Research on the Language of Chinese Poetry and Painting: The Series of Overseas Chinese Studies

Author: (French) Cheng Baoyi, translated by Tu Weiqun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: This book is a collection of two works by Professor Cheng Baoyi: Studies on Chinese Poetic Language (1977) and Virtue and Reality: Studies on Chinese Painting Language (1991). Studies on Chinese Poetic Language, with Tang poetry as its primary focus, explores the characteristics of Chinese ideographic script. It bases its analysis on the cosmological principles of yin and yang, as well as the relationships between heaven, earth, and humanity, which form the foundation of poetic language. On the level of words and phrases, it delves into the subtle interplay between function words and content words; on the level of meter, it reveals the dialectical relationship between tones and parallelism that embody yin and yang; and on the higher and deeper symbolic level, it demonstrates how poets use the techniques of "" () and "" () to organize the relationships between images, achieving a fusion of subject and object while fully exploring the tripartite relationship between heaven, earth, and humanity. The translation of the "Selected Tang Poems" section adopts a unique combination of literal and interpretive translation, offering readers a multifaceted aesthetic experience. In Virtue and Reality: Studies on Chinese Painting Language, the author argues that the act of painting is interconnected with the creation and nurturing of the universe, and the goal of Chinese painting is to create a microcosm. This is achieved by reconstructing the vital energy () that animates the universe, allowing painters to capture the intrinsic principles () that constitute all things and connect them. However, these powerful brushstrokes can only be realized against a backdrop of emptiness (), which is simultaneously the highest state of origin, the mystical realm to which all things return, and the indispensable center of all operations. Therefore, it is essential to embody emptiness in the artwork, between its elements, and within the brushstrokes themselves. To this end, the author outlines five levels around the concept of emptiness, a central idea in Chinese cosmology: brushwork, yin and yang, landscapes, heaven and humanity, and the highest fifth dimension—representing the ultimate goal of painting: artistic conception () and spiritual resonance (). These layers form an organic whole, with the vital energy of emptiness radiating outward in a spiral motion, permeating each level.
Cheng Baoyi, also known as Ji Xian by his Chinese name and Francois Cheng by his French name, is a bilingual writer in Chinese and French. Born in Jinan, Shandong, in 1929, he moved to Paris in 1948 and settled in France. Before 1975, he primarily wrote in Chinese, translating French poetry and publishing Chinese poetry collections such as Three Songs (). After 1975, he began writing poetic and artistic theories in French, publishing the two works included in this book. In the 1980s, he started writing novels in French, including The Elegy of Tianyi (Ledit de Tianyi, Albin Michel, 1998, winner of the Femina Prize that year), Eternity Is Not Too Late (L'eternité n'est pas trop tard, Albin Michel, 2001), and essays such as Dialogue: A Passion for French (Le dialogue: Une passion pour la langue fran?aise, Desclee de Brouwer and Shanghai Literature Publishing House, 2002), as well as poetry collections like The Way of Love (L'long d'un amour, Arfuyen, 2003). In 2001, he was awarded the Grand Prize for French Literature by the French Academy for his entire body of work. In 2002, he was elected as a member of the French Academy, becoming the first Asian in its history. In this regard, French President Jacques Chirac remarked, "As a philosopher, poet, translator of several great French poets, and master of calligraphy, Cheng Baoyi is a sage of our time. His election splendidly embodies the struggle for cultural diversity and dialogue, which is precisely France's struggle."