This shows the position of pen and ink in the minds of China painters influenced by tradition. In the 20th century, influenced by western learning, whether the pen and ink came first or the pictures came first is like falling into the argument of "which came first, the egg or the chicken". Western scholars A.L. kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn once defined culture as follows: "The explicit or implicit behavior patterns obtained and spread through symbols constitute the outstanding achievements of human groups, including their embodiment in artificial products; The basic core of culture is composed of traditional (that is, historical roots and choices) concepts, especially the values that are inseparable from these concepts. " Therefore, the basic core of both Chinese and western cultures is composed of traditional concepts, so Chinese painting, as one of the cultures, must also follow this law.
In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yanyuan said in Notes on Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties: "I am proud of the five-color ink. If you are interested in five colors, the image will be good. " Zong Bing said in "Preface to Painting Landscape": "The sage should respond to things with Tao, and the sage is sincere and tasteful." As can be seen from the above examples, from the perspective of Chinese painting theory, the evaluation terms of Chinese painting all come from Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi's thoughts, such as Zhang Yanyuan's "image of things" and Zong Bing's "Tao" and "things". As far as China's general artistic tradition is concerned, Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts also have a profound influence on it.
There is an article in "Master Zhuangzi's Health Care": I know how to understand cows for writing, the touch of hands, the leaning of shoulders, the stepping of feet, the squatting of knees and the prominence of knives are all alto; The dance combined with mulberry forest is a chance for quiet life. Wen said, "Hey. Very good! So much for technical coverage? " My master put a knife on him and said, "I am good at what I do, and my technology is advanced." When the first minister solved the cow, he saw nothing but the cow; I haven't seen a whole cow for three years; At this time, I saw God instead of looking at him. Zhi Zhi was an official and wanted to do something. According to heaven ... the knife is very small, but it has been solved long ago, such as the Land Commission. Stand with a knife, look around, aim high, and hide it with a knife. "
In this passage, we should first pay attention to the relationship between Tao and technology. Skill is skill. My master said that he is good at Tao, because Tao is a step further than technology, from which we can know that technology is closely related. My expert does not look at the road from the outside, but from the inside. Zhuangzi's so-called "Tao" is embodied in painting and calligraphy, which is the highest realm of painting and calligraphy works, and this highest realm is developed from pen and ink skills.
Therefore, the core of Chinese painting lies in pen and ink, so what kind of pen and ink is beautiful in the picture from an aesthetic point of view? Wang Wei's Landscape Tactics in the Tang Dynasty once said: "Ink painting is the best in painting. The nature of nature is the work of nature. " "Ink painting is the best" is just a technique of painting with ink color. Zhang Yanyuan spoke highly of Wu Daozi, saying that he was "unique in ancient and modern times. He didn't look forward to it, but he didn't see the land afterwards." He thinks that Wu Daozi's brushwork is "poor in brushwork and thoughtful". The "poor brushwork" here does not mean poor brushwork, but that Gu and Lu's "pen week" is "invisible" compared with Gu Kaizhi's and's "meticulous brushwork". Second, as quoted above, Zhang Yanyuan's "meaning" lies in five colors, and the "five-color tool" is made of ink.
Qi Zhi in the Ming and Qing Dynasties also said in "On Painting": "You don't have to write when you write a painting, but writing with a pen is vulgar; Between putting pen to paper, I can't think of it, which is childish. Only learning is proficient, the game is ignorant, one is strong and one is weak, and it has its own god. If God comes, it would be better not to write. " Chinese painting pays attention to endless brushwork, and Su Dongpo in Song Dynasty also knows this meaning deeply. The ancient painter once said, "A painting with one stroke and one ink." In other words, as long as there is ink, it can be called Chinese painting. Without pen and ink, it can not be called Chinese painting, or it can not be regarded as good Chinese painting.