theoretical approach is the expressive way to convey the appreciation of the beauty of nature by the impressionists.The style of impressionistic paintings makes colours and light come to life on the canvas and thus could do juctice to the magnificent colours of our planet.The interaction between nature and the subject matters in various different and changing light of impressionism holds a special attraction for viewers and I am so fascinated by the impressionist works. Can I incorporate the mellow tonality of light and colour in Chinese painting? In the process of painting the <A wild duck in the lotus pond>,I had been wavering between the traditional values and the western influences and that revealed my inner struggle and search of my own style.

In the painting,he strong outlines and the rhythmic composition of the lotus leaves are important both structurally and from the point of view of inner order.The different size of the leaves,linking by the wild duck,take the eye into the depths of the pond where the water depicted with white brush strokes is flowing in and it is spreading dynamically and rhythmatically in diverse directions.The curvy lines of the flowing water are the amusing contrast with the veins of the leaves which are static and also define the sense of space in a two dimensional work.As a result,in the left corner the beautiful flower seems to niche in the space which is formed by the posture of the leaf.

Furthermore,the soft red colour of the flower is the rendering of the interplay of light and colour,and such nuances of light and colours are indicated in all the ingredients of the painting;the gardations of colour in the leaves,the impasto brush strokes at several parts of the contours of the images, not only pick up the structure of subject matters,but also represent the brightness of light which livens up the structure of the surface and gives the dimension a tension of its own. In my works,I left nothing to chance and this painting is one of the result of careful deliberation.

Lotus Land (part 2)--------lotuses with a butterfly

No matter how improvisational,graceful or spontaneous an masterpiece appeared, there was always an underlying control,which involved a struggle to gain the qualities of individuality and originality ,as is highly valued by a self-critical artist, who would  become distraught when the work has lost all its freshness. Therefore whenever an artist works, the existence of his is like the ordeal of a convict in chain for the artist  is confined in his strenuous frame of mind to chart the most significant technical changes to solve the sort of painter’s questions being raised all by himself.

The artist is involved in exploring the innovative way of expression which could be compared to being engaged in a pitched battle.The artist renders his accustomed manner and at the same time have to find something new through the illumination with his brushwork the process of painting itself.Therefore the drawing paper or canvas is a battlefield for old method and new attempt,traditional values and personal ideas.Such intense confrontation is not a delightful experience,but that could prompt the artist to move on, not being held up at a stagnant stage.Therefore, although it is painstaking to go through the conflict of putting new throughts in the already formed style,I still loved to experiment,and new techniques significantly changed my working methods.Upon looking at the second Chinese painting”Lotuses with a butterfly”of mine,one can tell that it is a bit different from my first painting which has a dragonfly in it.In a measure, to record one’s thoughs throught the wielding motions of a brush is like putting one’s ideas in writing. It seems to me that it is excellent to form one’s style more effectively,provided that the feeling is real,and that the ideas are personal.An attempt to create a series of ten paintings with the theme of lotuse is made and posed for me to grope for the most significant technical changes from one phase of my career to the next.

All painting is in some measure taken from nature;however it is not just the fidelity to nature,a stylistic painter’s motivation to do so would be Corot’s teaching:”While trying for the conscientious imitation of nature.”said Corot,”I never for a single instant lose the emotion which first seized me.”The artistic appeal of “Lotuses rising out of water look natual without showing the slightest trace of wonderful workmanship.” Such kind of celetial beauty is the infatuation to me and I am one of many many people through out many cultures being inspired by the symbolistic virtues carried by the flower.

The lotus flower has a strong pleasant odor and is the only water dwelling plant to regularly rise eight to twelve inches above the surface.Besides,in the belief of Buddhism,the growth pattern of a lotus flower signifies the progress of the soul.The roots of a lotus flower grow from the primeval mud of materialism,the stem then grows up through the waters of experience,where it lies pristinely above the water, and basks in the bright sunshine of enlightenment.

Therefore,the luminosity is the genuine color of the lotus flower.I was obsessed with finding ways to visualize it.Maybe some of the old masters also had the expressive emotion of mine.I found that one leaf from Yun Shou Ping’s Album of flowers used lotus flower as a subject matter and the lotus flower is rendered as a luminant with his own distinctive technique(the illustration above is the lotus flower depicted by Yun Shou Ping).I am receptive to what the art of the past could teach me,but I never directly incorporate specific elements from works by them.The idiosyncrasy of a painting appears to lie with an artist’s own throught and his own ability.Therefore the references of paintings by old masters are out of veneration for the basic principles that sustain my own creativity.

During the course of my creation,I do not exactly have realized where my experiments would lead. However it has striken me that how could the luminosity be viewed without the darkened background to set it off.Therefore the essential natural brightness of lotus flower had irradiated my mind.In the upper part of my painting, the seemingly random jabs, slashes, semi-effaced marks, combining with the illusion of space which is created by the use of subdued color tones,all together constituted  a new and uniquely personal style to describe the extraordinary life and movement being ever lasting in the environment;at the same time,the illuminated quallity of lotus flower could stand out against the muted setting.

In the lower part of the painting,the water flowing in serpentines is an integrant vividity of the orchestrations.As one’s field of vision is rounded rather than rectangular,that the circulated inspection to veiw the painting is induced by the overall energetic and harmonious brushstrokes.The directions of the visional movements is also accentuated by the flying butterfly which is leading our attentions to the pristine beauty of the lotus flower.

The composed and dignified styles in Chinese Culture

The literati painting is the orthodox traditional painting in China. As implied by the name, this kind of painting is created by the persons who are widely-read, or even in the literati and fficialdom’s hands.

The construct of traditional paintings at the hands of scholarly officialdom, this unique style not only involves with poetry and literature, but also associates with the ideology of the refined gentlemen. Sentiments and acquired knowledge of the man-of-letters embodied in the paintings exuded from the tips of the brushes which loaded with ink of delicate tonal modulations. So to speak, the brush and the manipulating hand interpenetrate, and then the individual aesthetic inclination, subtle emotion engender the painting of spontaneous idiosyncrasy.

  

Of such an artistic realm,there is the meaningfulness and reserve in it to settle the soul and the body, as the spritual needs of calmness and composedness could be attained. A kind of remote sentiments imported in the paintings for the giving of the refined gentlemen’s vent, or their stirring of emotions to be expressed,whenever they enaged in their recreation off their official duties or finished readings. These kinds of feelings incubated slowly in their minds similar to the rare old vintages stored in the wine vaults for a long time and they are so mellow and extraordinary that could not be found in the general markets. In Chinese history, Mr. Chao is a great artist possessed the extravagant magnanimity and such disposition reflects in his works of art.

The general public recognize Mr.Chao from his brilliant calligraphy; we also know that when Southern Song Dynasty had perished, the Yuan Dynasty took the regime. In this critical juncture, Mr.Chao was a member of the royal clan, because of taking up the offer of an official post of the invader, he was criticized by others. As a consequence, his calligraphy was deemed too dainty and was devalued unjustly. Perhaps thus historical situation, an amateur astist with the influential official position in court, drove him to immerse himself in his pursuit of arts with the unmatchable enthusiasm and devotion to release his pent-up emotion. From the painting of his horse, we could see that the depicting lines of it is invested with strength despite the seemingy delicate of them. The succinct manner establishing an air of simplicity, he stripped away all minor visual elements; the precise lines were used with more concern for representational necessities indicating hair, muscles,tendons and bones beneath the skin with the subtle variations of the lines.

Furthermore, the pertinent perceptual qualities of precision is not only as clear-cut as the perceptual features that carry it, but the briefly outlined contour also encompassed the signs of vitality in it. By looking at the local part, the way of representing the mane at the forehead and neck make them look soft and grossy. Just by a few strokes,the short hair under the chin,the eyeleashes are well orginised  and echoes with the other part of the head. Putting around the head is a thin piece of leather with the little knot and the small metal components, which are appropriately rendered but the bridle is not for practical use as it is loosely attached to the head demonstrating it’s graceful curve, without the purpose of tightening it for driving. The rest part of the meticulous delineation is neat with nuanced

variation by the control of the inward mental force. It is something more than the mere linear drawing, for the whole configuration of brush and ink is so leisured,so graceful, that it is the leading model of refinement of the literiti painting.

The traditional Western art shows the fidelity to nature and assumes a scientific attitude to view our world, and the motive power for creation originates from the willpower of the individual. Such as Da Vinci the paragon of great master,a fount of wisdom,who was not content to express what the naked eyes could see, he made a thorough inquiry of the internal structure to understand the constrution and function of the things he was depicting and at the same time could organize complex perceptual patterns with the utmost clarity. It is said that he had dissected dozens of bodies and his manuscript confirmed the records with illustrations and propositions as the reference to articulate the visual idea of his own. Therefore painting is a process for him to explore all things under the sun, so it took him several years to finish a work of art which was the outcome of his efforts and patience.

The cosmological conception of of Chinese is established in two dimensions: the space of our dwelling places（宇）is the epitome of the vastitude of the universe ;going out and coming back to the dwelling places is the concept of time in the universe（宙）,From the taking turns of going out and coming back, Chinese people deduce that the space and the time of the universe is an organic whole. In ancent time , common people’s concept of space and time was as that “when the sun rises , go out to work; when the sun sets,come back to rest.” The endless rotation of the sunrise and sunset, the blossom and languishment of flowers, the change of four seasons are purposeful scenes towards the literatus.

They grasped the profoundity in these phenomena with their hearts and sensed the rhythms of the cosmic space and time and bosomed these rhythmic repetitions to savour. The prime minister of Song Dynasty Mr.Yan’s classic poems are famous through ages, and one composition is much more well- known than the others for it’s simplicity and insignful, and a couplet of it recorded his penetrative sense about the action of time to our world, “The flowers look the same year after year, but the person is not the one of the previous year.” This kind of perspicacity enabled the literatus with self-cultivation to be calmly symphonious with the rhythmical rotation of life-force.

Therefore the horse depicted by Mr.Chao is constructed with the mellow and classically elegrant lines,

seemingly effortless. There is no preparatory work to dissect horses as Da Vinci would have done to help him to shape what cannot be seen. The sophisticated wisdom merges the course of life with the cosmic law of rhythm, and the refined offical could wield his brush with cadence in the void of aplomb, and freed himself from the cramped life. The brief lines do not mean that its content is meager. It was Mr.Chao’s fate to have qualm and conflict in his whole life, but from his masterpieces we could not find any personal anguish or feelings of melancholy in them. Viewing his works of art, we sympathize with the rhythmic and self-contented lines which are resonating with the heart’s chord of a composed intellect. It is the outcome of the sincere seeker for the truth of the analogy between the hamonious macrocosm and the concordant responses of our spirits.

Many unfortunate men of letters with the disturbed minds would show an aroma of abjection, or narrow sense of self-pity in their works. The unreconciled individual moodiness just can voice it’s own grievance in a restricted space. There are also some genre of art which ignores the nature of human existence or the mortality per se; the vocabulary of artistry, the vacuous lines, is used with more concern for pictorial,ornamental necessities, devoid of the interaction and resolution between underlying order and the irrational variety of clashes happening in this pace-time continuum. When

Mr.Chao,the literati and officaldom,used the lines for the composition of a painting,he was as if plucking a string instrument. All his composed and dignified disposition, the dispassionate nature of the universe were enbodied in his wielding brush.

Lotus Land(part 1)-------lotuses with a dragonfly

After Eastern Han Dynasty when Buddhism began to disseminate in China,lotus,taken as the devine flower representing Heaven and symbolizing purity,had become the main theme of many decorations and the motif of paintings.Therefore an artwork with such theme embodies the desirable Pure Land for our bodies and minds to experience the absolute liberties to free ourselves from all the vexations of this mortal world.

In this painting,the lotus flowers in full blossom is executed in washes of ink and colour without outlines presenting the charms of a free-hand painting and the implication of the noble moral integrity of “Emerging unstained from the fifth”.Such qualities of extraordinary beauty and grace can only be expressed after careful observation of the subject and the distinctive technique to coalesce the traditional expressive power of brush of Chinese painting with the westernized visual aspect of depicting volume,light,shadow and texture.

As for the setting,the billowing mists and clouds seem entirely detached from earth;and the whole compostion appears to be in a state of perpetual motion and change,while the static dragonfly landing at the rim of a lotus leaf is set off as an amusing contrast.This painting has a dream-like quality of the divine fairy realms which maybe is the aspirational place of many people.  

The Exact Discipline Germinates the Seemingly Easiness(part 4)------the lacking of worthy successor

It is from the seventeenth century ,in the period of Qing dynasty(1644-1911),that the western cultural infiltration reflected in the changed way of the artistic response to the sensory world.Another court painting presented here is an artpiece of the Xianfeng period(1851-1861).The painting depicts Empress Dowager Cixi playing a game of “weiqi” in a garden scene enframed with large pine,peonies in a pot,orchids growing on the ground and exotic rocks.The composition is carefully worked out and the painting executed in meticulous detail which the artist strived for and ended up in insipid exactitude and truth.There is not much agreeable aftertaste for us to savor. Why is it so different with the court paintings of the Song dynasty?

Immediately, our attentions focus on the chess table which is objectively correct descriptions of physical nature,conformable to the central perspective.Especially the Empress Dowage Cixi and the aristocratic man both resplendently in their outfits flanking the two sides of the table upgraded the position of the table.In the painting, the drawn figure of Cixi resembles her features.The delicately depicted ornate garment displays the fine workmanship of the embroidery on the gorgeous siken robe.We can imagine how beautiful the real clothe is embroidered with clumps of flowers in coloured silk threads in the main field of the robe.Other décorative patterns are employed on the three borders edging the lapel and the hems.To take a close look,we can see a bracelet being worn on the front as a pendant.This kind of bracelet would also be worn at the wrist.The material of it is derived from agalloch eaglewood or some other fragrant tropical wood.Therefore the bracelet would diffuse a mild and very pleasant scent,beleived to be analgesic and capable of regulating respiration and unblocking blockages in body.It was used in Cixi’s time.

We can also observe the long nails of the left hand rested on her thigh,and the other hand are just putting in the “weiqi”box ready to take out weiqi pieces from it which is also decorated with beautiful patterns. Her headgear in the form of two outstretched wings with the embellishment of peal and hairpins,with her earrings, the pair of high-platform shoes whose uppers are of imperial yellow satin embroidered with brightly colored patterns,all these go with her attire.Moreover,the podium which Cixi is sitting on is also depicted with the colours soft and delicate revealed extremely fine quality of the articles in the court.

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Opposite side of Cixi,a man standing with a slightly bending posture is also eye-catching in his plain blue gown for its large patch of unitary blue color. However, with careful observation,we would notice there are medallions of the “shou”character,meaning longevity which was a kind of auspicious motif, on the gown.In the middle of the girdle is a jade belt hook and the thumb ring worn on right thumb seems to be the same material.Thumb ring is archer’s ring which first appeared as an accessary worn on thumb to help to pull the bowstring,or to protect the thumb.In later period,it became just a symbol of status with purely decorative purpose.

There are some more decorative bijous hanging from the belt.The delicate small watch maybe is gold-plated for the glaring color, and the winding mechanism which was ingeniously designed,can be seen at the bottom.This kind of refined gear was exported from Switzerland or France at that time.The renowed Swiss watchmaker”Bovet” even set up business at Fleurier in 1820,specializing in small watches for the Chinese market.Beside the hanging watch is the scent holder or fabric fragrance pouch which was carried by men and women alike to function as freshener or sanitary accessories since the Qin dynasty(221AD-207AD).Common stuffing for scent holders includes dried or flesh flowers,agarwood,sandalwood,aromatic herbs and medicinal herb. The court painter strive for exhibiting all the technical skill to describe the main figures and the chess table between them.However the perspective of the table focus our sights to the emptiness in the end, notwithstanding he tried hard to tell us how illustrious are their statuses.The two protraits in the painting are as stiff as pokers similar to two wax figures being placed in it.Therefore the whole work is exanimate.Only registered a fading fragment of the bygone glory time which petered out to emptiness

which is intimated to us by the chess table with convergent perspective.

Sometimes the fluent draughtsman,facility would be a danger.Moreover,when we assimilate some new discoveries to art with continuing traditional qualities without coherent adaptation,it is at the cost of the intrinsic aesthetic value.The prospect of innovations always reflect the radical coalescence with the developmental orientation of a culture.The evolution of court paintings of Song dynasty is a successful exemple.We should understand that when there was no camera to shoot a picture many many time age, with the manipulation of brush and ink that people could record and possess the verisimilitude of nature was an utmost surprising pleasure which is beyond our imagination.

The pursuit of “likeness” to what can be seen was more and more sophisticated and reached a climax in Tong dynasty(581-618).At that time, the artist Wu Dao Zi was one of the outstanding elite to animate the subject matter with verve,not just an accurate representation.As time went by,the forward development in painting was in a difficult situation of finding an orientation to move on. During Song dynasty,when Hui Tsung succeeded to the throne, He frowned on the detail-oriented verisimilar expression.He sensed that inside the similitude of an image should exist the spirit to animate the whole configuration. He realized that a kind of refined affections,the poetic artistic conception being perfused in the artpiece would establish the longlasting intimate charm.

In order to enable the court artists to broaden and deepen their ideological territories, first of all,the questions given in an examination for recruiting court artists were mainly of the expressions of poems.For example,one of the questions is”A tavern at the side of a bridge in an exberant growth of bamboos”.The averge candidates put emphasis on the depicting of the tavern,while the master-hand would translate into poetic tableau the winsome verdant bamboo forest with a antiquated bridge,and a cloth signboard with the word”Wine”on it is sufficient for the intimation of tavern.Therefore all the also-runners were those lack of independent thinking and void of imaginations.

Furthermore,all the enrolled court painter still had to undergo the demanding artistic standard which was set by the emperor, and also had to participate in the training courses both of reading up classic scriptures and painting practices.Under such exacting indoctrination,the creative thinking of the individuals,the vivification of an artpiece had not been stifled;on the contrary,Hui Tsung cultivated the minds and temperaments of the artists with poetry ,mastery skill and the spirit of self-improvement, that were the prerequisite of the true masters’ personalities.As a result, the paintings of Song court are the unintentionally exudation of the highly cultivated personalities of poised and refined manners,but without showing any trace of preciosity; so sophisticated and at the same time vigorous that the Song court paintings are the valuable national heritage.Hei Tsung is an insightful innovator who made a great contribution in the development of Chinese painting.

Chinese culture praise the individual value so much so that we equal our loftiness and mightiness as the earth and sky.We are of the same rank with earth and sky in the planet and was named”three talents”,for we have the enormous potentialities to be opened up to remedy this imperfect world.The power of introspection could remould our personalities and better our attitudes towards all things in our lives;it is also the intrinsic value of a artpiece,for an artist who has a critical mind could not put up with a tiny flaw in his work.The kernel of traditional Chinese culture is that the whole life of a person is continuous personal discipline and always in the introverted mood.Therefore in the Song court paintings,as quality suggestive of poetry being advocated, every line,every integral part In a painting is calm and serene,and at the same time they are full of melodic rhythm.

However such excellent tradition had already reached the peak,lacking worthy successor.The exactitude and stiffness of Qin dynasty court paintings are of not much aesthetic value,but still have the value of historical research.In Hong Kong,the situations of art expression and art appreciation are disappointing.The so-call contemporary arts or the false traditional innovative paintings are being greatly patronaized by the arts bureancratic organizations.Therefore the average citizens here know little about the value of traditional culture,and not to said to understand the importance of living up to it.The leadership lacking a broad and long-term-view is a calamity to traditional culture.[THE END]