Lin Yutang said that "Western art comes from women, while China's art comes from mountains and rivers". Why did he say that?

Mr. Lin, this sentence may be fictitious, without strict logic and sufficient basis. In other words, it is just a poetic expression of the writer, limited to a specific context. In terms of art, music, painting, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy and even literature are included. As far as art itself is concerned, both western art and art China have a long history of development. Different styles and functions will be displayed at different times, so it is difficult to generalize.

Regarding the origin of art, whether it is western art or artistic China, it is not only from scenery or people. The earliest Chinese and western painting arts are cave painting, ceramic painting and mural painting. In China, bronzes, lacquerware and sculpture paintings reappeared in various dynasties (Xia, Shang and Zhou). In ancient Greece, mosaics also appeared. On the subject of painting, most people in China and westerners focus on totem worship or daily life. For example, ancient Greek murals are mostly secular.

However, there are many similarities between the artistic sources of China and the West. For artistic painting, landscape painting is undoubtedly an important theme of art, China. Undeniably, flower-and-bird painting and figure painting are also important parts of artistic painting. Of course, western art shows a lot of human beauty.

Since Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China's art has always emphasized "stability and softness" and "the role of human beings and the embodiment of life value". Different from art China, western art pays attention to "elegance and beauty", but focuses on "physical beauty". The pursuit of the beauty of human nature in the west is not only the love for the beauty of women's body.

Just like the ancient Greek classical sculpture Venus of Milos, the formal beauty of men is also sought after by western artists. Like the discus thrower in Mironori, the Renaissance sculpture Michelangelo David. Artists pay attention not only to formal beauty, but also to expressive beauty and its vitality. Seeking beauty is the universal nature of human beings.