What is unique about Chinese painting? Features of traditional Chinese painting

Chinese painting also called traditional Chinese painting. Traditional Chinese painting dates back to the Neolithic period, about eight thousand years ago. Colored pottery with painted animals, fish, deer, and frogs found in excavations shows that the Chinese had already begun to use brushes for painting during the Neolithic period.

Chinese painting– an important part traditionally th Chinese culture and priceless A treasure of the Chinese nation, it has a long history and glorious tradition in the field of world arts.

Chinese painting and chinese calligraphy tes but are related because both art forms use lines. The Chinese developed simple lines into highly developed art forms. Lines are used not only to draw contours, but also to express the artist’s concept and feelings. Different lines are used for different objects and purposes.

They can be straight or curved, hard or soft, thick or thin, pale or dark, and the paint can be dry or flowing. The use of lines and strokes is one of the elements that gives Chinese painting its unique qualities.

Traditional Chinese painting is a combination in one picture of several arts - poetry, calligraphy, painting, engraving and printing. In ancient times, most artists were poets and masters of calligraphy.

For Chinese “Painting in poetry and poetry in painting” was one of the criteria for beautiful works of art.

Inscriptions and seal impressions helped explain the artist's ideas and moods, as well as add decorative beauty to the painting. China.

In ancient Chinese paintings, artists often depicted pine trees, bamboo and plum trees. When inscriptions were made on such drawings - “exemplary behavior and nobility of character,” then the qualities of people were attributed to these plants and they were called upon to embody them. All Chinese arts - poetry, calligraphy, painting, engraving and printing - complement and enrich each other.

Chinese painting styles

According to the means of artistic expression, traditional Chinese painting can be divided into complex painting style, liberal painting style, and complex liberal painting style. Complex style - The painting is drawn and painted in a neat and orderly manner, the complex painting style uses an extremely refined brushwork to paint objects.
In comparison, the liberal style of painting uses loose writing and brief strokes to describe the appearance and spirit of objects, and to express the artist's feelings. When painting in the liberal style of painting, the artist must place the brush exactly on the paper, and each stroke must be skillful in order to be able to express the spirit of the painting. The complex liberal painting style is a combination of the two previous styles.

Masters of Chinese Painting

(1863–1957) is one of the most famous Chinese artists of our time. He was a versatile artist, he wrote poetry, was a stone carver, was a calligrapher, and also dabbled in painting.

Through many years of practice, Qi found his own special, personal style. He was able to depict the same theme in any style. His works are distinguished by the fact that in one picture he could combine several styles and methods of painting.

The uniqueness of the life of the Chinese people, the climate and even the landscape contributed to the formation of a unique image system in the artistic art of China. The style of Chinese painting was formed in close cooperation with calligraphy. The process of creating a Chinese painting was similar to writing a hieroglyph. The artist used the same objects and means of expression as the calligrapher, i.e. he used ink, brush, paper and silk to work, and built a composition consisting, like a hieroglyph, of a conventional set of strokes, hooks, straight lines, etc.

Another important feature of Chinese painting was its richness in symbolism. For example, the harmony of the universe was determined by the creative interaction of two forces - “yin” (feminine) and “yang” (strong masculine). This concept of “yin-yang” contributed to the formation of the figurative worldview of the Middle Ages.

Nature has a leading place in painting, which in China has become the standard of philosophical understanding. It was thanks to this understanding that the artistic consciousness of the Chinese people was formed. This value of nature led to the emergence of an independent genre of landscape painting in China. It can also be noted that the ideals of Buddhism and other religions were reflected in painting. But more about this in the following chapters. Landscape painting was given the main place in the artistic activity of China. It was here that the feeling of eternity and complete harmony was reflected. The originality of artistic vision and philosophical understanding of the landscape gave rise to a special creative method that has become traditional for Chinese landscape painting for many centuries. The Chinese artist created his work by summarizing centuries-old observations, and not from sketches from life. Painting expressed the unity of the world, or rather, the unity of ideas about it.

The way nature was depicted in the paintings may seem very interesting. In the foreground in a Chinese landscape there are usually groups of large objects: rocks, trees, etc. These details serve as a kind of scale unit to which all surrounding parts of the landscape and distances are correlated. From this group, the artist defines subsequent plans as either a body of water or a foggy haze. The Chinese artist perceives the landscape as part of a vast and spacious world, as a grandiose cosmos, where the human personality is just an insignificant part of the universe - it is dissolved in the contemplation of the great and incomprehensible. If we talk specifically about the landscape, it is always fantastic, despite its reality. The display of details and fragments of nature served as an occasion for the expression of universal philosophical ideas. These qualities are mainly inherent in the classical type of traditional Shan Shui landscape.

A Chinese painting is very different from, for example, a Western one, even in its design. Painters design them in the form of horizontal or vertical scrolls. After all, only in this way could they show the world in its infinity and diversity. Horizontal scrolls unfolded episodes of legends and myths before the audience, while vertical scrolls enabled the landscape painter to create a generalized image of nature. Horizontal scrolls often reached a length of more than ten meters, so they were unrolled only for viewing and only in parts corresponding to the distance between two hands outstretched in front of them, and this was done from right to left, the way they were written. Vertical scrolls were hung on the wall, which allowed the viewer to simultaneously embrace the depicted spaces.

Mostly they painted on silk or paper. Both of these materials easily absorb ink and mineral paints ground in water. The artist works with one or more brushes. Each position of the brush corresponds to the nature of the line: sharp, brittle, wide, soft. Such work requires the exceptional precision of the master, since corrections in paintings of the Far Eastern style are unacceptable. The combination of line and spot with the surface of silk or paper was one of the secrets of the expressiveness and richness of Chinese scroll paintings. They create the impression of volume. They also combined nuance and sharp, strong strokes, which helped the artists convey the feeling of tremulousness and airiness of plants, the state of movement and stillness in nature. And the white matte surface of the scroll is the most important element in creating an artistic image, since it was interpreted by painters as both a water surface and an air environment.

Another and, perhaps, the most important feature of Chinese painting of the Song era is its ideological basis. Three styles that emerged in the first millennium BC had a huge influence on the formation of the style of Chinese painting. - first centuries AD philosophical teachings - Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Confucianism sought to educate the people in the spirit of respect for existing orders. Based on the cult of ancestors, it established a whole system of rules of behavior in the family and society. Taoism, unlike Confucianism, focused all its attention on the laws of the universe, one of which is the theory of the universal law of the universe - Tao. Tao is the root cause of the world, a certain path of nature that the whole world must follow. Let man's path be the achievement of his unity with nature. The main tendency of medieval art was to comprehend the general laws of the world, so Chinese painters never painted their landscapes from life. Buddhism, in fact, like Taoism, preached detachment from worldly concerns and compassion for others. Later, the teachings of the Buddhist Chan sect, which grew out of a merger with Taoism, formed its own direction in Chinese painting.

To start a conversation about how Chan Buddhism influenced Chinese painting and formed its own movement in this area, you need to understand what the Chan direction is and consider its main postulates.

Chan Buddhism is a school of Chinese Buddhism that developed in China during the 5th-6th centuries. in the process of combining Mahayana Buddhism with the traditional teachings of China. The name of this school comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana (concentration, meditation), which indicates the yogic orientation of this branch of Buddhism. In the 7th century, the school experienced a split into northern and southern. Supporters of the northern school argued that enlightenment is a natural result of long-term thought in meditation. The southern school had a completely different character. Its supporters preached the doctrine of the impossibility of expressing truth in human language, of the powerlessness of speech and intellectual effort.

Any school of Chan Buddhism is based on three pillars:

Monastic rules. This is a special discipline that everyone must undergo for their education.

Meditation. It is one of the most important practices of Chan Buddhism, aimed at calming the mind, but is based not only on this. A person must step by step erase from his consciousness everything that life has inflicted on him. He must also learn to reflect the world around him.

Wisdom. It is achieved as a result of all the above practices. Wisdom as understanding oneself as a co-rhythmic being with the whole world. There are no concepts of “you” and “I”. A person is equal to the whole world.

Chan Buddhism recognized the 4 truths that Buddha proposed. First, life is suffering; the essence of suffering lies in attachment to life; there is a way out of suffering; this solution lies in the path of the Buddha.

As stated in the previous chapter, Chinese painting was divided into several directions. The artist-monks of the Chan sect, whose work had an active influence on Chinese painting during the Song era, belonged to one of these trends.

When the period of rethinking painting and the perception of nature in landscape began in Song era China, artists began to pay increasing attention to the unity of man and nature. This was especially evident in the work of artists of the Chan sect. The peculiarity of their vision of the universe was that they saw nature and painting landscapes in a certain way that could lead to the truth of the world. The Chan people were convinced that there is only one way to comprehend the truth - this is contemplation, namely, a person needs to merge with the world around him and comprehend his unity with the universe. The paintings of Chan artists are full of spontaneity and mystery, which is associated with their special views on painting. The works of monk artists can be described as careless and edgy. In their paintings they sought to convey what cannot be revealed to the eye immediately. Chan artists wanted to convey the deep meaning of a picture through some small detail, in other words, they tried to express the whole of this picture through its small details. Thus, in the painting “Mountain Village in the Fog” by the famous Chan artist Yu Jian, we do not see clear outlines of the mountains, because the master depicted them in the form of thick spots of ink, which seem to be caught by the eye from the thick fog. This picture is filled with mystery, evokes a feeling of incompleteness, which can precisely cause a feeling of tension in the viewer (Appendix 3).

This once again confirms that the paintings of the masters of the Chan sect are written in a free manner, all the details of the picture are depicted unclearly and unsteadily. There is understatement in their work. The viewer, in order to understand the meaning of the painting, needs to sharpen his emotional perception, namely, he must try to get involved in the process of creating this work by the artist, internally experiencing his emotions. It was precisely in the instability of the details of the picture that the Chan painters expressed their worldview.

The main thing for Chan artists was the ability to fill the strokes of ink with emotion. It may seem that this style of painting is very rough and uninhibited, but in fact, it requires great skill and perfection of brush and ink.

The artists of the Chan sect worked not only with landscapes, but also the way they depicted birds, animals, people - all this was completely new in its expressiveness. Chan painters tried to convey not so much the external appearance as the symbolic meaning of the painting. For example, Mu Qi’s painting “Bird on an Old Pine Tree” (Appendix 4) carries a deep emotional state of sadness and melancholy. Let's pay attention to the works of the famous artist Bad Shenzhen (real name Zhu Da), who was considered completely crazy. He often depicted people looking like birds and birds looking like people (Appendix 5). By this he showed that man is lost in the great natural space. There is only one thing that is not lost, which remains even after the departure of the physical body - this is the purity and consciousness of a person. Behind the clutter there is purity and peace, there is freedom of expression and freedom of creativity.

The artists of the Chan sect believed that the world is just a trace of the sages that eludes us. Mountains and waters are our consciousness. The main task of the viewer is only to be able to see the truth of Chan Buddhism through the thick fog. By the way, in some paintings where mountains and waters are depicted, you can see other small details, such as, for example, small gazebos. But here they do not play a separate role, they are not important, what is important is the general contemplation of the theme of the world. Painters of the Chan sect were generally opposed to the detailed study of nature.

Landscapes were mostly depicted in black and white, so as not to distract the viewer from the concept of the world. It was the landscape that was a certain means of expressing the mystical ideas of the Chan sect. The monks relied on the perfection of wisdom, which perceives everything as it really is. This wisdom is concentrated in the mantra “Heart Sutra” or, as it is also called, the Mahamantra. It is the main sutra of the Buddhist school and calls for enlightenment, and literally - to cross to the other side of the river of human suffering. This Buddhist image of crossing to the other side of the river of suffering became the basis for Chan landscape painting with rivers and boats.

The tendency of Chan painters to depict a minimum of detail in their works, their philosophy of returning to emptiness influenced the further work of the artists of this sect. In the later Southern Song period, the paintings became even more empty. This emptiness and boundless space can be seen in the works of such masters as Mi Fu, Liang Kai and others (Appendix 6).

The heyday of Chan landscape painting occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, in the 11th-13th centuries. She lived through her golden age in China, which ended with the fall of the dynasty under the pressure of the Mongols. But the traditions of Chan landscape did not disappear from Chinese painting. They were revived almost 200 years after the fall of the Song.

Development of the MHC lesson

Topic: Features of traditional Chinese painting (grade 9)

The purpose of the lesson: to create in students a holistic image of traditional Chinese painting.

• - assistance in identifying the features (genre, type and stylistic) of traditional Chinese painting;
• - promoting the development of the emotional sphere of adolescents, aesthetic taste, creativity, artistic flair;
• - promoting tolerance and developing intercultural competence.

Equipment for the lesson: audio recording of morin khur (bowed instrument), PC, screen, projector, presentation “Traditional Chinese painting” (reproductions of works by Chinese artists, necessarily works by Wang Wei), blank tables on desks, paper, ink, brush.

During the classes

Exposure (3 min.)

The teacher enters the classroom. He greets students with a smooth nod and performs a lyrical piece on the morin khur, a folk instrument of the peoples of East Asia (China, Monglia). The poem “House in the Bamboo Grove” is written on the board:

In the bamboo grove

I while away my night

And I touch the lute

And I sing the song protractedly.

And people don’t know my shelter,

And only the moon

In the bamboo grove

One visits me.

On the screen is a media presentation of reproductions of masterpieces of traditional Chinese painting.

Set-up (3 minutes)

• 1. Conversation:
  • - What did you imagine while reading these lines, listening to music? (Night, loneliness, etc.)
  • - Was it easy to imagine? (Yes, it’s easy. Because it’s written precisely, it’s as if the poet is painting a picture.)
  • - What impression do the paintings, reproductions of which you looked at, make? (Calmness, tranquility, contemplation, etc.)
  • - Yes. These masterpieces of traditional Chinese painting create a feeling of peace, universal harmony and silence.
  • - What is the secret of the attractiveness of Chinese painting? ( A number of different questions are possible here depending on the children's reaction. The main thing is to create a situation of awareness of your ignorance)
• 2. Formulating and recording the lesson topic:
  • - Please formulate the purpose of the lesson. (Learn the features of Chinese painting, identify distinctive features, etc.). And the theme (Traditional Chinese painting, silk painting, etc.).
  • - Let's write down the topic of the lesson ( By student's choice).
  • - So what are the features of traditional Chinese painting? painting chinese artistic aesthetic
• 3. Basic concepts. Lecture (15-18 minutes)

The traditional art of China is an original and holistic historical type that has evolved over the centuries from various ethnic sources. In 4 thousand BC. e. in the river basin On the Yellow River, a group of tribes of the Mongoloid race formed (self-named “Hanren”). There are assumptions about the Tibetan origin of the Chinese and about the “Sino-Caucasian” linguistic relationship. In a clash with tribes of southern origin, the kingdom of the Xia dynasty arose, and then the Shang civilization (1765-1122 BC) with its center in the city of Anyang. At the end of 2 thousand BC. e. The Shans were conquered by the Zhou tribes. The unification of the ancient kingdoms took place during the Qin (632-628 BC) and Han (206 BC - 220 AD) dynasties. At the stages of formation of the ethnic community, the Chinese, thanks to their natural receptivity, easily absorbed the achievements of other cultures - Mesopotamia, Persia of the Sassanid era, Buddhist India, Asian nomadic peoples, Hellenized Middle Eastern tribes. In the IV-VI centuries. China found itself divided into North and South. Ancient authors called the northern tribes Semras (Greek serikon, Lat. seres - after the name of the silk fabrics exported from this country), and the southern ones - Simnami (Middle Latin sinae - after the name of the Qin dynasty of rulers). On the world map published at the end of the 16th century. Order of the Jesuits to educate the Chinese, their country is placed in the middle (the origin of the Turkic word kytan - "middle" - is explained by the name of the Manchu people K"itan). The mythological geography of China is symbolized by five tigers. The most important one - the yellow tiger - is the emperor, he is in the middle of the world and rules four tigers. The red tiger rules in the south (which is located at the top of the map), governing summer and the element of fire. The black tiger rules the north, commanding winter and the element of water. The blue tiger rules the east, ruling spring and the plant world. White - the West, commands autumn and the elements of metals. The worldview and attitude of the Chinese are significantly different from European ones. In this country there was no consistent development and change of artistic directions and styles, as in European art. The very concept of history does not exist in China signs of "duration", and art - of evolution. Artistic movements do not follow one another, and "styles" and "schools" are associated not with differences in creative methods, but with technical techniques and materials. In China " we find an unusually stable way of life, thought out and aesthetically reworked to the smallest detail, a coherent and consistent worldview, a complex but durable fusion of artistic styles The stylistic unity of Chinese art is the result not only of the deep penetration of Chinese masters into the nature of things but above all, their sincere and impeccable trust in life in all its diversity." While rationalism was born in Western European civilization, mysticism in the Middle East, a special culture of following the flow of life was formed in Central Asia. In China, the measure of all things was not man, but nature, which is infinite and therefore unknowable. In art, there was not a reflection of life, but its continuation in brush movements and ink strokes. On this unique basis, the “self-typing” of Chinese art was carried out, the subject of which was not the image of a human hero and not spiritual ideals, and the life of nature. Hence the special aesthetic taste and artistic tact of the traditional art of China. In the ancient beliefs of the Chinese, any objects of nature were deified: trees, stones, streams, waterfalls. Religion was considered the art of life, and a contemplative attitude required complete and humble fusion with nature. Sages of the East They like to repeat that if for an active European, overwhelmed by the idea of ​​​​conquering nature and demonstrating strength, there is no greater pleasure than climbing to the top of a high mountain, then for the Chinese the greatest happiness is to contemplate the mountain at its foot. Buddhism, which spread in the countries of Southeast Asia from the 5th century. BC e., contributed to the strengthening of the pantheistic worldview in China. Therefore, the central place in Chinese art is occupied by landscape - a sophisticated technique of painting mountains, waterfalls, and plants with brush and ink. The traditional genre of Chinese landscape is called Shan Shui (“mountain-water”). Mountain (shan) represents Yang (the light, active principle of nature), water (shui) represents Yin (feminine, dark and passive). The philosophy of Chinese landscape painting is revealed in the interaction of these two principles, which is conveyed by looking at the landscape from above, from a high point of view, by alternating plans: mountain peaks, stripes of fog, waterfalls. The aesthetics of the Chinese landscape is set out in the treatise of the painter Guo Xi (c. 1020 - to 1100) “On the High Essence of Forests and Streams.” The object of the image in this form of art is not even the landscape itself in the European sense of the word, but the subtly changing state of nature and the experience of this state by man. Therefore, the person himself, even if he is depicted in a landscape, never occupies the main place in it and looks like a small figure, an outside observer. The mood of poeticized reality is conveyed in two manners: gong-bi (“careful brush”), based on the finest graphic elaboration of details and clarity of lines, and se-i (“expression of thought”), a manner characterized by pictorial freedom, washes of ink that create a feeling "scattered perspective", stripes of fog and endless distances. The landscapes of the wen-ren-hua school ("paintings of people of written culture") were complemented by exquisite calligraphy - poetic and philosophical inscriptions that do not directly reveal the content, but create an "expression of thought", as well as tibs - epigrams. They are written by fans of the artist at different times on free areas of the image. The symbolism of Chinese painting also differs from European symbolism; it is revealed in poeticized concreteness. For example, on the landscape there may be an inscription: “In spring, Lake Xihu is not at all the same as at other times of the year.” It is difficult to imagine such a name in European painting.

In China, to perpetuate oneself meant not so much to leave a material monument about oneself, but to glorify one’s name “written on bamboo and silk.” Chinese art has never followed the interests of religion, philosophy or politics. If religion and philosophy are the art of life, then life is an art. In the teachings of the ancient philosophers Lao Tzu (Chinese, “Old Teacher”; 604 BC - ?) and Confucius (552-479 BC) it was argued that the nature of art is not determined material conditions of life, but on the contrary, the artistic worldview teaches work, philosophy, morality and law (there was no separate concept of “artistry” in China; it dissolved in life). For this reason, the European category of morphology of art, the division of art into genera and types, easel and applied, fine and technical, or artistic crafts, is not applicable to traditional Chinese art. In China, as in the traditional art of Japan, all types of art are both easel and applied, fine and decorative. The Latin word “decor” or the name “Chinese decorative art” is completely inappropriate here. For example, in Chinese art there is no framed easel painting at all - one of the main achievements of European artists. The Chinese master (painter, graphic artist, calligrapher, poet and philosopher at the same time) paints walls, silk scrolls, paper screens and fans. The Chinese tradition does not know the gap between the rational and the expressive, the sensual beginning of creativity, “ideological” and “ideologicalless” art, realism and formalism - those troubles that the European exaltation of man brings with it. Therefore, in China there were no separate artistic movements - Classicism and Romanticism, or the struggle of ideological movements. There is a tradition based on thoughtful contemplation of nature, and painting styles differ not in the ambitions of the artists, but in the state of the landscape depicted: “a running stream”, “a bamboo leaf in the wind”, “the skies cleared after a snowfall”. There were the “angular brush” and “splattered mascara” styles. Theoretical treatises speak of eighteen types of contour lines and sixteen types of strokes in the depiction of mountains. The detachment of the artist’s personality determines another important feature of traditional Chinese aesthetics: the master does not reflect on the frailty of his life, but contemplates and aestheticizes the frailty of material things. The unfinished form or patina of time acquires value, in comparison with which the symbolism of the “Eight Immortals” and the “Eight Jewels” is understood. Any everyday object has a symbolic meaning (this attitude towards things can only be conditionally correlated with the European concept of decorativeness). Therefore, works of Chinese art are elegant and colorful, but do not seem pretentious. In Chinese literature, there are constant themes of sleep, dreams and miraculous transformations, revealing the highest meaning of simple things. The body is not perceived as a material form, it is a continuation of conceivable space. Therefore, in particular, in Chinese art, even in erotic pictures, there is no “nudity”, or aestheticization of the tactile value of form. The symbolic relationship to form is well illustrated in the parable of a Chinese artist who eventually reduced the image of a dragon to a single line. The esotericism of aesthetics, philosophy and the art of living inevitably led the country to isolation from the outside world. From the 3rd century. BC e. China was fenced off from the north by the Great Wall of China, and then the name “inner China” appeared. Beijing also has its own "inner" or "Forbidden City". Geographically, China is not a continental country, but a coastal country. Having in the XIV-XV centuries. navy, the Chinese gradually abandoned sea travel. They have become unnecessary. Amazingly, invented by the Chinese in the 10th century. Gunpowder reached nearby Japan only in the 17th century. with the help of Dutch sailors! This is the fate of many other inventions. China closed in on itself (in 1757 the country was officially closed to foreigners) and from the outside seemed in a state of immobility. Therefore, the periodization of Chinese art is also very peculiar - the count is not by years, but by reigning dynasties, and their change does not mean progressive development. The main advantage in art has always been the repetition of the work of old masters and fidelity to tradition. Therefore, it is sometimes quite difficult to determine, say, whether a given porcelain vase was made in the 12th or 17th centuries. Chinese art is also characterized by a special attitude towards the material, its natural properties, careful processing and clarity, purity of technical technique. These qualities are characteristic of the earliest, archaic ritual vessels made of bronze of a zoomorphic nature from the Shang and Zhou periods (2-1 thousand BC), but most of all - Chinese porcelain. The first examples of so-called proto-porcelain date back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). White porcelain of a clear and clear mass was produced during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The “discovery” of porcelain occurred gradually over the centuries, but it was not by chance that it was made by the Chinese. The technology of its production, in addition to the necessary components, requires ideal cleanliness, patience and careful preparation of materials. Porcelain products of the Song period (960-1279) are distinguished by their plasticity of shape, glaze of a white or bluish tint or ivory color, sometimes with a crackle pattern or engraved sgraffimto type ornament (Fig. 388, 389). During the reign of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (1279-1367), the classical style of painting porcelain with cobalt blue developed, which became most widespread in the Ming era (1368-1644). The technique of painting porcelain is based on the centuries-old tradition of sophisticated drawing and calligraphy with brush and ink on paper (also a Chinese invention). A special attitude towards the material gave rise to poetic names for the glazes: “the color of the moon”, “blue fog”, “the color of the sky after rain”, “peacock feather”, “the color of the skin of a yellow fish”, “the color of a newly born mouse”. In wood carvings and bronze products, a geometric pattern is common, surprisingly similar to the Greek meander, a swastika motif (a sign of good wishes), a spiral pattern - the so-called Chinese clouds, a wave, a zigzag - lei wen, a lightning sign, a symbol of blessed rain. The symbol of rain, vital for farmers, was also the dragon. The yellow dragon is the emblem of the emperor (nine dragons with five claws on their paws could only be depicted on imperial attire). The blue-green dragon was the symbol of the Han Dynasty. The phoenix bird (as Europeans called images of a pheasant) is a sign of wishes for strength, beauty and supreme bliss. Each month of the year was associated with a specific flower: chrysanthemum - a symbol of autumn, wild plum - winter, peony - spring, lotus - summer. During the hottest month, “a person of good taste” will enjoy at home the contemplation of “a landscape with shady groves, which provide good shelter from the heat,” and images of “withered trees and bamboo among stones” can be kept in the room at any time of the year. The Chinese invented silk fabrics (the earliest finds date back to the end of 3 thousand BC). At first, banners and umbrellas were made from silk, their colors serving as insignia. Yellow was reserved for the emperor and empress, purple for members of the imperial family, blue for the highest military ranks, red for middle ranks, and black for low-ranking officials. Since the Tang era, the production of painted and embroidered silk fabrics has developed. During the reign of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1662-1796), a variety of products were created that became classic for Chinese art. Porcelain from the reign of Emperor Kangxi (K"ang Hsi, 1662--1722) was especially famous. At this time, pale green celadons and vases with bright red glaze "ox blood" and sparkling "flambé" were made. Colorful paintings of porcelain products were called by Europeans "green", "pink" and "black family". The exquisite decoration of products of the "pink family" was called the "brocade style". The best carved jade products belong to the Kangxi period. It is interesting that, unlike colored stone, wood and porcelain, glass was practically not used in China. Along with carving on red varnish, furniture, boxes, music stands were made in China from “painted varnish” - a special technique for multi-layer varnish coating of wooden products with painting and interlayer inlay with foil and mother-of-pearl. This technique was borrowed from the Chinese by the Japanese and Korean masters. The art of openwork silhouettes made of colored paper and foil has survived to this day. When studying Chinese art, one gets the feeling that its masters enjoyed their work, giving philosophical meaning to solving the most complex technical problems. For example, work on the openwork carving of bone balls rotating one inside the other is on the verge of reasonable, from a European point of view. This type of work took the craftsmen many years to complete. Quite conventionally, satisfying the need for analogies with the history of European art, the Tang era (VII-IX centuries) can be compared with the early European Middle Ages, the Song (X-XIII centuries) can be called the era of classical Chinese art (late Middle Ages). The Ming era (XIV-XVII centuries), chronologically correlated with the European Renaissance, is more suitable under the definition of mannerism and academicism. Chinese products have always been of interest to Europeans; they attracted people with their special aesthetics, the beauty of the material and the thoroughness of its processing. Chinese porcelain and silk were worth their weight in gold in the literal sense of the word.

During the Art Nouveau period of the late XIX - early XX centuries. European symbolist poets paid attention to the art of the Far East. They saw in Chinese painting the ability to “enchant objects” and lead away from reality “to waking dreams.” By this quality, Chinese art correlates with the European romantic tradition, one of the expressions of which was the movement of symbolism of the “Silver Age”. After all, the Art Nouveau style began with the passion of French painters for Japanese color woodcuts. And the name of the Chinese landscape “Evening ringing of a distant temple” correlates with the names of the paintings of the Dresden romantics.

Development (Work in groups)

Group instruction (4 min.)

We will look for answers to this question in groups. Please form 4 groups. We work for 5 minutes. Each will be given a separate task:

Group 1. Identification of genre features

Look at the reproductions again. Try to identify what genres exist in Chinese painting. Remember what genres you know, compare, try to fill out the table.

Group 2 and 3. Identification of types and styles of painting

Take a look at the reproductions; on what basis, besides genre, can they be grouped? Try to identify two different features: the type of painting and the style. Each group then gives a description of the identified feature.

Group 4. Revealing the unity of painting, poetry and calligraphy

• - And one more feature is inherent in Chinese painting, in contrast to pan-European painting. Try to identify.
• 2. Group work (5 min.)
• 3. Summing up the work in groups (8 min.)
• - So, the allotted time has expired. So, what are the features of traditional Chinese painting?
• 1st group:

The teacher should help students formulate a conclusion about the genre features of Chinese painting, give specific names for the genres: “Mountains and Water”, “Flowers and Birds”, “Ceremonial Portrait”.

• Group 2: We identified two main types of Chinese painting: color and black and white.
• - Give the name of the types of painting, using knowledge of English, possibly Latin.

The teacher should lead students to formulate the terms “polychrome” and “monochrome” painting.

• Group 3: We saw that some works were written carefully, others - carelessly. That is, there are 2 styles of Chinese painting ( By analogy, children can derive terms and give their names).
• - Absolutely right. These are the two main styles. One of them is called gun-bi - diligent brush, and the other is sho-i - idea painting. Match the title and the canvas. (Gong-bi are neat, carefully crafted paintings, while sho-i are sweeping, with the feeling that they were painted quickly)
• Group 4: We found one more feature: in all the paintings, in addition to the image, there are inscriptions, perhaps these are poems.
• - The unity of painting, poetry and calligraphy is another feature of traditional Chinese painting.

Climax (2 min.)

So what are the features of traditional Chinese painting? ( Students summarize, write down features)

Denouement

Recognition (3-5 reproductions are offered, the last of which is the work of Wang Wei) (2 min.)

• - Now, knowing the features, can you identify the canvases of Chinese traditional painting? (Yes)
• - Look at the reproductions. Do the works belong to European or Chinese painting? Justify your answer.

Children perform a recognition task. Wang Wei's work is also easily recognized.- Yes. This is the work of the famous Chinese artist, poet and calligrapher Wang Wei. It was about his work that they wrote: “His poetry is full of picturesqueness, and his paintings are full of poetry.” Fair? (Yes)

Creative work (15 min.)

And now I invite you to become artists yourself and in 10 minutes create your own masterpiece in the traditions of Chinese painting. Here are the inventions of the Chinese: paper, ink and a brush. Try creating an illustration for Wang Wei's lines.

Children draw. The teacher plays the morin-hur. (In our opinion, it is important here to create the intimacy of the creative act, not to interfere in the creative process. If there is an audio recording, then the teacher must also draw.) At the end of the creative work, an express exhibition of works, contemplation of the works. Demonstration of Wang Wei's painting for poems written on the board. Final reading of the poem.

Lesson summary (3 min.)

• - So, what are the features of traditional Chinese painting?
• - Have we achieved the goal of the lesson?
• - What image of Chinese painting have you formed?
• - Homework (Aftereffect) - create your own painting masterpiece in the traditions of Chinese painting.

List of sites used

• 1. Malyavin B. China in the XVI-XVII centuries. Tradition and culture. M.: Art, 1995. P. 5--6.
• 2. Arapova T. Chinese painted enamels. M.: Art, 1988. P. 27.

Introduction

Fine art originated in China back in the Neolithic era (about 6 thousand years ago). This is evidenced by archaeological excavations near the city of Xi'an, where items depicting humans, animals and plants of that period were found.

The charm of Chinese painting lies in the depth of its poetic penetration into the life of nature. This art tells the story of the changing seasons, gives the viewer the opportunity to look into the world of forest thickets, and introduces him to the eternal secrets of the earth.

Relevance of the topic due to the fact that in our time people are awakening more and more interest in Asian culture. China is no exception. Chinese painting is distinguished by great originality and is completely different in material, technique and artistic means from European painting.

An object: Chinese fine art.

Item: examples of paintings and descriptions of writing techniques.

The purpose of this work is to identify features of Chinese painting, interpretation of images and symbols, study of the stylistics of paintings using the example of the work of Qi Baishi.

The purpose of the work defines the following tasks:

1. Based on the studied literature, identify the features of Chinese painting;

2. Based on the analysis of literature, consider the concept of image and symbol in Chinese literature;

3. Based on the analysis of literature, highlight the features of Chinese painting and differences from European fine art;

4. Based on an analysis of the work of the artist Qi Baishi, highlight the distinctive properties of Chinese fine art.

The goals and objectives set in the study determined research methods and techniques. This study combines several approaches to the phenomenon under study. During the writing of the first chapter, the method of comparative analysis, descriptive and logical-conceptual methods were used. To write the second chapter, the method of component analysis, as well as techniques of cultural analysis, were used.

Work structure determined by the goals and objectives of the study. The work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

Base of empirical material served as paintings by the master of Guohua painting, artist Qi Baishi.

Features and varieties of Chinese painting

Basic techniques and distinctive features of Chinese painting

chinese painting artistic qi baishi

Chinese national painting Guohua appeared in ancient times. It is distinguished by great originality and is completely different in material, technique and artistic means from European painting. Chinese paintings are painted with ink, mineral and vegetable paints such as watercolors on silk (sometimes on cotton or hemp fabric) or on special paper made of soft thin fiber and have the form of scrolls - horizontal for viewing on the table and vertical for decorating walls. Artists use brushes of different sizes, from very thin to very thick (from 5 millimeters to 5 centimeters). A stroke can be as light as a cloud or as powerful as a dragon. One of the distinctive features of Chinese painting is that the images in it are created through linear drawing, while in European painting the images are expressed using volumes and shapes, color and chiaroscuro 1.

In China, they have long talked about the closeness of painting and calligraphy. Painters and calligraphers use the same materials and tools (brush, paper and ink) and the same linear writing method. There are so many similarities between Chinese calligraphy and painting that they are considered sisters. Developing in stylistic unity, they are interconnected and move each other forward. This suggests that the basis of Chinese fine art is line. With the simplest lines, Chinese painters created works of high artistic perfection.

In painting, a special ink is used, completely different from that used in the West. In China, for writing and drawing, they always use slabs of first-class, black lacquered ink, in the preparation of which the Chinese have achieved great perfection. By rubbing tiles with water to a thick or thin consistency, ink is obtained, with which artists create a wide variety of tones. Thanks to the washes of diluted ink, painters convey the finest shades from thick black to transparent pale gray. In China, writing instruments: brush, ink, paper and ink were considered the “four jewels” [wen fan si bao].

Chinese painting is characterized by multi-point and diffuse perspective, a laconic and clear composition of spots of local color with expressive and rhythmic contours, as well as planar painting without chiaroscuro modeling. A Chinese artist can reproduce a river on a long and narrow paper or silk scroll, creating a feeling of infinity of the river expanse seen from above or from the side, as well as many landscapes seemingly hidden from viewers by the horizon line. This cannot be achieved using focal perspective. The multifaceted perspective of Chinese painting allows the artist to give full play to his imagination and create an artistic world without being bound by a limited horizon of space.

The realistic principle of direct observation of reality is combined in Chinese painting with a number of conventional canons. Its majestic simplicity and noble severity do not exclude the subtlety of decorative details.

While walking around the Forbidden City, we told the guide that we would like to get acquainted with Chinese painting. She took us to a pavilion with paintings from the 11th to 20th centuries. It was very interesting to see these paintings, unusual for the European eye, in person. To say that Chinese culture is completely different from European culture is like saying nothing. European artists created drawings and images using volume and shape, color and light and shade, and a distinctive feature of Chinese painting is that images are created through linear drawing. Painting and calligraphy are very close. This suggests that the basis of Chinese fine art is line. Both artists and calligraphers use the same materials and tools: a brush, soft porous paper made from bamboo or hemp fiber, and ink. To work with color, polychromes are used, the golden rule of which is that ink should not block the path of color, and color should not block the path of ink.

Guo Xi. "The beginning of spring in the mountains" Scroll. Mascara. 11th century


Mu Qi. "Monkey with babies." Mascara. 13th century

Distinctive features:

Multi-point and diffuse perspective, which, unlike focal perspective, makes it possible to create an artistic picture of the world without being bound by the boundaries of a space limited by the horizon;

A laconic and clear composition of spots of local color;

Expressive, rhythmic contours;

Flat, linear design, without chiaroscuro;

The main ideological principle is the desire to convey in painting the mood of the artist, the spirit of all living things, essence, and not external naturalistic similarity.

Instead of a signature, Chinese artists left a mark on the painting with their personal seal.

Lu Zhi. 1496-1576.

I’ll briefly talk about the genres, although, of course, each of them deserves an entire article.

Landscape "mountains and water". Nature was seen as a place of salvation from the oppression of society and solitude from the bustle of the world. The artist tried to convey a lyrical mood, calling for harmony and unity with her. The miniature nature of human figures against the backdrop of grandiose landscapes was supposed to evoke thoughts about the greatness of the universe, in which man is only a grain of sand, a part of it. This, by the way, is another difference between Chinese painting and European painting, where the main attention was paid to man.

Painting "flowers and birds". Symbols are of great importance here.

Portrait. This genre does not play the most significant role. Two directions can be distinguished here:
1) Confucian tradition of the social and ethical significance of man. Artists of this movement painted memorial portraits of historical and statesmen, high dignitaries, members of their families and court beauties. They worked primarily in color, in a detailed, meticulous manner.
2) The second direction was based on the Taoist-Buddhist philosophy of the value of the human personality, and therefore artists sought to reveal unique character traits. They created images of poets, hermits, and saints. Preference was given to drawing with ink in a free sketchy manner.

An animalistic genre in which it is important to understand the meaning of allegories.

Favorite symbols:

Trees (willow - a symbol of refined female beauty, pine - restraint and perseverance, bamboo - a symbol of human character, high moral qualities)

Flowers (chrysanthemum - a symbol of sublime loneliness, modesty and chastity, many flowers - a symbol of the flourishing of Chinese art, lotus - a symbol of inner purity)

Fish, birds, animals (magpie - a symbol of a clear conscience, a dove - a symbol of peace, two fish, a drake with a duck, two butterflies - a symbol of marital happiness)