introduction
There is a consensus in the field of Chinese painting that traditional Chinese landscape painting reached its peak in the Song and Yuan dynasties and had a great influence on the development of modern and contemporary landscape painting.
In terms of form, whether it is a courtyard landscape or a literati landscape, it represents the highest level of classical Chinese landscape art. Therefore, the selection of landscape paintings in these two periods for research can make the research results of the aesthetic thought of "Youguan" more typical.
First of all, the three concepts of "Youguan", "Guan" and "Youguan" are explored, the relationship between the three is sorted out, and the overall appearance of "Youguan" in the context of traditional culture is determined, especially the special nature of the influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism on the downstream view in the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Secondly, on the basis of the in-depth understanding of the aesthetic thought of "Youguan", this paper analyzes the landscape paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties and the literary theories of landscape painting artists.
Finally, this paper summarizes the survival state of "Youguan" in Song and Yuan Dynasty landscape paintings, compares the similarities and differences in the characteristics of landscape paintings of the two dynasties, and discusses the cultural continuity of the aesthetic idea of "Youguan" on this basis.
1. Definition and analysis of the aesthetics of "traveling".
"Swimming" is not only a physical activity, but also covers a kind of spiritual consciousness, which is an important part of the classical Chinese aesthetic system. Tang Junyi proposed: "The greatness and excellence of those who can travel can also make people's spirit be nurtured in it." ”
"You" is closely related to the way of the virtual and the real of classical art, and this way of the virtual and the real is the fundamental spirit of classical Chinese art. The spirit of "swimming" constitutes the core and root of Chinese art, which contains the concept of both virtual and real.
All those who can travel should have a virtual place, such as waterfalls and rivers, mountains and mountains, which are scenery that can be enjoyed and praised, while those who cannot be visited lack this kind of virtual spirit, so the spirit of Chinese art is precisely that can be "traveled".
Therefore, the difference between Chinese art and Western art forms such as Egyptian pyramids and ancient Greek statues is that the former emphasizes the imaginary space of the ethereal, while the latter pays more attention to the structural treatment.
Tang Junyi described the "tour" in the classical aesthetic category as "the melodious beauty of repetition", which represents an essential "transcendence", which is related to the artistic spirit of Zhuangzi.
The purpose of Zhuangzi's artistic spirit is to make people's lives colorful and to obtain "supreme happiness" and "heavenly happiness", which originates from a spirit of emancipation and frees people from the shackles of the world.
Zhuangzi uses the word 'you' to vividly express the above-mentioned spiritual freedom, which says that people, true people, and gods all have the spirit of freedom, and they can be liberated from the shackles of reality, so it also brings a state of "swimming".
Xu Fuguan believes that those who can "swim" are all people who present the spirit of art. Zhu Liangzhi said: "The idea of 'swimming' for art first requires the subject to liberate itself and obtain the freedom of the mind from within the subject. ”
He believes that "travel" is a key word associated with "Tao" and "nature", and as a personality ideal and artistic pursuit, "You" is like "Tao", expressing a non-utilitarian state, which derives from the charm of "Tao", which exists and does not exist, both similar and dissimilar.
In order for art to reach the realm of blandness, freedom and innocence, it needs to obtain the god of things through the means of "swimming", rather than drawing inspiration from the shackles of the shape or color of things.
In addition, Zhu Liangzhi also mentioned the correlation between "travel" and "enlightenment", which comes from religion and has transcendence and directionality. It represents a change in outlook on life, a refutation of the non-authentic state of reality.
To sum up, the form of "tour" in Chinese aesthetics is diverse, and the aesthetic connotation it shows is also rich. The roots of "Guan" can be traced back to the three schools of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism in China, and under the comprehensive interpretation of Shao Yong in the Song Dynasty and Wang Guowei in modern times and the implantation of "Guan" with the intervention of modern aestheticians, a long-standing "Guanxue" has slowly been formed.
"Guanxue" is the combination of aesthetic ideas of various nationalities and families, showing the integration of the word "Youguan" between ethnic groups, which is derived from the combination of the words "You" and "Guan", and the organic chemical reaction produced by the two gives the word "Youguan" rich aesthetic and philosophical connotations.
From a philosophical point of view, even when human beings have not yet fully recognized the separation of matter and spirit, there is still a perception and perception of external things. The most important method is "seeing", so we have the concept of perception.
On this basis, there is not much difference between humans, animals, and people, but what to see, and how to "see", this is the characteristic of culture, which has deep practical roots.
The other kind of "seeing" is aesthetics, which is an aesthetic activity, a different form of practical communication between the subject and object of aesthetics. It is precisely on this cultural background that the aesthetic approach in classical Chinese aesthetics is based on this cultural background, showing a unique and profound cultural heritage, where we regard aesthetic photography as a kind of "wandering view".
Zhang Fa said: "Viewing is a kind of wandering." That is, to look at the aesthetic object with a fluid vision, the purpose of which is to connect the connection between symbolism and aesthetic imagery.
Therefore, this kind of "wandering" is considered to be a unique aesthetic method in China, and has had a profound impact on today's culture and art. Mutual aid contains the charm of eternal aesthetics.
2. The aesthetic level and creative function of "Youguan" in the landscape paintings of the Two Song Dynasty
At the turn of the two Song Dynasty and after the Jingkang Rebellion, the spread of Han culture also expanded, allowing more regions to be influenced by the development of Han culture.
From the aesthetic level, the change of the style of landscape painting in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty presents different modes of "wandering" of artists, and at the same time, the construction of artistic life brought about by the aesthetics of "wandering" also affects the creative level, and these changes and differences are all experienced in the landscape paintings of the two Song Dynasty.
The "travel" and "view" mentioned in "The Elegance of Forests and Springs" is a method of using vision to observe landscapes and rocks. The philosophical relevance of "simulacrum" in Song painting was clearly explained in the painting theory of that period.
"The Noble Landscape of Forests and Springs" says that "the reason why a gentleman loves his husband and landscape is that his purpose is to be at peace?" that is, what is the purpose of a virtuous and cultivated gentleman who loves landscapes? ”
When the political stability and life are peaceful, we should contribute to the society and make a career. This statement is in line with the Confucian idea of entering the office, but it is clear that how to balance the contradiction between the mission of entering the government and the long-cherished wish of entering the office became the core goal of the artists of the Song Dynasty.
Guo Xiyun: "Seeing the rocks and springs and thinking about traveling, looking at this painting makes people feel this heart, such as the truth is where it is, the unexpected wonder of this painting." Seeing the cave and mountain spring in the picture, it is like traveling in it, making people immersive, so as to meet the emotional needs of scholars in the court and the mountains and forests.
In the final analysis, the artists of the Song Dynasty took the Confucian idea of entering the government as the original driving force for the authenticity of landscape painting, combined with the practical experience of visiting mountain springs, so that the Song Dynasty landscape painting has the characteristics of naturalism and depiction.
In practice, in order to achieve the effect of "seeing the painting and traveling", the realistic landscape usually adopts the expression form of "Ji You", and pays attention to the study of natural real objects and time and other elements in terms of materials and technology.
3. The aesthetic level and creative function of "Youguan" in landscape painting in the Yuan Dynasty
With the help of the royal family, the landscape paintings of the Southern Song Dynasty produced Li Tang, Ma, Xia and other masters, and presented the beauty of the coexistence of man and nature with the posture of "scene blending", which was a creative continuation of the peak landscape of the Northern Song Dynasty.
However, after entering the Yuan Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty style landscape painting almost completely lost its social support, and due to the great social turmoil and changes, landscape painting was no longer the fashion pursued by the upper class. Due to the social background of large-scale flow and integration in the Song and Song dynasties, "You" became the condensation of the melody of the times.
Similarly, the Yuan Dynasty, founded by the Mongols, occupies a particularly important place in Chinese history. It not only put an end to the political situation of the division between the north and the south in China for more than a century, but also created a new pattern of multi-ethnic integration and interaction in culture.
The inherent painting tradition of the previous dynasty was indeed facing a development dilemma under the impact of the different artistic views of the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty at that time, which had always focused on decorative arts.
Since the Mongolian nobles who lived at the core of the ruling class did not attach much importance to landscape painting, the aesthetic trend of "travel" transitioned from the migration of the Song Dynasty to escape from the world, which in turn created a vigorous development of the landscape style with the ideal of seclusion.
epilogue
Looking at the development of the aesthetics of "wandering" in Song and Yuan Dynasty landscape paintings, the carrier of "wandering" aesthetics has roughly experienced two major processes: from the "wandering" style landscape dominated by Guo Xi's "full of travel and lying down" in the Song Dynasty, and then to the "wandering heart" style landscape in the Yuan Dynasty that fully demonstrated the simple and unpretentious aesthetic taste of intellectuals, interspersed with the Southern Song Dynasty landscapes that integrate the two ends of Li Tang and others.
During this period, the artist completed the transformation from "wandering eyes" to "contemplation", and the creation of landscape painting gradually transformed from expressing the subject's experiential and perceptual response to the outside world to expressing the artist's intention and emotion.
In the late Song Dynasty, due to the changes in the social and political environment and the development of elements and structural styles of landscape paintings, the artists began to reconsider the transformation of aesthetics, from the exploration of the truth of nature to the pursuit of the ease of painting.
This has led to innovation on two levels: the purely technical level and the spiritual level that is conveyed by the technical level.
However, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, the aesthetics of "Youguan" is implicit and not revealed, it is one of the motives and the manifestation of the purpose, which runs through the creation and ideological innovation of Song and Yuan artists like a gossamer.
bibliography
The Spiritual Values of Chinese Culture
The Spirit of Chinese Art
Exploring the Origin of the Category of "Travel" in Classical Chinese Aesthetics