Ancient Chinese painting originated in the Neolithic Age, and its development process is as follows:
1. The bud of painting
The Stone Age was the budding period of Chinese painting. With the improvement of stone tool making methods, primitive arts and crafts developed. But a few years ago, the only examples of Chinese painting we had were Neolithic decorations on ceramic vessels. However, in recent years, rock paintings have been discovered in many provinces of China, leading historians to push the origin of Chinese painting art back to the Paleolithic Age. Among these numerous finds are many images depicting people, some of which are of epic proportions. The Yinshan rock paintings in Inner Mongolia are one of the earliest rock paintings. There, our ancestors created many such images over a period of about 10,000 years. These interconnected images turned the entire mountain into a gallery that is 300 kilometers long from east to west. It is speculated that it was the inspiration of religion or witchcraft that prompted the ancestors to painstakingly create these images. Similar images can also be seen in the Jiangjun Cliff rock art site on Kongwang Mountain in Lianyungang, northern Jiangsu.
2. Painting Art of the Neolithic Age
When discussing the paintings of the Neolithic Age, we still have to focus on the mysterious rock paintings located in remote areas. The petroglyphs found in Cangyuan, Yunnan, reflect human activities, including hunting, dancing, worship, and warfare. The compositions of rock paintings tend to become more complex, and the content they represent has evolved from single objects to interconnected and dynamic people. Their existence allows us to see an important period in the development of Chinese painting. Of course, artists during this period did not have any boundary restrictions when drawing rock paintings, and the rock surfaces were not processed in any way. Their creations were unrestrained.
All these changes originated from the emergence of pottery and wooden structures. Artists with creativity and imagination immediately discovered that these materials were excellent places for painting, so colorful colors and Rich patterns appear on these artifacts. The painted pottery patterns of the Yangshao Culture and Majiayao Culture, characterized by their simplicity, liveliness, and brilliance, are outstanding creations of our ancestors. In addition, Dawenkou Culture, Hongshan Culture, Hemudu Culture, etc. also have a certain amount of painted pottery. Among the Yangshao type painted pottery, the Banpo pottery basin "Human Face Fish Pattern Basin" unearthed in Xi'an is the most distinctive and intriguing. There has been speculation about the specific meaning of this pattern. The most eye-catching image of the Miaodigou type painted pottery is the "Stork Stone Ax Picture" painted on a pottery vat, which was unearthed in Linru Yan Village, Henan. The birds, fish and ax depicted in this painting realistically are said to represent the historical event of the stork clan annexing the fish clan. In addition, the Majiayao-type painted pottery basin with dancing patterns unearthed in Datong, Qinghai, depicts clan members dancing happily and can be called a masterpiece of Neolithic painting art.
3. Overview of Pre-Qin Paintings
During the entire "Pre-Qin" era, before the Spring and Autumn Period, it was a slave society, and after the Warring States Period, it entered a feudal society. With the expansion of social division of labor, various handicraft industries have developed greatly, and the so-called "bronze civilization" has emerged. The needs of the ruling class have driven the development of various categories of art, and painting is certainly no exception, with considerable development. However, there are very few relics of Pre-Qin paintings that we can see today. The reason for this phenomenon is speculated to be that most of the paintings were painted on wood or cloth that are prone to decay. Remaining painted cloths have been found in many tombs of the Shang Dynasty, and a lot of lacquer painting residues on wood products have been found in the tombs of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty. It can be seen that the use of lacquer as a pigment to draw utensils was very common at that time. The juxtaposition of the two commonly used basic colors of black and red formed a strong contrast. It is said that lacquer paintings at that time were often placed together with shiny bronzes and white pottery, making them highly ornamental. Fragments of architectural murals have also been found in the Yin Ruins. The curly and symmetrical patterns painted in red and black on the white and gray walls are quite decorative. The creation of temple murals has been recorded in the Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period, and Warring States Period. The famous work "Tianwen" by Qu Yuan of Chu State was inspired by the murals in the temples of the former kings of Chu.
Fortunately, two silk paintings with flags and flags from the Warring States Period were unearthed from Chu tombs in Changsha. They are both works from the 3rd century BC. Both paintings depict portraits of the tomb owners. One is a woman with flying dragons and phoenixes above; the other is a distinguished man driving a giant dragon or dragon boat. The two paintings are similar in the profile portraits outlined with ink lines and the animals with symbolic meanings. The difference is that the painter's skills shown in "Character Fighting the Dragon" are much more proficient.
4. Overview of Qin and Han Paintings
The Qin and Han Dynasties were a period of establishment and consolidation of China’s unified multi-ethnic feudal state. It was also an extremely important period for the establishment and development of Chinese national artistic styles. After Qin Shihuang unified China in 221 BC, a series of reforms in the political, cultural, and economic fields brought about tremendous changes in society. The artistic activities carried out to promote achievements and display royal power actually promoted the development of painting. The rulers of the Western Han Dynasty also attached great importance to paintings that could serve their political propaganda and moral preaching. During the periods of Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao, and Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty, painting became an effective way to praise heroes, and palace murals made extraordinary achievements. In order to consolidate the world and control people's hearts, the emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty also advocated the theory of "relationship between heaven and man" and the theory of "Fu Rui". Auspicious images and historical stories flaunting loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness became common creative themes for painters. The custom of generous burials in the Han Dynasty allows us to see the remains of paintings at that time in the mural tombs, portrait stones and portrait brick tombs that have been discovered one after another today. The art of the Qin and Han Dynasties radiates dazzling brilliance in the history of Chinese art with its profound and majestic spirit.
5. Silk paintings of the Han Dynasty
There were many paintings on silk in the Han Dynasty, but after thousands of years, very few remain. The most important discoveries currently include Western Han Dynasty silk paintings unearthed in the 1970s from Han tombs in Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, and Jinqueshan, Linyi, Shandong. The meaning of the silk paintings unearthed in Tomb No. 1 of Mawangdui is the most obscure. Scholars have extremely diverse explanations, but it is generally believed that the upper and bottom parts of the silk paintings depict the heaven and the underworld respectively, while the middle two parts represent the deceased Madam Jianhou. life scenes. The depictions of the tomb owner and various divine birds and animals are extremely vivid, with smooth and straight outlines and solemn and elegant colors, demonstrating the excellence of Western Han Dynasty painting. In addition, the importance of the three silk paintings in Mawangdui Tomb No. 3 cannot be ignored. In addition to the owner of the tomb, they also depict "guidance", ceremonial guards and other contents, which are very exquisite. The content of the silk paintings at Jinqueshan is similar to the silk paintings at Mawangdui Han Tomb. There are sun and moon fairy mountains on the top and dragons, tigers and ghosts on the bottom. The middle part depicts the human life of the tomb owner. The combination of "boneless" and outline in this painting reflects the Han Painting Techniques
6. Overview of Sui and Tang Paintings in the Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Southern and Northern Dynasties
The history of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is a process of unification and division. First, the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu were established, and then the Sima family was unified into the Western Jin Dynasty. However, successive wars in the sixteen kingdoms caused China to enter an era of division again. In the 5th century, the Northern Dynasty, which was formed by the unification and successive divisions of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and the Southern Dynasty, which was formed after the Western Jin Dynasty settled in Jiangzuo and was replaced by the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen dynasties, were in conflict with each other. Political instability and chaos and turbulence have brought about a general economic recession, but there have been extraordinary changes in the ideological field. At this time, the ruling class had already been influenced by Confucianism, and the folk customs followed suit. The chaotic society has created excellent opportunities for the spread and spread of religion. All strata of society have a more urgent need for and wider acceptance of Buddhism. The art of calligraphy and painting, one of the reflections of social ideology, also underwent strong changes at this time. Figure painting in painting has achieved outstanding development, while the depiction of other objects is still at a very immature stage
In the history of the development of Chinese painting, the Sui and Tang Dynasties were another important period after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. The calligraphy and painting of the Sui Dynasty continued the past and opened up the future, brewing the emergence of new styles. The calligraphy and painting of the early Tang Dynasty inherited the style of the Sui Dynasty and advocated law, but it has taken on a different look. This transformation was completed by the time of the Tang Dynasty. Painters from various disciplines emerged one after another, and their styles tended to be robust and flying. Figure paintings (including religious paintings) and landscape paintings represented by Wu Daozi demonstrate the outstanding achievements of Tang Dynasty painting.
The paintings of the middle and late Tang Dynasty underwent new changes, and its influence was still reflected in the Five Dynasties. The changes in art during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were more reflected in the art of calligraphy, with regular script truly appearing. Although the changes in the art of painting are not as significant as those in calligraphy, changes in social atmosphere and the rise of Buddhist worship have made the originally simple and clear paintings further complicated. Cao Buxing founded Buddhist painting, and his disciple Wei Xie developed on his basis. As one of the signs of the maturity of painting, famous painters such as Gu Kaizhi, Dai Kui, Lu Tanwei, and Zhang Sengyao appeared in the south, and Yang Zihua, Cao Zhongda, and Tian Sengliang also appeared in the north. The identity of the painter gradually entered the In the writing of history books, it began to play an increasingly important role in social life.
During this period, the most prominent developments were figure painting (including Buddhist figure painting) and animal painting, while other subjects in Chinese painting were far from mature. The handed down work "" by Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty The landscapes appearing in "Luo Shen Fu Tu" are only used as backgrounds for character story paintings. The gradual independence of landscape paintings was not completed until the late Southern and Northern Dynasties. The reason for this is also determined by the main task of painting in this period - to serve the political and religious affairs, "it is a picture for those who know how to draw lessons from it." This was also a main feature of painting at that time.