The Great Art of

China's 'Soundless Poems'

Chinese artists employ different instruments
and means from their Western counterparts,
but express familiar ideas-a wonderful
example of the diverse richness and
universality of mankind.

Leni Rubinstein traces the legacy

of Confucian philosophy in
shaping the extraordinary

A
mong the world's great civiliza­
cultural heritage of tions, that of China is unique,
because it is the oldest continuous
Chinese painting culture in the world. Despite such adversi­
ties as repressive regimes, foreign invaders,
and, in the last centuries, the repeated
efforts of the British oligarchy to crush it,
both from within and without, China 'has
had the inner strength to rebound, agqin
and again.
This puts China in an unparallelled

4l; ��� t
position in today's world. It compels us to
-
understand why, and how.
�L It is unarguably the case, that the key to

1J -1t �§; � �
China's civilizational strength, is to be
found in the ideas of the philosopher Con­
'g fucius. ' Further, that these ideas were
't. * A.... ,�
/./
fiX

J ...
developed, transmitted, and deeply im­
/h printed through active, living great art

�
If/(
�r. j:. J,1= �p among China's educated strata-through
FIGURE 1 (a). This poem � music, poetry, calligraphy, and painting,

'Jt\ � i
... .
if..
by Tang Dynasty poet � 't>' Confucius' legacy was born of his dis­
;ij i&
. .
Liu Zong-yuan inspired 31 'I . \., . covery of fundamental ideas concerning the
"Fisherman on a snowy
lawful ordering of the universe, and man's
day," the painting
shown on the facing relation to it (the principle of li). Every per­
page. (Calligraphy by son is by nature good, said Confucius, and
Dr. Kenneth Chang) the key moral element in man's nature is

42 From the Spring 1999 issue of Fidelio, ©Copyright 1999 Schiller Institute. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in
part without permission strictly prohibited.
a gape (ren ). True freedom, he said, lies in
man's pursuit of truth. And, perhaps most
significantly, he laid great emphasis on the
importance of universal education, with­
out regard for rank or social status. For
Confucius, a leader ought not to be defined
according to wealth or family background,
' FIGURE 1. "Fisherman on a
but instead by his moral perfection; the
snowy day, " anonymous artist,
more moral a person, the higher his rank
Tang Dynasty.
should be.
This idea-of the importance of the
development of a person's character in
determining leadership-forced the men
of the educated elite to not only "learn
from books," but to actively refine and cul­
tivate:;. their character as a whole,. through
active engagement in the arts-a cultural
matrix which is still very much alive today,
2,500 years later.2
. This article will provide a glimpse of
hGW these ideas have uniquely shaped the
'
great cultural heritage of Chinese painting.
An effort has been made to convey the
ways ih which the artist actively engages
the mind of the viewer-that is, that the
key is not in the appearance of a painting
in itself, but rather, in the way the painting
transmits ideas. Painting is a marvellous
language through which to gain deeper
understanding and insight into another
culture. It is my hope that this presentation
may inspire others to deeper study-and
countless moments of enjoyment.3
A brief outline of the fundamental ideas
of Confucian philosophy appears on page
53, and a chronology of China's dynasties
on page 57.

'APainting within the Poem,

ill
A Poem within the Painting' :;::
u
0
.11
Through the centuries, great art in China :0
"
a.
"
has been regarded as a part of daily life. cc
c
'"
Imagine a party of educated people in .�>-
the Song period. The guests sing, play
�
musical instruments, and comp�se poems ill
�
Q)
on the spot. Some bring a few. especially
treasured paintings to show to their �0..
OJ
c
friends-these are known as "hand-wash­ �Z
ing paintings, " because everyone must "
;;
wash his hands carefully, to ensure that no 0
c

spot of dirt is left on these treasures. A cou­ �

15
ple of friends might be inspired to jointly u

43
 paint a painting, to be finished off by the
writing of a poem on the painting by a
third friend, who is particularly skilled in
beautiful calligraphy.
Clearly, such gatherings were not just a
way of "killing time. " On the contrary,
they were intended to inspire and culti­
vate the personalities of the individuals
participating.
Great paintings were not used as wall
fixtures, to beautify a room together with
the furniture. Rather, they were used
actively, to inspire the cognitive processes·
of the mind.4 They would be shown at
gatherings as a sort of "live painting con­
cert, " or perhaps hung on a wall for a
short while for a special occasion, or sent
as a "letter" to a good friend. Or, they
could be lent to a student for the purpose
of studying and copying. This tradition
influenced the external forms of Chinese
painting,S and, more importantly, the inte­
gration and active use of the arts meant
that they participated together within the
same "field," and not as separate entities.
FIGURE 2. Ma Lin, "Night outing with
A poet would write a poem inspired by a
candles, " Song Dynasty.
painting, a painter paint a poem-or com­
pose a poem, then paint-and maybe put
the poem on the painting. In this way,
there developed the beautiful and unique
idea: "a painting within the poem, a.poem
within the painting.,,6

'Soundless Poems': The Merging of ..

Poetry and Painting

Let us investigate this beautiful concept,

that "within a poem there is a painting,
and within a painting there is a poem."
Transliteration of Look 'a t Figure 1 , " Fisherman on a
Chinese Characters snowy day. " This is a painting composed
Chinese words are not spelled with letters
about 1 ,200 years ago, in the Tang Dynasty,
representing spoken sounds. Instead, each by an anonymous painter. It is definitely
word is written as an ideogram (or "charac­ snowing. Apart from the snow laying on
ter") representing an idea. A number of sys­
the ground and weighing down the
tems have been devised to spell Chinese
words in the Latin alphabet; the modern
branches of bamboo, the fisherman himself
Pinyin transliterations of Chinese words are also has snow on his hat, on his shoulders,
used in this article. A fair approximation can on the cloth he is holding up to his face �o
be made by using the equivalent English
protect against the weather--even his fish­
sounds for Pinyin consonants, with these
exceptions: c is pronounced ts when it beiins ing pole has a layer of snow. In contrast to
a word; q is pronounced ch; x is pronounced this, you see the man's eyes full of thought.
as sy (soft sh); z is pronounced dz; and zh is Another contrast is his bright red belt,
pronouncedj.
neatly arranged. The focus in the painting
is clearly on this individual and his eyes,

44
enforced through the framing created by of the mountains. \0 Weightless, almost
the snow on i:he bamboQ and on the man floating crabapple trees in flower surround
himself. The whole combined scene cre­ the pavillion.
ates a connection between the viewer and "Night outing with candles" is a paint­
the fisherman, in a somewhat humorous ing of the following lines of a poem by Su
setting. Shi (se.e footnote 6):
"Fisherman on a snowy day" is a paint­ My fear is that in the depth of night,
ing of a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet The flowers will fall asleep and depart, .
Liu Zong-yuan (A.D. 773-819) [SEE Fig­ So I light the tall candles
ure l(a)], which in translation reads: To illuminate their beauty.

River Snow The 'Three Perfections,' san jue:

Over a thousand mountains Painting, Poetry, and Calligraphy
has flight of birds ceased, In another painting by Ma Lin, "Sunset
On ten thousand pathways landscape," the artist has created a very
have men's footsteps vanished;
simple composition: a few swallows fly
Only, an old man-
over water at twilight toward the setting
cl<;>ak of straw, hat bamboo,
A solitary boat,
sun [SEE Figure 3]. In the distance, misted
childless, angling amid cold river snow. mountain contours lead the eye into the
glowing sky beyond, where the painter has
Look at the painting again. Register the written the following poetic lines, from
shift in the way you look at it now, in the Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei:
thoughts generated by an awareness of the
Mountains hold the autumn colors near,
poem. 7. Swallows cross the evening sun slowly.
Painting 'Poetic Ideas,' or shi i
In the Northern Song period, the merging
of poetry and painting become so valued,
that the use of poetry in the examination of
Academy painters was introduced. 8
painters would be given a poem, or a few
lines, and it was up to them to express the
poetic idea in their compositions. Several
of these tests, and their results, are report­
ed. Here is an example:
Treading the flowers returning home,
Horse hooves are fragrant.

How would you paint that?

The painting chosen as the best in this
test, depicts a group of butterflies flutter­
ing around the hooves of a trotting horse.
Choosing an old poem as the subject for
one's composition is called painting "poetic
ideas," shi l� and a good example is "Night
outing with candles," painted in the Song
Dynasty by Ma Lin, who was active in the
middle of the Thirteenth century A.D. [SEE
Figure 2V A gentleman sits in a six-cor­
nered pavillion. Before the pavillion door,
four pairs of tall candles line the walkway.
It is evening, a full moon shines in a clear FIGURE 3. Ma Lin, "Sumet
sky, and the lake mists soften the contours landscape, " Song Dynasty.

45
 FIGURE 5.Xu Wez;
"Yellow armor, "
Ming Dynasty.

FIGURE 4. Shen Zhou,

"Pomegranate" from
"Dream Journey, "
Ming Dynasty. This combination, known as the
"Three Perfections," san jue, creates a larg­
er field for the Chinese artist to play with
ideas. Through the combined poem-paint­
ing, the artist can create ironies and con­
trasts not only within the painting itself, or
within the poem, but also composing a
triple interplay between the poem and the
painting to the painting itself, creating a
new realm for ideas. But it goes further,
because the way the calligraphy, the third
"perfection," is itself executed, will influ­
ence the idea of the painting as a whole. I I
The following two paintings are exam­
ples of how apparently simple themes are
completely changed by the voice of a
poem. Figure 4, by Shen Zhou (Ming
Dynasty), is one of seventeen paintings
depicting landscapes and flowers, from an
album called "Dream Journey," in which
each painting is accompanied by a poem
[SEE also inside back cover]. On this paint­
ing of a pomegranate, Shen Zhou has writ­
ten the following lines:
Who split open the pomegranate
To reveal the ruby fruits inside?
I don't want to hide anything.
All my life I've feared deceit.

On the painting "Yellow Armor" by

Xu Wei (Ming Dynasty) [SEE Figure 5], the

46
painter has inscribed the following poem:
The village rice has ripened, the crabs are
m season;

With their pincers like halberds, they

swagger in the mud.
If you turn one over on a piece of paper,
You will see before you Dong Zhuo's
navel.

Who is this Dong Zhuo, whom Xu

Wei compares to a crab with pincers,
swaggering in the mucl? Dong Zhuo was a
powerful minister during the Eastern Han
period. The story is, that his belly had so
much fat, that after he died, people lit
lamps with the fat from his navel! With
these few poetic lines, the idea expressed in
this seemingly simple painting is complete­
ly changed, and the delicacy of the paint­
ing itself is in sharp contrast to the harsh
attack on corrupt officials who prosper at
the expense of the common people.
The landscape painting "Autumn trees
and crows" is by the Qing Dynasty artist
Wang Hui [SEE Figure 6]. Having "trav­
elled" through the composition, the view­
er's eye is led to the distance, where the fol­
lowing poem by an artist from the Ming
Dynasty is inscribed:
The little house by the stream looks more
beautiful at dusk, FIGURE 6. Wang Hui,
The autumn tree around the eve gathers "Autumn trees and crows,"
shadowy crows. Qing Dynasty.
I wonder when we can meet again,
So together we can taste tea by the cold
light.

When painting this work, Wang Hui

was eighty years old, in the autumn of his
life, and the melancholy evoked by the
painting and the poem is executed in an
unconstrained unity.

47
 The Chinese 'Lied' applied to painting, of which the First
T he Song period was the greatest renais­ Principle emphasized the "breath reso­
sance in Chinese history, expressed in the nance" or "spirit resonance," qi yun, of
arts, in statecraft, in economic development painted forms.12•
and population growth, and, underlying Look at "Travellers among mountains
this, in a great revival of the ideas of Confu­ and streams," painted by Fan Kuan in the
cius, prompted by the work of the philoso­ Song Dynasty [SEE Figure 7]. Unfortunate­
pher Zhu Xi (see footnote 1). It is therefore ly, reprod.uctions of paintings are always
not accidental that the peak of development merely a faded mirror of the real thing,
and execution of the integration of poetry particularly when it comes to paintings of
and painting was reached in this period, this size-81.2 X 40.7 in. (that is, almost 7
comparable, in my view, to the development feet high by 3 feet wide). Try, therefore, to
of the Lied during the Classical renaissance imagine this size, and imagine you are
in Germany in the Nineteenth century. standing in front of it, and later, perhaps,
By combining two (or more) art forms, look at the reproduction through a magni­
not only is there created a new dimension fying glass.
from which to generate ideas, but such This is like an exploration. You are at
combination also helps lessen the charac­ eye level with the large mountain, but
teristic limitation of each of the individual where are the travellers? At the very bot­
art forms, without, however, removing its tom of the painting is the first scene,
specific advantages. some big boulders, and just to the right
In the Letters on the Aesthetical Education of these, you see some travellers with
of Man, Letter 22, Friedrich Schiller writes, their pack animals next to a creek [SEE
that the "artist must not only overcome, by detail, Figure 7( a)]. Then the second
his treatment, the limitations which are scene, the middle scene, consists of two
inherent in the specific character of his type rising slopes with some buildings to the
of art, but also those belonging to the par­ right, intersected by a forward-moving
ticular material with which he is dealing." stream [SEE detail, Figure 7(b)]. And, in
Schiller says, that the more the different t h e third s c e n e , we s e e the massive
forms of art attain a higher level, mountain rising up abruptly from the
mist created by the waterfall. When you
it is a necessary and natural consequence of
stand in front of this painting, you are
their perfection, that, without displacing
their objective borders, the different artS in forced, through the composition, to move
their effect upon the mind always become through the ever-changing appearance..of
more similar to one another. Music in its mountains, as one travels through them.
highest ennoblement must become agestalt The painter has used three different per­
and act upon us with the tranquil power of spectives: near, middle, and distant, and
the antique; the plastic and graphic arts in by masterful use of water, mi'St , and
their highest perfection must become clouds, he breaks the spatial limits ef the
music and move us through their immedi­ p a i n t i n g and i n t e g r a t e s the various
ate sensuous presence; poetry in its most
scenes harmoniously, so that the motion
perfected form must, like musical art, seize
appears perfectly coherent. He has used
us powerfully, but at the same time, like
what the Chinese call a "moving per­
the plastic, surround us with quiet clarity.
spective."
Isn't that what the artists of the Song So, the question is: Who are the trav­
period strived to achieve-thus creating a ellers? And, the answer is: It's you, the
"Lied" with Chinese characteristics? viewers!
Figure 7(c) shows a photograph"of
'Breath-Resonance Generated by
Huashan, the mountain Fan Kuan used as
Movement,' or qi yun sheng dong the model for his painting. Clearly, in his
About A.D. 500, Xie He wrote "Evaluating composition, Fan Kuan has transcended
ancient paintings," in which he presented the limits of what the eye perceives, to cre­
his famous Six Principles, or liu fa, to be ate a new world.

48
 FIGURE 7. Fan
Kuan, "Travellers
among mountains
and steams, " Song
Dynasty.

FIGURE 7(c).
Photograph of
mount Huashan.

FIGURE 7(b). Detail, middle

scene, "Travellers among
mountains and streams. "

Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of ChIna

FIGURE 7(a). Detail,

bottom scene,
"Travellers among
mountains and streams.'»
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China

49
 FIGURE 8(b). Detail, middle scene,
"Evening scene on a riverbank."

FIGURE 8. Dong Yuan,

"Evening scene on a 'The Idea Being Present,
riverban�" Tang Dynasty.
Before the Brush Descends'

According to the classical Chinese paint­

ing tradition, the entire composition must
be present in the mind and heart of the
painter, before he begins to paint. In other
words,
_
of interplay between ideas and the scene,
has to be fully worked through as a con­
FIGURE 8(a). Detail, lower scene,
cept beforehand. As Meng Jiao (A.D. 71 5-
"Evening scene on a riverbank."
8 1 4) expressed it: "Heaven and Earth
enter my heart, images are my own
design. The past and the present gets

50
 FIGURE 9. Dong Yuan,
"Festival in the provinces, "
Tang Dynasty.

absorbed in a flash, the four seas stroked

in an ins.tant. "
In "Evening scene on a riverbank" by
Dong Yuan of the Southern Tang
Dynasty, the painter has also employed the
principle of moving perspective, but here
the iEiea content is very dilferent from that
of "Travellers . . . " [ S EE Figure 8 ].
Whereas the journey in "Travellers . . . "
proceeds over a virtual obstacle course, as
the scene is set in a harsh area of China's
geography, the "Evening scene . . . "
shows the lush, Yangtze valley region. It
is much more habitable, and seems as if
every spot has been touched by man. The
lower part of the painting [SEE detail, Fig­
ure 8 (a)] looks like a formal garden, Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China

where some well-dressed gentlemen and

their servants travel in leisure, aiming to
settle in for the night at the inn further up
the winding, easy-going path [SEE detail,
Figure 8(b)].
Another example of moving perspective
is "Festival in the provinces," also by Dong
Yuan [SEE Figure 9]. Here, in a different
way, the composition establishes continu­
ous lines of force integrating the celebrat­
ing people, mountains, and water. The
Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Republic of China
viewer enters at the bottom, with the peo­ FIGURE 9(a). Detail,
ple celebrating at the banks of the river, lower scene, "Festival
next to a grove of trees to the right [SEE Filling one's eyes, the waters of the long in the provinces. "
detail, Figure 9(a)], and is then led smooth­ fiver;
ly in a curve by the water, making a zig­ Richly verdant, the mountains of an
zag at the upper right, to return down unknown prefecture.
The hastening of ten thousand miles,
through the mountain valley to the starting
All in the frame of a single window.
point. I3
Look at this painting and then read the
following verse by the poet Chen You-yi Witness, how the handling of space is
(Song Dynasty): the same in both poetry and painting. 4I

51
 Mountain-Water: 'Stillness' -'Movement'
The development of the Chi­
nese characters for "mountain"
(shan) [top] and "water" (shui)
[bottom] is shown from left to
right. The concepts of "still­
ness" and "movement" are
conveyed through the forms of
the c haracters themselves.
(Calligraphy by Dr. Kenneth II?? ,�' ' I ' II
Chang.)

'Shan shui' taining life are the equals of Heaven and

Earth. . ..
Truth means the fulfillment of our self;
The Chinese word for landscape painting and moral law means following the law of
is "shan shui hua." Shan means "mountain," our being. Truth is the beginning and end
shui, "water," and hua, "painting" [SEE of material existence. Without truth there
Box]. In Confucian philosophy, mountains is no material existence. It is for this reason
are an image of calm stillness, and water, of that the moral man values truth. . . .
movement and change-hence, of the Truth is not only the fulfillment of our
com plementary concepts of Being and own being; it is that by which things out-.
Becoming. Thus, the skilled artist can use side of us have an existence. The fulfill­
his works to address and portray the trans­ ment of our being is "ren" (agape). The ful- ..
fillment of the nature of things outside of .
formations and subtleties of the universe.
us is "zhi" (reason). These, agape and rea­
Bearing in mind that all great artists
son, are the powers or faculties of our
were deeply steeped in the Confucian clas­ being. They combine the inner or subjec­
sics, the following excerpts from one of the tive anc;\ outer or objective use of the power
most important writings of Confucius, of the mind. Therefore, with truth, every­
"The Doctrine of the Mean," or "Zhong thing done is right.
Yang," are relevant to emphasize the idea­ Thus, truth is indestructible. Being
realm in which the artist was operating indestructible, it is eternal. Being eternal,
when composing his works: it is self-existent. Being self-existent, it is
infinite. Being infinite, it is vast and
Only those who are their absolute true
deep. Being vast and deep, it is transcen­
selves in the world can fulfill their own
dental and intelligent. It is because it is
nature; only those who fulfill their own
transcendental and intelligent, that it
natl)re can fulfill the nature of others;
embraces all existence. It is because it is
only those who fulfill the nature of others
infinite and eternal, that it fulfills or per­
can fulfill the nature of things; those who
fects all existence. In vastness and depth
fulfill the nature of things are worthy to
it is like the Earth. In transcendental
help Mother Nature in growing and sus­
intelligence it is like Heaven. Infinite
taining life; and those who are worthy to
and eternal, it is the Infinite itself.
help Mother Nature in growing and sus-
Such being the nature of absolute truth,

52
it manifests itself without being seen; it rivers and seas dash against it without
produces effects without motion; it accom­ causing it to leak. The mountain appear­
plishes its ends without action. ing before us is only a mass of rock; but in
The principle in the course and opera­ all the vastness of its size, grass and vegeta­
tion of nature may be summed up in one tion grow upon it, birds and beasts dwell
word: because it obeys only its own on it, and treasures of precious minerals
Immutable law, the way in which it pro­ are found in it. The water appeari�g
duces the variety of things is unfathomable. before us is but a ladleful of liquid; but in
Nature is vast, deep, high, intelligent, all its unfathomable depths, dragons, tur­
infinite, and eternal. The Heaven appear­ tles, and fishes are produced in them, and
ing before us is only this bright shining all useful products abound in them.
mass; but in its immeasurable extent, the
sun, the moon, stars, and constellations are In "The Book of Songs" it is said:
suspended in it, and all things are The ordinance of God,
embraced under it. The Earth, appearing How inscrutable it is and goes on
befere us, is but a handful of soil; but in all forever.
its br�ath and depth, it sustains mighty That is to say, this is the essence of God .
mountains without feeling their weight; . . . Moral perfection also never dies. I5

A Brief Outline of Confucian Philosophy

C
onfucius lived 2,500 years ago-from 551 to The nature of man is good, and each individual is
479 B.C.-and was succeeded by the philosopher born with four moral elements: love (fen), which
Mencius about a h).mdred years later. He lived in a includes the notion of "love of man " (agape); right­
period of great social upheaval, at the end of what is eousness, which includes the notion of "love of jus­
called the "Spring and Autumn" period, when the tice"; propriety; and wis d o m , which includes the·
House of Zhou fell into the hands of the various notion of "love of knowledge." Every individual pos­
states. sesses these four elements, just as he has four limbs,
and it is his duty to develop them all to the fullest. If
• Political harmony is only possible
he does not do so, man plays the thief with himself.
through moral harmony
For Confucius, there is no distinction between politics
• Love is the most important element
and ethics. He taught that political order and harmo­ in human nature
ny are only possible from a foundation of moral According to Confucius, "love is the leader and home
order, which is achieved when man creates moral of all virtues, and it is necessa ry to practice it with all
harmony in himself. This is the very same notion one's might," and "love is man's mind [soul] and
which Friedrich Schiller developed in his Letters on righteousness is man's path." Confucius emphasizes
the Aesthetical Education of Man, where Schiller says that the central thread of all his teachings, is the all­
that "only through an ennoblement of the character pervading principle of love and its realization, and he
of the individual, can a change in the political affairs asks all people to cultivate it: "The people are in need
of man be accomplished." of love more urgently than of water or fire. The prin­
ciple of love should be applied to the governing, as
• The nature of man is good
well as to the governed."
Confucius says: "What is God-given is what we call
.' Freedom is the pursuit of truth
human nature. To fulfill the law of our human
nature, is what we call the moral law. The cultivation In all actions, man must follow the principle of cheng.
of the moral law, is what we call culture." Cheng meanS "freedom from all deception," "being

53
 true to oneself." Confucius says: "Being 'true to one­ think, on forming character, and on ennobling the
self is the law of Heaven. To try to be 'true to oneself individual.
is the law of man." The result of "freedom from all
Social order through Ii
deception" is the fulfillment of ourselves, and "only •

he, who is fully true to himself, can assist the trans­ There is no adequate English word-equivalent for Ii.
forming and nourishing powers of Heaven and It is the idea, that to have social order, each person
Earth. Able to assist the transforming and nourishing must fulfill his place in. society-in relation to him­
powers of Heaven and Earth, he may with Heaven self, his family, society at large, and the universe. Li
and Earth form a tern ion." And further, he, "who is also situates the individual in relation to the past, the
naturally true to himself, is one, who, without effort, present, and the future, a concept Lyndon LaRouche
hits upon what is right, and without thinking under­ has called the "simultaneity of eternity."""
stands, what he wants to know; one, whose life is easi­ Confucius says, that "man is the heart of the uni­
ly and naturally in harmony with natural law. Such a verse," and that "Ii is a great channel through
person we call a man of divine nature." This concept which we follow the laws of Heaven, and direct to
is similar to Friedrich Schiller's notion of the "beauti­ proper courses the expressions of the human heart.
ful sou!." Therefore, only the Sage knows, that Ii is indis­
pensable." As a consequence, "human nature is the
Man relates to the universe
•
field cultivated by the Sage. He ploughs it with Ii,
through moral law sows it with the seeds of duties, weeds it by educa­
According to Confucius, "the life of the moral man is tion and learning, harvests it with true manhood,
an exemplification of the universal moral order and enjoys it with music. Therefore, Ii is but the
(zhong yang)," because "he is a person who unceasing­ crystallization of what is right. If a thing is in
ly cultivates his true self or moral being." Confucius accordance with the standard of what is right, new
remarks: "To find the central clue to our moral being social practices may be instituted, although they
which unites us to the universal order, that indeed is were not known to the rulers in the past." Confu­
the highest human attainment." Confucius says, that cius says that by following the principle of Ii, soci­
moral law is to be found everywhere, and yet, it is ety will progress, so that in the future, man will
secret-in its utmost reaches, even the wisest and enjoy the society of the "Great Harmony," in which
holiest of men cannot live up to it. nobody is poor, great harmony rules, and "the ruler
"Great as the Universe is, man is yet not always rides. in the carriage of Virtue, with music as his
satisfied with it. For there is nothing so great, but the driver."
mind of the moral man can conceive of something
A note on Confucian texts
still greater, which nothing in the world can hold. •

There is nothing so small, but the mind of the moral "The Four Books": "The Great Learning" (Daxue), "The
man can conceive of something still smaller, which Doctrine of the Mean" (Zhong yong), "The Analects" (Lun­
nothing in the world can split. yu), and "Mencius" (Mengzi), contain the main body of
Confucian thought. A very good introduction in English is
"The 'Book of Odes' says: 'The hawk soars to the
The Wisdom of Confucius, edited and translated by Lin
heavens above and fishes dive to the depths below.' Yutang (see footnote 15).
That is to say, there is no place in the highest heav­ "The Five Classics": "The Book of Odes" (Shtjing),
ens above, nor in the deepest waters below, where "The Book of History" (Shujing), "The Book of Rites"
the moral law is not to be found. The moral man (Liji), "The Book of Changes" (Yijing), "The Spring and
finds the moral law beginning in the relation Autumn Annuals" (Chunqiu). These ancient Classics
between man and woman; but ending in the vast were in large part edited by Confucius, and he insisted
reaches of the universe." that they be studied very carefully.

• Universal education
Confucius advocates education for all, poor as well .
.. Cf Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., "The Essential Role of 'Time­
as rich. He attacks rote learning and says that Reversal' in Mathematical Economics," Fidelia, Winte r 1996
weight should be laid on teaching the student to (Vol. V, No. 4).

54
 FIGURE lOra). Details,
"Magpies and hare."

Overall Air and Force, qi shi

"To paint the hand plucking the zither is

easy, but to paint the eye sending offthe
flying geese is hard. "

Or, in other words, to "capture the ideas

beyond the image," through the interplay
between idea and scene, ijing, is the chal­
lenge and task for the artist. The Chinese
artist will say, that in an excellent painting,
an overall air and force, qi shl� an unseen
energy, determined through the composi­
tion by the different interrelationship of
the images, has been brought into play. A National Palace Museum, Taiwan

lack of qi shi leaves a lifeless, disjointed

painting.
'''Magpies and hare" by Cui Bai (Song
Dynasty), is a playful example of this con­
cept [SEE Figure 1 0]. A hare is sitting total­
ly still \.'lith his right paw lifted and his face
turned upward toward two colorful, hys­
terical jabbering birds, one sitting on a
branch with outspread wings, another cir­
cling in the upper right corner [SEE details,
Figures lO(a) and lO(b)]. You can almost
hear the noise. The wind is blowing, and
the bushes, the grasses, and the bamboo are
swept in the same direction as the hare is
turned. The hare is like the eye of a storm,
and this focus is reinforced by his complete
stillness, the line of sight between him and
the birds, and the painter's use of light sur­
rounding the head of the hare.16

FIGURE lO(b). Detail, "Magpies and hare."

�
E
()
15
.�

:g
Co
'"
� a:
c
E "
�

�
()
15
.�
:g
Co
�
'"
a:
ill
c
· �
�
.�
� ��
... "-
E
� �
� �z
::;;
"
� j:; FIGURE 10. Cui
<ii 15
"- c Bai, "Magpies
<ii
c
0
�.!l1 and hare, " Song
�
z 8 Dynasty.

55
 Compare these to "Snow on mount
Tian," painted by Hua Yan in the Qing
Dynasty [SEE Figure 1 2]. Here, a merchant
is walking all alone with his camel through
ice and snow in the northern wilderness of
China. H,e
waist, and a bright red overcoat, which
stands in stark contrast to the gray sky, the
brown camel, and the white snow. The
eyes of both the traveller and the camel are
turned toward a wild goose in the upper
left of the painting, It is a playful sort of
painting, but it lacks the qi and shi of the
previous examples. Try comparing it also
with Figure 1 . The mountains, the humps

FrGURE II. Li Di, "Herdsboys

and buffaloes in rainstorm, " In "Herdsboys and buffaloes in rain­
Song Dynasty.
storm" by Li Di (Song Dynasty), the wind is
also blowing [SEE Figure 11]. Big trees lean
against the storm, their light (willow?)
leaves bending graciously before the wind.
They dominate a large part of the painting,
creating a "power-line," or framing, to
focus the viewer on the scene of the two
plump, but very animated, buffaloes. One
buffalo has half-turned his body, and is
looking at the second buffalo, creating a line
of sight between them, while the two boys
are turned in opposite directions, creating a
field of force. The boy in front concentrates
on holding on to his hat and getting home,
while the second one has completely turned
his body around, looking for the hat that
FrGURE 12. Hua Yan, has just blown off his head. Through his
"Snow on mount compositional skills, the artist has created a
Tian, " Qing Dynasty. painting full of qz; shz; and humor.

56
on the camel's back, and the merchant, all
share the same curvilinear shape, and no
interacting force lines, or "cross voices,"
have been created. The painting has no
life-it is "dead."

Void and Substance

Many paintings of the Southern Song peri-
od are characterized by a profound lyrical
quality, a "poetry realm." Often, the artist ti
will highlight the painting's theme by 0

emphasizing the foreground elements,

leaving a large expanse of the area
I�
unpainted-but not empty. The painter is .�
using-the void to create space. In· Mao I's t
fij
"Swallows and willow trees," the void on
the left side of the painting is filled with .�
€
E
substance by the single swallow depicted �
th�re, and very simple compositional �
�
me·ans have been employed to create qi and �
(!)
shi [SEE Figure 1 3 and inside back cover]. �
Imagii1e how lifeless the composition �
would be, if this single swallow were 15

absent! �
.3
FIGURE 13. Mao I, "Swallows and
willow trees, " Song Dynasty.

Chronology of China's Dynasties

Shang Dynasty Northern and Song Dynasty
1766-1066 B.C. SouthernDynasties A.D. 960-1279
A.D. 220-580
Zhou Dynasty Yuan Dynasty
(including 'Spring Sui Dynasty (Mongol occupation)
and Autumn' and A.D. 581-618 A.D. 1279-1368
'Warring States'
Tang Dynasty Ming Dynasty
periods)
A.D. 618-907 A.D. 1368-1644
1066-221 B.C.
Five Dynasties Qing Dynasty
QinDynasty
(including (Manchu occupation)
221-206 B.C.
'Ten Kingdoms' A.D. 1644-1911
Han Dynasty period)
206 B.C.-A.D. 220 A.D. 907-979

57
 Another example of this is "Pavillions
in mountains" by Xiao Zhao (Song
Dynasty) [SEE Figure 14]. Here, the host
mountain with the near world dominates
the left side of the painting, while the
broad a�ea to the right functions as the
expanse of the universe, providing the
viewer �he space for far-reaching thoughts.
And, in "Herdsboy returning home along
a willow embankment," Xiao Chen (Qing
Dynasty) creates a dialogue, not only
between the delicate branches of willow
and the boy and his buffalo crossing a
crude bridge on their way home in the
evening, toward which the branches
stretch, but between this scene, and the
world beyond that is indicated by the vast
expanse in the painting's upper half [SEE
Figure 15].

FIGURE 14. Xiao Zhao,

"Pavillions in mountains, "
Song Dynasty.

FIGURE IS. Xiao Chen,

"Herdsboy returning home
along a willow embankment, "
Qing Dynasty.

58
 FIGURE 16.
Yan Liben, "Xiao-/
trying to steal scroll, "
Tang Dynasty.

'Transmitting the Spirit,' chuan shen

As noted earlier, form is the basis of paint­
ing, but only by going beyond form and
expressing spirit is art created. In painting
figures and portraits, the Chinese artist lay
emphasis on "transmitting the spirit"-by
"letting the heart take the place of the eye
to sketch ideas"-to express the essence or
spirit of an object, much as the same con­
cept is employed in the West by Rem­
brandt, for example.
A simple way of doing this is shown in
Yan Liben's horizontal scroll "Xiao-I try­
ing to steal scroll," from the Tang Dynasty
[SEE Figure 16]. The story is the following:
Tang emperor Taizong has sent Xiao-I
(the man on the right) on a secret mission
to steal the most famous work of calligra­
phy from a Buddhist monk (third from the FIGURE 16(a}. Details, Xiao-/ (right) and Buddhist monk (left),
"Xiao-/ trying to steal scroll."
right), who owns it. Look at Xiao-I: his
body is tense and slightly bent forward, his
lips are tight, there is a cunning glint in his
eyes, and his hands are completely hidden
in the sleeves of his robe, just as his motives
are hidden [SEE detail, Figure 16(a)]. The
inonk seated to the left of Xiao-I has an
unhappy look on his face, as if he senses
that something is not right. The appear­
ance of the owner of the scroll, hQwever, is
very relaxed and open. His body is relaxed
and he is smiling and gesticulating as he
talks [SEE detail, Figure 16(b)]. The atten­
dants preparing tea at the far left seem
oblivious to the unfolding drama.

59
 FIGURE 17. Ren Renfa,
"Zhang Guo having an
audience with Emperor
Minghuang," detail,
Yuan Dynasty.

In another handscroll, painted six hun­ to bring life back into it, he simply sprays it
dred years later by Ren Renfa in the Yuan with water from his mouth. In this scene
Dynasty, "Zhang Guo having an audience we see Zhang Guo showing his supernat­
with Emperor Minghuang," the figures ural powers to the Tang Emperor
are all very animated-this is a "live' scene Minghuang. A boy has released the minia­
[SEE Figure 1 7]. This story goes: Zhang ture mule, which runs toward the for­
Guo is a Daoist magician who has super­ ward-leaning, attentive Emperor. An
natural powers. He can, for example, trav­ attendant clasps his hands in total amaze­
el long distances using a magical mule. ment, while the old magician laughs.
When resting, he folds up the mule and Figure 1 8 is a little masterpiece from the
puts it into his hat box, and when he wants Song Dynasty, by an unknown painter. A

FIGURE 18. "Portrait of a

gentleman," anonymous
artist, detail, Song Dynasty.

60
 FIGURE 19. Su Hanchen,
"Children at play in
autumn, " Song Dynasty.

scholar, surrounded by his books, a zither,

and paintings, is sitting on a couch with a
paper scroll in one hand and a writing
brush in the other, with a somewhat con­
centrated and tense expression on his face.
Behind the scholar is a screen with a care­
fully executed painting. Most striking,
however, is a second portrait of the main
fig�re, which hangs over the screen to the
left: It is painted from ,the opposite angle,
the color of the robe is different, and, most
import�nt, the expression on this second
portrait is peaceful and relaxed, very dif­
ferent from the expression of the scholar
himself. Not only has the artist painted a
painting within a painting, but he has also
cleverly used an internal portrait to reveal
a deeper layer of the painting as a whole.
A still higher level of "transmitting the
spirit" can be seen in "Children at play in
autumn" by the Song Dynasty's Su Han­
chen [SEE Figure 1 9]. The focus in this
painting is clearly the two intensely con­
centrating children, their bodies forming a
circle bending forward, so that their heads
almost touch one another, who are caught
in a moment of discovery. The artist care­
fully displays most of the children's faces to
convey this (look at the expressions on the
faces of the children in the detail) [SEE Fig­
ure 19(a)]. Minute details of the children's
attire reinforce the sense of their concen­
tration, for example, the girl's hairpiece
hanging down to the right of her face, or
the way the boy's red jacket has glided FIGURE 19(a). Detail,
"Children at play in autumn."
down his shoulder. Behind a second table,
where clearly some other experiments have
taken place, the children's hats are lying on
the ground-reinforcing the key idea, of a
moment of concentrated discovery. The
tall, rigid stone in the background adds, by
contrast, to this overall effect.

61
 FIGURE 20. "Portrait of Figure 20 is a classical Chinese portrait,
Shen Zhou, " anonymous very reminiscent of works by Durer, by an
artist, Ming Dynasty. unknown Ming Dynasty painter. It is of
the famous painter Shen Zhou, one of
whose paintings from "Dream Journey" is
shown in Figure 4, pictured when he was
eighty years old. Directly above his head,
Shen Zhou has himself added the follow­
ing inscription:
Some consider my eyes too small. Others
find my jaw too narrow. I wouldn't know,
nor would I know, what might be lacking.
What is the point of comparing eyes
and face? My only fear is that "virtue" be
lost. So negligent, these eighty years, and
now death is barely a step away.
Dated 1506. The Old Man of the Stone
Field.

The text "Secrets of Portrait Painting,"

written in the Yuan Dynasty, explains:
One discovers the true aspects of a person
FIGURE 2 1 . "Emperor
in their various manners of speech. One
Taizollg, " anonymous artist,
seeks this in absolute quietude. Silent
Tang Dynasty. Dynasty, says:
understanding takes place in the heart, so
that even with eyes closed, the subject Spirit resides in the eyes, feelings in the
seems right there and when the brush smile. Combining these two will result in
descends, the figure appears. an excellent portrait.

Another treatise, "Secrets of Trans­ With this as introduction, the portrait

mitting the Spirit , " from the Qing of Shen Zhou should speak for itself.

Chinese Paintings and 626 to 649 [SEE Figure 21]. He was the son
Poetic ] ustice of the founder of the Tang Dynasty, and is
known to have been a great military com­
Xie He, the creator of the Six Principles mander, who expanded the Chinese
(liufo) of Chinese painting, said: empire to include Central Asia, and pro­
All paintings stand for poetic justice;
tected the caravan routes leading to the
lessons about the rise and fall of ministers West. His capital, Xian, became a cos­
over the course of a thousand years can be mopolitan center, with a population of
drawn from paintings. more than a million. Taizong is shown
garbed in the yellow robe of the Emperor,
Since the Emperor, called in China the and comes across as a determined, impres­
"Son of Heaven," reigned supreme, it is sive, even somewhat "macho-like" person­
useful to see how some of them were por­ ality-he is definitely a "tough guy."
trayed, even without going into great his­ The following two paintings portray
torical detail. the founder of the Song Dynasty, Emperor
Emperor Taizong reigned from A.D. Taizu (r. 960-975), in two different settings.

62
First, a delightful smaller painting,
"Group of football players" by Su Han­
chen, the painter of "Children at play in
autumn" [SEE Figure 1 9]. Six men are
standing together in a circle. The person
on the right, a short and casual-clad man
kicking a ball, is none other than Emperor
Taizu. The man opposite to him with a
beard and a tall hat, getting ready to kick
the ball back by lifting his gown, is Zhao
Pu, the Emperor's principal counsellor of
state. The person next to him in similar
dress, but without a beard, is one of the
Emperor's military commanders, now also
a state counsellor. The three figures' in the
back are, from left to right: a military com­
mander, the Emperor's younger brother
(later to become Emperor Taizong, r. 976-
997), and Dang Jin, an important military
com�ander and confidant of the Emperor.
This relaxed and somewhat intimate view
of an Emperor's private life, where he is
enjoying himself in the company of his FIGURE 22. Su Hanchen, "Group oj
close colleagues, reflects a stability and out­ Jootball players, " Song Dynasty.
look quite fitting for this dynasty, which
was to usher in a renaissance of Confucian
ideas and an excellence in the arts never
FIGURE 23. Liu fun, "Emperor Taizu calling on
before achieved in China, and never since
Zhao Pu on a snowy night, " detail, Ming Dynasty.
surpassed.
In the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1 368-1644),
following a century of foreign occupation
by the Mongols, scholars and artists sought
in different ways to revive the glorious
achievements of the Song period, one of
which was to portray wise and virtuous
rulers and ministers of the past. Liu J un's
"Emperor Taizu calling on Zhao Pu on a
snowy night" is an example of this [SEE
Figure 23]. Here, about 550 years after his
death, Emperor Taizu, the founder of the
Song Dynasty, is again portrayed, and, if
you compare his face with that in the pre­
vious painting, you can see it is the same
person. Emperor Taizu has asked Zhao Pu
(the man to whom he was kicking the ball
in "Group of football players") to �isit him
in order to discuss affairs of state. Zhao Pu
was himself no ordinary man. He became
prime minister, and is known for bringing
peace and prosperity to China by applying
the teachings of Confucius.

63
 Then, there are many instances of Chi­
nese paintings expressing an indirect, or,
not-so-indirect, opposition to a repressive
regime , conveyed, however, through
scenes of landscapes, flowers (as in Figure
5), or animals. Because they are cloaked in
heavy symbolism, the ideas communicated
in these paintings are often limited. Here
are several examples:
Emperor Minghuang (A.D. 71 2 -756),
already shown in Figure 1 7, is said to have
had quite an indulgent lifestyle. Among
his excesses, he filled his stables with more
than forty thousand foreign horses. These
horses were not for use in battle, but were
trained to dance in front of the Son of
Heaven-the emperor. "The Shining
FIGURE 24. "Emperor Light of Night," painted during the Tang
Hongzhi, " anonymous artist, Dynasty, portrayed, according to the title,
Ming Dynasty. one of the most beloved horses in Emperor
Minghuang's stable- but look at it [SEE
A very different example is to be found Figure 25]. The horse is not at all content
in the formal portrait of the Emperor and happy. He is struggling violently,
Hongzhi (r. 1 488-1 505), the second emper­ stamping his hooves and lifting his head,
or of the Ming Dynasty [SEE Figure 24]. turning an agonized eye toward the view­
This is not so much a representation of the er, but all in vain. He is firmly tied to a
person, as of the institution of the imperial thick pole, whose central position in the
throne . The Emperor is dressed i n an painting contrasts to the animated strug­
impressive yellow robe, which is fully gar­ gling of the horse. Although indirect, the
nished with symbolic images conveying his painting seems to be quite a condemnation
position . The institutionalization is so of the court.
great , that it seems as if his robe has Lastly, two examples of discontent
become part of the floor. with the foreign r'ule of the Mongols" oth-

FIGURE 25. Han

Kan, . "The Shining
Light of Night, "
Tang Dynasty.

64
 FIGURE 26. Gong Kai,
"Emaciated horse, "
¥wzn Dynasty.

erwise-known as the Yuan Dynasty. In the could be achieved on the eve of the Twen­
first example, "Emaciated horse" by Gong ty-first century, through a marriage of the
Kai, the opposition is direct and harsh most beautiful ideas of Chinese and West­
[SEE Figure 26]. This proud animal, a ern culture. It remains for us to ma ke that
symbol of a noble man, has been starved renaissance a reality.
and· maltreated, but remains unbowed;
here again, so as to emphasize the mes­ FIGURE 27, Luo
sage, th.e eye of the horse looks directly Zhichwzn, "Jackdaws
out at the viewer. In a poetic inscription in old trees," ¥wzn
above the horse's head, the artist says: "An Dynasty.
emaciated horse, which casts a shadow
like a mountain on a sandy bank in the
setting sun. " A much more indirect oppo­
sition is found in "Jackdaws in old trees"
by Luo Zhichuan, which depicts a barren
winter landscape, enlivened by a group of
circling jackdaws returning to roost in the
evening-a symbolic representation of
homesickness [SEE Figure 27]. A similar
painting from the same period has an
inscription with the lines: "The flock of
circling birds has the appearance of
hunger and cold, and they seem to be
weeping sadly"-i.e., the condition of the
entire educated class in the winter of
Mongol occupation.
Let us end our our brief introduction to
Chinese painting here. We have seen, that,
although on first encounter Chinese paint­
ings may appear strangely different, it
turns out that Chinese artists simply
employ different instruments an'd means
to express familiar ideas, whether through
painting, poetry, or musical setting (a sub­
ject for a new article! )-a wonderful
example of the diverse richness and uni­
versality of mankind. And therefore, it is
obvious that an unprecedented renaissance

65
 ApPENDIX

'The Brush Sings and the Ink Dances '

T
o fully appreciate Chinese painting, Iy), "bJ;"oken brush" (separated tip), and
one must be a ware of some of the "trembling," "smooth," and "contrary
technical means employed by the artist, brush.!'
which differ from those of the Western
Classical painting tradition, such as the use 'Wield the Ink, and the Colors

of the brush, the use of color, the canon for Will Be Realized'
stylized forms, and the function of seals. Differently from the West, where primari­
ly oil-based pigments have been used, the
The Brush-A Musical Instrument Chinese artist primarily uses ink. Thus,
The Chinese artist will paint on paper or the manners of expression differ greatly.
silk, which lies flat on a table, while the The Fourth of Xie He's Six Principles
brush is held perpendicular to the painting regarding painting, is "application of color
surface. The arm can therefore move according to kind" (sui lei fu cai). "Accord­
freely and is not supported. The brush­ ing to kind" means that color must be con­
strokes are determined much more by the sidered as one of the factors which express­
free movement of the arm, than that of the es the subject's spirit. For this reason, it is
wrist. [SEE Figure A I , "Model for the cor­ not the appearance of color that is impor­
rect holding of the brush"] tant, but the subject's nature. Rembrandt's
Through centuries of p ractice and approach to the use of color, although he
development, the method of the brush uses very different materials, is very simi­
plays a central role in creating the best lar. See, for example, how Ma Lin uses
means to express ideas. In the handling of light to affect the colors [Figure 2 and foot­
the brush, a Chinese painter will pay atten­ note 1 0].
tion to "gathering and releasing," strength, Following the principle of "applying
speed, pauses, turns, modulations, and colors according to kind," a famous Song
folds. There are many technica.\ terms Dynasty painter, Guo Xi, gives some out­
related to brushwork, such as "reclining lines of the nature of mountains and w.ater,
brush" (the side), "dragged brush" (the bel- for example: "Spring mountains are lightly
adorned and seem to be smiling. Summer
mountains are richly green, dripping with
moisture. Autumn mountains are bright
and lucid, well-attired. Winter mountains
are cold and desolate, as if asleep." And:
"Spring water is green, summer water
jade-green, autumn water is blue, and
winter's is black." What is the nature of the
sky? "Dazzling in spring, brilliant blue in
summer, clear in autumn, and dark in
FIGURE A I . winter."
"Model for the The beauty of ink depends on the
correct holding of b rushwork, wherefore the saying �'the
the brush, " woodcut
brush sings and the ink dances. " With
from "A collection
of written and masterful use of the brush, a full tonal
painted artworks range with unlimited flexibility between
from the Ten­ the six colors (dry, wet, thick, light, black,
bamboo-hall, " and white) can be created, or, as an ancient
Nanjing, 1633. saying describes it, "Masterful use of ink

66
 FIGURE A2. Shi Ke, "The two
patriarchs harmonizing their minds, "
Five Dynasties period.

appears green; the lesser brush produces

ocher-when neither hinders the other,
the ink will appear in the colors and the
colors in the ink."
In "The two patriarchs harmonizing
their minds" by Shi Ke (Five Dynasties
period), the differing characters of the two
subjects is expressed through the use of the
brush and variation in the "wetness" of the Tokyo National Museum

ink [SEE Figure A2]. A similar method is

used by Liang Kai in "Li Bai chanting a few, simple fast strokes, the artist has cap­
poem," painted several hundred years later tured the spirit of the famous Tang poet Li
in the Song period-this time, even more Bai (see footnote 6). Another masterful use
simplified [SEE Figure A3]. With just a of ink is displayed in Zhao Mengfu's "Goat
and sheep" (Yuan Dynasty), where the
artist has used "dotted," soft, wet tones to
create the woolly texture of the sheep's
fleece, in sharp contrast to the long, needle­
like hairs of the goat, created by the use of
dry ink [SEE Figure A4]. As a last example,
look at the beautiful landscape painting

Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D,C.

FIGURE A4. Zhao Mengfu,

"Goat and sheep, Yuan Dynasty.
n

FIGURE A3. Liang Kai,

"Li Bai chanting a poem, "
Song Dynasty.

67
 FIGURE AS. Huang
Gongwang, "Clearing "Clearing after sudden snow," by Huang printed with wood blocks [ SEE Figure
after sudden snow, " Gongwang of the Yuan Dynasty [SEE Fig­ A6]. '7 Rules for the natural appearance of
Yuan Dynasty. ure A S ] . With the exception of the red bamboo, for example, were specified, so as
winter-sun, only ink is used. The execu­ to portray its typical appearance as well as
tion of the mountains have been done with its innate characteristic. See, for example,
a very soft brush-almost feather-like­ the snow on bamboo in Figure I and Fig­
and yet, they appear monumental and sub­ ure 23-paintings created more than five
stantial, the bare trees, in dark and pale ink hundred years apart. These prescribed
in front and behind the house and on the conventions were not regarded as a hin­
distant mountain range marking the stages drance for the unfolding of creativity, but
of depth. rather offered the artist greater freedom to
Finally, two features regarding forms convey ideas, rather than having to con­
unfamiliar to the Western painting tradi­ centrate on how to represent the different
tion: the stylization of specific items, and elements as such. In his Letters on the Aes­
the use of seals. thetical Education of Man, Schiller writes
Over the centuries, Chinese painters that "the real artistic secret of the master
FIGURE A6. Sketches for
produced entire manuals on how to paint consists in his annihilating the material by
the representation of -
leaves and persons, from
different elements, such as bamboo, leaves, means of the form," and the Chinese
"Sketchesfrom the branches, or plum blossoms, for example. painting manuals were regarded as a help
mustardseed garden, "
Numerous handbooks were produced to do exactly that.
1679.

�. � 1

'?�'-!J
I
"'!! I
�,..
�
�I� PH:

If
� \'

I�
I

lI.: ;�.
/lf� -�
- "

-L_______________

68
 Seals have been used in China since
very early in its history. On paintings, they
function as calligraphic inscriptions, or sig­ FIGURE A7. Impressionsfrom carved seals.
natures, stamped in bright red colors. For Top: "Attaining immortality." Bottom:
"The mountainflowers at home bloom this
the most part, the artist will sign his paint­
time ofyear. "
ing with one or two seals, which might
contain his name, his home town, and per­
haps a motto. (Some paintings, such as Fig­
ure A4, contain a large number of seals.
These were not stamped by the artist,
however, but by admiring owners, who
added their owns seals to the painting.)
The carving of seals is regarded as an inde­
pendent art and can play a role analogous
to poetic inscription, enhancing the content
of a painting. Figure A7 shows the seals
from two 'different artists. One seal reads
"Attaining immortality," and the other,
which was stamped on a painting of spring
flow.<:rs, "The mountain flowers at home
bloom this time of year." So, if you are able
to read the seals, it is not difficult to see
how the painting, the writing, and the seal
gain mutually from one another.

1 . See, for example, G.W. Leibniz, "The Natural Theolo­ this elite of educated men proved as important as politi­
gy of the Chinese," in G. W. Leibniz: Writings 0Tl China, cal centralization or economic integration, as a basis for
ed. by Daniel J. Cook and Henry Rosemont (Chicago the unity of Chinese civilization. Confucian officials,
and LaSalle: Open Court, 1 994), and the following educated to view their obligation to the ruler in moral
studies which have appeared in previous issues of Fide­ terms, would often make forthright criticisms of imper­
liD: Michael O. Billington, "Toward the Ecumenical ial policies, and, when disgraced or persecuted, would
Unity of East and West: The Renaissances of Confucian continue their work, at times far from the court, while
China and Christian Europe," Fidelio, Summer 1 993 they waited for better times. It is also of note, that simi­
(Vol . II, No. 2), "The European 'Enlightenment' and lar to Italy's great Leonardo da Vinci, many artists per­
the Middle Kingdom," Fidelio, Summer 1 995, Vol. IV, formed important tasks for the state. Yan Liben's father
No. 2), and "The Deconstructionist Assault on China's [Figure 1 6], himself an artist, was an architect and engi­
Cultural Optimism," Fidelio, Fall 1 997 (Vol. VI, No. 3); neer, who designed weapons and supervised the con­
Helga Zepp LaRouche, "China's Confucian Legacy in struction of sections of the Great Wall. Or, Ren Renfa
. Today's World," Fidelio, Winter 1 996 (Vol. V, No. 4). [Figure 1 7], who was a specialist in hydraulic engineer­
2. Through the Civil Service examination system intro­ ing, became assistant controller for the irrigation of the
duced in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 2 2 1 ), the state.
emphasis on education was maintained for centuries in 3. Being raised in the tradition of Western Classical paint­
China. In order for an individual to enter government ing, this author some years ago began to discover the
service, he had to pass this examination; which required richness of Chinese painting, and some of the different
years of study of the ancient classics and philosophical ways in which Chinese painting communicates ideas.
treatises, combined with steeping him�elf in the moral On many occasions, when viewing Chinese paintings, I
principles of Confucianism. Passing the examination, would find myself enthralled and inspired, and the
however, provided a key to a life of privilege, social sta­ questions why, and how, do these seemingly foreign
tus, politics, and aesthetics. Anyone who wished could paintings convey such intensity, would invariably come
take the examination, and quite a few individuals from to mind. It was the effort to answer some of these ques­
poor backgrounds did so, in most cases through a per­ tions, and to ease the way for others to make the same
son from the educated class "adopting" the student. discoveries, which prompted me to write this article.
Through the centurie�, the strength and coherence of Many aspects of Chinese painting have necessarily been

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 omitted-for example, the heavy Buddhist influence, or ligraphy use the same tools: brush, ink, and paper or
the history of Chinese painting as such. What is present­ silk. An artist of a calligraphic work will plan the
ed here is meant only as an opening door to the discus­ entirety of his composition before he begins to work,
sion of several of the key principles and ideas implicit in very much as the painter does. As a calligrapher of the
Chinese classical painting. For further study, the fol­ Tang Dynasty put it: "With a single dot, the pattern
lowing texts are recommended: Richard M. Barnhart, et for a c h a ra c t e r is e s t a b l i s h e d ; a single character
al., Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting (New becomes the standard for the entire text." Let's say the
Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1 997), artist want6 to make a calligraphic composition of a
which includes an extensive list of further readings; and poem. He will choose the brush and the style (of which
W a n g Y a o - t i ng , Looking at Chinese Pa in ting there are many) that will go best with the idea he is to
(Hongkong: Nigensha Publishing Co., 1 996). express. The way he writes the characters can be loose
4. In "Record of famous paintings of successive dynasties" or dense. The second column can "answer" the first
(Lidai m inghua ji) , Zhang Yanyan (Tang Dynasty) column, by the way the characters are executed. The
writes: "The art of painting exists to enlighten ethics, total assemblage in a work of calligraphy is called "the
improve human relationships, divine the changes of d istribution of columns and arrangement of space."
nature, and explore hidden truths. It functions like the For obvious reasons, Chinese calligraphic art can only
Six Confucian Classics, and works regardless of the be fully appreciated with an in-depth knowledge of the
changing seasons." language.
5. Three main forms developed: the horizontal scroll, verti­ 12. The other five Principles concern brushwork, shape,
cal scroll, and so-called "album-leaf." The horizontal color, composition, as well as copying as a means of
scroll is the oldest form, and has the same format as training. It should be noted, that copying old works of
ancient Chinese manuscripts and books. It is rolled out calligraphy and painting played a major role in Chi­
in sections, one at a time, from right to left, at arm's nese painting. In the Chinese tradition, emphasis is laid
length. When one section has been "read," it is rolled up, on historic consciousness, and the preservation of tradi­
and the next section rolled out. By about the Tenth cen­ tion. This preservation of knowledge through the gen­
tury A.D., the vertical scroll came to be widely used. Ver­ erations, with the copying of the old masters, served, at
tical scrolls are hung on poles, and the composition can the same time, both to transmit this knowledge and
therefore be seen as a whole. The third form, the album­ tradition, as well as to give respect for the masters of
leaf, developed from the horizontal scroll format. Leaves antiquity. The point of copying, however, was not to
arranged in order, accordion-like, could be unfolded, achieve a direct resemblance, but to "inherit the spirit."
like a book without a spine. All three formats were easy To encourage the student to outdo his teacher, the Chi­
to transport and store. nese quoted the adage, "indigo blue is bluer than the
6. The first direct connection between poetry and painting indigo plant it is extracted from."
is found in poems written by the Tang poets Li Bai 13. "Festival . . . " is a good example of what is called
(A.D. 70 1 -762) and Du Fu (A.D. 7 1 2 -770), who would "blue-green" landscape, a complicated process, which
write poems after having been inspired by a painting. In involves multiple layering of colors, in which, after two
the Northern Song period, painter and poet Su Shi or three applications of color, a transparent binder
(A.D. 1 036- 1 1 0 1 ), and others, promoted the merger of made of alum is applied to stabilize the colors and to
these two arts further, so that, over time, poetry and prevent the various layers of washes from becoming
painting become so integrated that "soundless poem" muddied, a process called "three-alum, nine-wash."
developed into a common expression for a painting. A 14. The principle o f " B reath-resonance generat�d by
book on painting from the Qing Dynasty bears the title, movement" was later discovered by great Western
"A History of Soundless Poems." painters, and employed, for example, by Leonardo da
7. The translation of this and subsequent poems is approx­ Vinci in his "Mona Lisa." See Karel Vereycken, "Some
imate. Needless to say, much of the power of the origi­ Remarks on Chinese Painting and Its InflHence on the
nal has been lost. West," Fidelio, Summer 1 997 (Vol. VI, No. 2), and
8. The Imperial Painting Academy in the Northern Song "The Invention of Perspective," Fidelio, Winter 1 996,
court would test painters in poetry, poetry and painting, (Vol. V, No. 4).
the Confucian classics, and paintings from the imperial 15. Quoted from The Wisdom of Confucius, ed. and trans.
collection would be made available for copying and fur­ by Lin Yutang (New York: Random House Modern
ther study. Library, 1 943), pp. 1 1 2 - 1 14. I have modified the trans­
9. Ma Lin was from a famous family of painters, out of lation as follows: ( 1 ) "ren, " translated by Lin as "moral
which, for at least 150 years, one painter in each genera­ sense," has been rendered as "agape "; (2) "zhz; " trans­
tion received official appointment to the Imperial Paint­ lated by Lin as "intellect," has been rendered as "rea­
ing Academy. son."
10. Note the use of light. In Chinese painting, one finds no 1 6. "Magpies and hare" has the Chinese title Shuangxi tu, a
single source of illumination, and little difference is word play on the word xi, which can mean both ':mag­
apparent in day and night scenes. Instead of darkening pie" and "happiness." Two magpies are therefore dou­
the setting, the painter will use different signs to illus­ ble happiness. Chinese paintings and poems abound
trate that it is evening. In this painting the mood; the with verbal and visual puns of homophonic sounds and
candles, the lake mists, and the glow from the eaves of interchangeable meanings.
the pavillion, together create a subtle suggestion of 1 7. The 1 679 manual in which these illustrations appeared
evening. has been published in English as The Mustard Seed
1 1 . In China, calligraphy is considered an independent art Garden Manual of Painting (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
form, closely connected to painting. Painting and cal- University Press, 1 997).

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