In landscape painting, the goal was no longer to paint the illusion of external realities but to make brush-created appearances that convey the artist’s personal and unique style. The style became the ultimate substance of the work. The surface texture and line became the source of interest. The “Four Great Masters of the Late Yuan”—Huang Gongwang, Ni Zan, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng— created works that sizzle with the energy of their brushstrokes.
The Ming and Qing Dynasties
Weakness at the center and peasant rebellions ultimately brought the Yuan dynasty down. Chinese rule was restored and consolidated in the Ming dynasty, which lasted for nearly three hundred years (1368–1644).
The Ming painters inherited the two distinct and irreconcilable traditions of the Song and Yuan dynasties. The Song painter used the style he inherited to achieve an objective representation. The Yuan painter developed his own style to achieve the freedom of subjective expression. Any new style that the Ming painters could come up with would be linked to either of these two traditions.
The Che School and Academy painters imitated the Song painters in works that had decorative appeal but little spiritual depth. They conceived of the Song, particularly the Southern Song, as being of a single style. The Wu School continued the Yuan style by following the traditions of the individual styles of great Yuan masters. The Che School professionals eventually became more like the Wu School literati. In both schools, painting became a conversation with the past, expressing personal statements on ancient styles. The idea of copying past masters led to actual fraud in trying to pass off later paintings as original Song paintings considered more valuable. Ming copies of earlier painters still cause problems for museums trying to authenticate paintings. Sophisticated tests of materials are required to determine the actual age of a painting.
The Manchu conquered China in 1644 and established the last dynasty, the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). In this period, the art included many Western influences, eclectic designs, and copies of earlier works. Genre paintings of plants, animals, and still lifes with fruit and vegetables became popular. These were simplified paintings, stressing the essence of the subject and its relation to nature rather than photographic reality. The vitality and harmony of the rendering were more important than technique. These modifications in style carried over to the present time.
Enduring Principles
Through the ages, Chinese painting showed consistent features that distinguish it from classical Western ideas of painting and design.
• The artist paints the inner spirit of the subject or expresses his inner spirit through his style. Realism is subservient to these goals.
• A painting can be done in outlined (boned) or free-form (boneless) style.
• Compositions are asymmetrical, and odd numbers of flowers, leaves, and other groupings support asymmetry.
• Using asymmetry enables triangular areas of open space that keep a picture simple and peaceful.
Chapter 2
Setting Up
Treasures of the Painter
Like Western artists, Chinese painters have their own tools, materials, and forms of expression. The calligrapher and the artist use the basic tools called the Four Treasures:
• Brush
• Ink stone (for grinding the ink)
• Ink stick
• Paper
Without these basic tools, you cannot paint. As a beginner, you may not want to invest in expensive tools until you see that your interest is sufficient to pursue the hobby. As in Western painting, however, better equipment helps to produce a better product. For example, you can select a detail brush and landscape paper for a landscape painting, or a large brush and wide, absorbent paper for a dramatic Zen painting.
Brushes
Brushes come in many types, depending on the following characteristics:
• diameter (number of hairs)
• size of handle
• type of handle
• tapering shape
• length of hairs
• type of hair
• softness or stiffness of the hair
The tapering shape of the hairs when wet is very important. No other types of brushes, such as Western watercolor brushes, have the tip action necessary to produce strokes properly.
The painter may use a variety of brushes depending on the types of strokes desired. You need to learn to judge the size of the brush and the kind of stroke it will produce. The scale of the strokes should relate to each other and to the subject. You can safely use 3⁄4 of the hair when pressing down or sideways.
The calligrapher needs brushes that are fuller at the base and taper to a long point. The more hairs in the brush, the more ink that can be fed slowly to the point of the brush and the less often you have to reload it, which disturbs the train of thought.
Types of Handles
Bamboo Handles —Almost all oriental brushes are made with bamboo handles. Bamboo is plentiful and easier to make into a brush handle than wood. Bamboo grows into many diameters, and the size and number of hairs used match the diameter of the bamboo stalk.
Wooden Handles —A few special brushes are made with wooden or even plastic handles. These are very large brushes with many hairs in bundles. The painter usually uses these types of brushes to make large washes on backgrounds or to write large characters in calligraphy. Western-type brushes made with wooden handles have a metal ferrule that holds the hairs and also holds the metal to the wooden handle. The advantage of the wooden brush and the metal is that the metal will not swell when wet for long periods of time, and the hairs will not fall out like they do in a wet, swollen, bamboo brush. The disadvantage is that the metal can tear the paper if you press too hard trying to use too much of the hair length.
Types of Hair
Chinese brushes are usually referred to as hard or soft. Even combination brushes can be hard or soft. The basic distinction is brown fur—hard, white fur—soft. Brushes can be made from many unusual hairs, such as the soft hairs inside a kitten’s ear, mouse whiskers, or dog tails. The majority of brushes found in shops are made from goat, rabbit, wolf, raccoon, beaver, deer, horse, badger, and sometimes squirrel. In many cases, a brush is made with a combination of hairs, where each type of hair serves a purpose. For instance, rabbit hair makes a very soft brush that bends and does not hold a shape, but adding a core of a firmer hair enables the painter to control it better.
Oriental papers are very fragile when wet so brushes with soft outer hair are preferable to preserve the surface of the paper. Soft rabbit hair brushes are used to make wet wash areas and the soft petals on flowers.
For outlining and detailed strokes, you want to use a stiffer brush. Some of the stiffest brushes are made by splitting the edges of bamboo rings into small slivers of fiber so as to resemble the hairs of a brush. The maker must have a steady hand and be very skilled at slicing