100 Questions on Painting and Sculpture Knowledge (Golden Key Knowledge Series·Art)

Author: Jiang Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-22
Features: There are seventy-two trades or three hundred and sixty trades in the world, each with its own expertise, and they are highly specialized—just as the saying goes, "a fish knows nothing of the sea." Some trades may appear simple, and if one relies solely on their own small cleverness to tackle them, they will inevitably end up making a fool of themselves. This only shows that knowledge must be studied seriously. However, art is interconnected. For example, Peking Opera itself is a comprehensive art form. From the performances of Peking Opera actors, we can recognize Chinese music, painting, poetry, dance, acrobatics, and history. Understanding the expressive performance style of Peking Opera will also be beneficial for appreciating Chinese expressive painting. This art series of books covers eight aspects: opera, theater, film, painting and sculpture, music, dance, folk customs, and craft design. Each category of art, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, holds extremely valuable knowledge. You won’t know until you see it, and the more you see, the more marvelous it becomes. However, respecting knowledge should not make one a slave to it. Using this book to appreciate a painting or watch a play and then match it up accordingly is also inappropriate. Because art is subjective—what the benevolent see is benevolent, and what the wise see is wise. If you like Qi Baishi, I like Wu Changshuo; if you like "Qilin Tong," I like Ma Lianliang; if you like Mei Lanfang, I like Cheng Shouqiu, then all of you are connoisseurs of art, and that is correct. It cannot be like arithmetic problems, which must have a single correct answer. Therefore, I strongly advocate that everyone learns some basic knowledge to appreciate and master art, because art is the beautification of life and originally belongs to everyone. I congratulate the publication of this easy-to-understand, common-sense booklet, designed to bring art more broadly into everyone’s lives.