towards an interpretation of chinese art

Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Kunsgeskiedenis 9

TOWARDS AN INTERPRETATION OF CHINESE ARTEstelle A. MareeDepartment of History of Art and Fine ArtsUniversity of South Africa

T.he purpose artic!e is to an interpretation of the. philosophical underpinning of Chinese art. In order toelucidate the meditative basIs of Chinese art, western concepts which are considered to be complementary to those of theChinese, especially those proposed by Martin Heidegger and Gaston Bachelard, are used to facilitate the interpretation ofChinese aesthetics.

Die doel met hierdie artikel is om te poog om die filosofie watSjinese kuns onderle, te interpreteer. Ten einde die meditatieweonderbou van Sjinese kuns toe te Iig, word westerse konsepte wat as komplementer tot die' van die Sjinese beskou wordgebruik, by uitnemendheid die' wat deur Martin Heidegger en Gaston Bachelard voorgestel is. '

Since the days of Alexander the Great Asiahad been romanticized in the Western im-agination as a landscape replete with mar-

mysteries, miracles and wonders. Not-withstanding the fact that Chinese works ofart were brought to Western Europe from thetenth century onwards, and that these works,or aspects of them, were occasionally copied,especially in Byzantium, where artists incor-porated Chinese phoenixes, peacocks anddragons into their designs, no specific in-fluence on European art can be traced beforelate medieval times. This, Wittkower(1989:192) concludes in his assessment ofChinese influence on Western art, is owing tothe fact that: "We are only interested in worksto which we are drawn by affinity". This ac-counts for the stylizations of exotic animalsand birds, fire-breathing dragons, phoenixeswith marvelous feathery tails, elephants withpeacock feathers, and deer with flamingmanes, as enumerated by Wittkower(1989:152) which were copied by Roman-esque sculptors and by Italian weavers fromsilks which were purchased in China. SinceRoman times Europeans coveted Chinesesilk which became what was called a "statussymbol" and an indicator of wealth for itsEuropean owners, especially during theperiod from c. 1250 to c. 1350 when the silkroutes were opened.Not until the seventeenth century did new

ideas about China develop in the Europeanimagination. Then China gradually came tobe regarded as a country, not only rich inmarvels, like those that Marco Polo describedon· his return to Italy, but also rich in social,political and religious wisdom. This new vi-sion had important consequences for Euro-pean art, architecture and landscape garde-ning. Especially during the late seventeenthand eighteenth centuries Europeans weredrawn to Chinese art; Chinese influence is

evident during the Rococo and in landscapedesign. Since European writers of the Aufkla-rung regarded Chinese gardens as·a meta-phor of Plato's utopian dream of a societyruled by philosophers, they concluded thatWestern antiquity andChina had revealed thesame truth, "that both civilizations convergedto teach one and the same lesson" (Wittkower1989:189). Hindsight reveals that neitherWestern philosophers nor artists ever under-stood the philosophical basis of Chinese life,

Figure 1. Yin-yan symbol of Taoist philosophy (Source:Toynbee 1973:cover)

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Digitised by the University of Pretoria, Library Services

Figure 2. Detail of The nine dragons by Ch'en Jung, 13th century, ink on paper, Museum of Fine Arts,Boston (Source: Smith&Weng 1973:153)

art or products of craftsmanship which theyadmired so greatly.The Western mentality is immensely rest-

less, and, during certain periods in its devel-opment borrowed from other cultures what itneeded for its own further development. Forexample, after the period of Sinomania thatswept eighteenth century Europe, Japaneseart became the craze in Paris during the laterpart of the nineteenth century. Thereafter,Pacific, African and pre-Columbian art madean impact on European art.We now realize that a culture which is as

foreign to theWest as that of China cannot beassimilated into the European context in anysignificant depth "as a way of life" as, accord-ing to Wittkower (1989:160), Europeans hadendeavoured to do. In fact, unless an attemptis made to understand and assimilate thephilosophical and religious sources of thearts of China, they can only be superficiallycopied or their styles merely grafted onto ourown. I maintain that the average Westerner,who is conditioned by the continually chang-ing styles inWestern art, and especially by therestless experimentation of modern artists,sees Chinese art as essentially static. This, ofcourse, reveals our ignorance of the sub-tleties of the Chinese manner of expression.This article is intended to pay homage to

the vast resources of artistic wealth which theChinese have produced over millennia, andto the aesthetic and philosophical conceptswhich sustained this creativity. Iwill argue thatthe West should learn from Chinese art, but,I hope, more profoundly than it ever did inprevious centuries.Prodan (1958:20), an art historian, writes

that: "The only thing the Chinese really be-lieved in was their unworthiness in thepresence of Nature and their only catechism

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was an attempt to find in Nature a niche fromwhich they might contemplate the grandeur

Figure 3. Amonkmeditating in a tree by K'un Ts'an, activesecond half of 17th century (Source: Lee 1964:445)


Figure 4. Two doves on a branch ofa blooming pear tree by Ch'ien Hsuan (1235-1290) and Sheep and goat by Chao Meng-fu(1254-1322) (Source: Lee 1964:403)

Figure 5. Bamboo by Wu Chen, 1350, ink on paper, Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei (Source: Gardner1980:394)

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of all things created." Even though Confu-cianism became the official creed theChinese live according to a completely differ-ent philosophy, namely Taoism (fig. 1). Tounderstand the fundamental principles ofChinese art one should have some insightinto the practical, life-enhancing and -affirm-ing aspects of Taoism. Only then can oneunderstand why the influence of Oriental arton Occidental art was so superficial. How-ever, I cannot explain the Tao to you. As amatter of generally accepted fact, it cannot beexplained.Consider the following aphorism of the

Taoist master Chuang Tzu who lived in thethird century B.C.: "When once we have re-ceived the corporeal form complete, its partsdo not fail fo to perform their functions untilthe end comes. In conflict with things or inharmony with them, they pursue their coursewith the speed of a galloping horse" (Giles1926:15). The life of man passes like a gallop-ing horse, changing at every turn, at everyhour. What ought he to do, or what ought henot to do, except allow his own decomposi-tion to continue? This conveys a sense ofdeep humility which we encounter in theWestonly in the greatest thinkers. I can think of oneoutstanding example, namely 8t Bernard ofClairvaux, who displayed such sentiments insaying of the abbey which he founded atFontenay - aCistercian foundation built at theend of the twelfth century - that those whovisit that beautiful place should be trulyhumble. He also maintained that learningwithout humility is worthless.The Chinese had a natural reverence for

we in the West are generallyInclined to Interpret as a sign of personalweakness or "scientific ignorance". TheChinese lived, according to the Westernstereotype, in a world of pseudo- knowledgeand in pursuance of a cult of the "vague"which expressed by means of fantasy,and not In a search for scientific fact.

The actual landscape of China most cer-tainly also gave rise to the sentiments thatChuang Tzu expressed. China is a vastcount,ry, ?ramatic in contrasts, and the cli-mate IS pitiless, afflicting man alternately withfloods and long periods of drought. In con-trast, the Mediterranean world, the cradle ofWestern is mild and nurturing. Never-

It IS the task of a Chinese artist toportray his world as it is, and "he gives proofof his ability when he knows how to reveal hisharmony with this Nature in an instantaneous

of knowledge" (Prodan1,958.23). ThiS IS often disclosed in the depic-tion of the dragon as a natural force forexample, in the picture of The Nine Dragons

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(fig. 2) the spiralling dragons can hardly bedistinguished from the vortices of water.The Chinese artist's manner of expression

was influenced not by the natural environ-ment as well as by his social context. AmongtheChinese it appears as though the appreci-ation of works of art was the priVilege of vastnumbers of the deceased, and of only a fewamong the living. Funerary art, which the liv-ing never saw, formed a considerable part oftraditional Chinese art production. The arts ofthe living were poetry, calligraphy and paint-ing. These were the sublime arts, practisedby the learned for the benefit of the learnedand even sometimes for the sole enjoymentofthe artist himself. In ideal circumstancestheartist did not even sell his works to anyone. Ascholar was one of the literati, one who hadbecome a civil servant, the highest socialcategory to which a Chinese person couldaspire. Having passed the imperial examin-ations, he became a member of the nobility.It was the pleasure of the literati to explore thedepths of their knowledge for their own mu-tual enjoyment, filling their works with allu-sions and quotations which they alone werecapable of understanding.To cultivated Chinese, from antiquity till

today, knowing how to appreciate art waseverything. Artists firmly believed that it wasnot possible to appreciate anything withoutunderstanding - a notion attributed to Con-

Figure 6. Bamboo in the wind by Wu Chen, ink on paper,Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Source: Willis 1987: fig. 3)


the individual artist with a cosmic principle."Any manifestation of artistic creativity is "anecho from the divine part of [the artist's] cre-ative genius" and it "spreads like a flash overthe picture or some part of it" (1963:23).Taoist meditation became an indispens-

able part of the working method of theChinese artist. After all, Taoists believe thatcreativity is itself a form of meditation. Thesearch for truth should therefore be manifestin every true work of art.Wu Chen (1280-1354) exemplifies the

bond between art and Taoism. Itwas not untilthe age of 39 that he began to paint. Beforethat he was a Taoist monk. It was Wu Chen'sstudies in Taoism that influenced his becom-ing a painter, according to Willis (1987:11).We infer that Wu Chen saw no differencebetween being a monk and being a painter,"for was not the Tao nature, and life itself, thesame, and was not art the voice of that samespirit which was within and without?"(1987: 11) What Wu Chen experiencedthrough meditation as a monk he madevisible as an artist. Willis (1987:11) writes:"Indeed, he looked upon painting as 'play'and to him it was a kind of play, a joyousdance of creation upon which the mind couldsoar upon the cosmic energies of spirit".Examples of his work areBamboo (fig. 5) andBamboo in the Wind (fig. 6). Both contain "ch'iyun" or "spirit resonance".

Wu Chen's meditation on Bamboo in theWind is also revealed in the poem which hewrote on the right side of the painting. It reads:

The bamboo, without a mind, yet cansendThoughts soaring among the clouds;Standing alone on the mountain, quiet,

Dignified, it typifies the will of a gentle-man.(Willis 1987:14)

To these words the painter added:"Painted and written with a light heart", fol-lowed by his signature.The image reveals a moment in nature, a

moment of ever-changing life, of which theartist's soul became a reflection. The artistcreated this work, not only by meditatingupon nature, but by using his brush with thespontaneity which comes only after a lifetimeof disciplined practice. Most important of all,what does the emptiness on the right side ofWu Chen's picture reveal to us through sym-pathetic meditation? Does it reveal approach-ing mist, or rain, or fog? Does it reveal alimitless expanse of space in the background,or is it simply used as a contrast to the dy-namic force of the "will of agentleman", which

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the artist invites us to recognize in the bam-boo? One can never finally say.The essence of Chinese painting lies in its

interpretation and its appeal to the beholderto complete the picture. The blank surface ofthe silk or paper is as meaningful within theimage as the brush strokes which constitutethe image (fig. 7). A Chinese art critic (quotedbyGombrich 1962:175) wrote: "Figures, eventhough painted without eyes, must seem tolook; without ears, must seem to listen. [...]There are things which ten hundred brushstrokes cannot depict but which can be cap-tured by a few simple strokes if they are right.That is truly giving expression to the invisible."Gombrich (1962:175) refers to the visual lan-guage of Chinese art as "restricted". It is alanguage of understatement, which is ex-pressed in another Chinese treatise (quotedby Gombrich 1962:175): "When the highestpoint of a pagoda reaches the sky, it is notnecessary to show the main part of its struc-ture. It should seem as if it is there, and yet isnot there; as if it exists above and yet alsoexists below. Hillocks and earth moundsshow only the half; the grass huts andthatched arbours should be represented onlyby their rough outlines." Gombrich(1962:176) says that the art lover and, onemay add, especially a lover of Chinese paint-ing, "may go through life without ever realiz-ing to what extent the pictures he loves arecrisscrossed by subjective contours of hisown making. If he were ever to strip them ofthese projections, merely ,a meaningless ar-mature might well be all that would remain."Even more than the Western artist, theChinese painter relies on the power of "in-determinate forms", as Gombrich (1962:176)calls them.These indeterminate forms are com-

plemented by emptiness. The concept ofemptiness should not be confused with noth-ingness or the void, which we in the West areinclined to associate with nihilism. To theOriental mind, emptiness is the highest refer-ence to what we designate with the word"being", according to Heidegger (1985:105).What Chinese artists had been teaching

the viewers of their works is that art appreci-ation is participation. in the act of completinga picture, since it contains emptiness. How-ever, a picture can never be definitively inter-preted. This does not mean that the interpre-tation of a work of art is a futile undertaking.On the contrary, it means that a work of artforever remains open to reinterpretation. Inthis sense it is incomplete and should becompleted by the viewer. Taoism teaches thatemptiness, wherever it occurs, is meaningful.LaoTze said that it is the hubof awheel, whichis the stillness at the centre, that makes the


wheel a functional object. Likewise it is emp-tiness in the rooms of a house which makesthem habitable. If a container is empty it canbe filled up. Likewise, if a painting containsemptiness, it can be interpreted; if it is totallyfull and contains no emptiness, it will bemeaningless to the viewer. Also, if the vieweris full of his own opinions, he is not like theempty container which can be filled. A viewerand a Taoist painting stand in a remarkablerelationship, since they fill the emptiness ineach other.During the past few decades this relation-

ship has also been emphasized in the Westand it is called the "hermeneutic process", orthe process of interpretation, in which theviewer receives the message of the painter asa participant in the creative process. GastonBachelard, the French philosopher, has poe-tically called this phenomenological experi-ence of a work of art a "reverberation", bymeans of which a poetic [or painterly] imagecommunicates its meaning to the reader [orviewer] in a relationship set up between them.In this relationship the profound significanceof the image echoes back and forth betweenthe being of the reader and that of the poem's[or painter's] creator. For reverberation totake place, Bachelard (1969:xxii) says, thereader must be open to the images of thepoem, an openness which necessitatessome impulse or degree of admiration for thepoem: "We can admire more or less, but asincere impulse, a little impulse toward admir-ation, is always necessary if we are to receivethe phenomenological benefit of a poeticimage." According to Bachelard one shouldapproach a work of art "admiringly". For a full

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understanding of howto participate creativelyin the interpretation of a work of art, we in theWest should study Chinese art which, tradi-tionally, was created for the purpose of beingre-created with admiration.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBachelard, G. 1969. The poetics ofspace, trans. M. Jolas.Boston: Beacon, 1969.

Gardner, H. 1980. Art through the ages. New York: Har-court Brace Janovich.

Giles, H.A. 1926. Chuang Tzu. Shanghai: Kelly &Walsh.Gombrich, E. 1962. Art and illusion: a study in the psy-chology ofpictorial representation. London: Phaidon.

Heidegger, M. 1985. Aus einem Gesprach von derSprache (1953/54): Zwischen einem Japaner undeinem Fragenden, Unterwegs zur Sprache. Frankfurtam Main: Vittorio Klostermann.

K'uan Yu, Lu. 1964. The secrets of Chinese Meditaion.Lee, S. E. 1964. A history of Far Eastern art. London:Thames &Hudson.

Lao Tzu. 1988. Tao Te Ching, a new English version withforeword and notes, by Steven Mitchell. New York:Harper & Row.

Prodan,M. 1958. An intrOduction to Chinese art. London:Spring Books.

Sze, Mai-Mai. 1963. The Tao of painting: a study of theritual disposition of Chinese painting. New York: Pan-theon Books.

Siren, O. 1963. The Chinese on the art of painting. NewYork: Schoken Books.

Smith, B. & Weng, W. 1973. China: A history in art.London: Studio Vista.

Toynbee, A. (ed.) 1973. Half the world. The history andculture of China and Japan. London: Thames & Hud-son.

Willis, B. 1987. The Tao of art. The meaning of Chineseart and philosophy. London: Century.

Wittkower, R. 1989. The impact of non-European civiliza-tions of the art of the West. Selected lectures ofRudolfWittkower. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


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