General Theory of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Appreciation and Collection

Author: Yezi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features:
1. Overview of the Development of Ancient Figure Painting
Chinese figure painting is one of the earliest major painting genres in Chinese art, existing as an independent category distinct from landscape, flower-and-bird painting. It primarily depicts human figures, employing a "line drawing as the main technique, with shading as the secondary" approach to achieve the artistic effect of lifelike portrayal and harmonious unity of form and spirit. From its inception, Chinese figure painting strove to portray figures with natural realism, gradually evolving into a form that expresses the artist's aesthetic feelings through symbolic representation and relies on the viewer's creative self-appreciation to complete the aesthetic value beyond the visual realm. For this reason, figure painting not only aims to depict figures with natural realism but also emphasizes the unity of form and spirit, lifelike portrayal, and vitality of artistic conception. This method of capturing the essence of a figure often embeds the expression of character within a specific environmental atmosphere.
Chinese figure painting, when categorized by subject matter, can broadly be divided into: Buddhist and Taoist paintings, court ladies' portraits, portraiture, genre paintings, and historical narrative paintings, among others. It has developed a well-established, comprehensive yet flexible set of conventions, making it an indispensable component of Chinese painting.
(1) Naive and Romantic Art—Figure Painting from Ancient Times to the Han Dynasty
The history of Chinese figure painting traces its origins to the distant prehistoric culture. This can be verified by the earliest forms of Chinese painting discovered through archaeological excavations, such as rock carvings, painted pottery, murals, and silk paintings. Analyzing the rock paintings left by primitive societies, their content primarily consists of hunting scenes, with figures depicted in a rough yet concise style and a distinctive, archaic artistic expression. This primitive form of painting art should be considered China's earliest rough yet thematic narrative figure painting, brimming with a rustic yet romantic spirit and possessing a powerful artistic vitality.
The Warring States period marked the transition from a slave society to a feudal society. During this era, court murals incorporated a wide range of themes, including historical myths, as well as reflections of warfare, hunting, banquets, and daily life. In these figure paintings, the depictions of figures became more exaggerated, and the techniques more refined. Unfortunately, these ancient murals are generally only documented in literature, with no physical remnants surviving. Even the court murals of the Warring States period have vanished along with the destruction of the buildings. However, it is fortunate that the artistic style of Warring States figure painting can still be faintly discerned from unearthed silk paintings, painted lacquerware, bronze vessels, pottery, and other artifacts.
To date, the earliest independent painted artifacts discovered are the two silk paintings unearthed from the Chu tombs in Changsha, Hunan: Figure with Dragon and Phoenix (Figure 1) and Figure Riding a Dragon. In the Figure with Dragon and Phoenix silk painting, the figures and the dragon and phoenix appear to have been drawn with brushes, with a woman in wide sleeves, a slender waist, and flowing skirts standing sideways in the lower right corner. Above the center of the painting, a large phoenix with its head raised and beak open is depicted in flight. On the left side of the painting, there is...