Literati paintings are paintings with literati taste in the painting and literati thoughts outside the painting. It is not juxtaposed with the three disciplines of Chinese painting: landscapes, flowers and birds, and figures, nor is it technically different from Gong and Shu. He is the intersection of landscapes, flowers and birds, and figures in the broad scope of Chinese painting. When explaining literati painting, Chen Hengke said, "We don't pay attention to the artistic skills in the painting, but we must see many literati's feelings outside the painting." In this regard, the so-called literati painting or painting by literati refers to painting as an object. It is a spiritual person, a thinker, an active person, not a tool, not a simple person." This illustrates the literary, philosophical and lyrical nature of literati painting. Its unique "elegance" in traditional painting It is unique from craftsman painting and courtyard painting.
The origin of literati painting can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. Although the paintings of Zhang Heng and Cai Yong are not handed down, they are recorded in classics. During the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Yao Zui's "not learning to be a man, just entertaining himself" became the central theme of literati paintings, which made literati of all dynasties respect this as the purpose of painting. It fully reflects the literati's self-entertainment mentality. Poetry was popular in the Tang Dynasty, and the great poet Wang Wei was regarded as the originator of literati painting. His paintings became a model for later literati painters. Poetry has become a common practice and has been passed down from generation to generation.
In the Southern and Northern Song Dynasties, many great literati appeared, such as Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and his son, etc. They used calligraphy in painting based on Wang Wei's literati painting school. Practice and develop his ink painting techniques. Deng Chun's theories such as "The painter is the ultimate in writing" have closely combined "writing" and "painting". The concept of "scholar painting" has made literati painting a step closer to maturity.
In the Yuan Dynasty, literati painting entered a period of prosperity. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty emphasized martial arts over literature, which led to more literati painters including Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, Ni Zan and Wu Zhen. "Four Families of the Yuan Dynasty". Their paintings mostly express "seclusion", "high seclusion", "little seclusion" and "fishing seclusion", and express a kind of arrogance and emptiness of the scholar-bureaucrat class with the attitude of "being born into an immortal". In art, they advocate " "Elegant", "plain and innocent", "innocent and quiet", theoretically advocating "careful writing", "not seeking resemblance", "writing with ease", etc. During this period, poetry seals also gradually formally entered the picture. It not only becomes an integral part of the layout, but also directly expresses the author's voice. Poetry, calligraphy, painting, and printing are integrated into one. Poetry is an invisible painting, and painting is a tangible poem. Poetry is embedded in the meaning of the painting and complements each other. , which also marks the perfection of this form of literati painting.
In the early Ming Dynasty, literati painting was in a period of inheritance and development, with the emergence of the "Wumen Painting School" and the "Zhejiang School", such as Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, and Dai Jin. It was not until the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty that Dong Qichang, a theorist and painter, further proposed the theory of dividing paintings into the Northern and Southern Schools and literati painting based on Su Shi's "Scholar Painting" theory, and the name literati painting was also officially proposed and used. . At the same time, the status of literati painting as a southern sect was established and even became the highest understanding of Chinese painting concepts.
In the Qing Dynasty, literati painting reached its peak, and many top literati painters emerged, the most prominent of which was " "Four Monks". Among the "Four Monks", Bada and Shitao are the most prominent. As remnants of the late Ming Dynasty, they expressed the pain of the destruction of their country and family in their calligraphy and paintings. Their eight brushstrokes were unbridled, indulgent, concise and concise, with exaggerated shapes and cold artistic conceptions. Shi Tao strives to observe nature, and despises painters who follow the same pace. He advocates that "pen and ink should follow the times", "self-reliance in law", and "search for all the strange peaks to make drafts" in the face of life. His ideas had a profound influence on later generations of "Yangzhou School of Painting", "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", Xu Gu, Zhao Zhiqian, Ren Bonian, Wu Changshuo, etc.
The themes of literati paintings were mostly plums, orchids, bamboos, chrysanthemums, mountains, fishing hermits, etc. The literati painted the natural scenery they saw to describe their spiritual feelings. In their eyes, plum blossoms, orchids, bamboos, chrysanthemums, mountains, and fish shelters are no longer simple natural scenery but the embodiment of a gentleman. Plum blossoms fight against the cold and snow, jade bones and ice muscles, aloof and self-admiring; orchids, elegant and fragrant, fragrant grasses pity themselves, and clean themselves; bamboos are modest and strong, straight poles reach the clouds, high in the wind and bright; chrysanthemums are proud in the frost, solitary and proud; Those who live in mountains, rivers, and fisheries do not care about worldly affairs and are indifferent to fame and fortune. Through this, literati expressed their inner emotions, whether heroic or depressive. To express one's own nobility and elegance, for public and private purposes, for the country and for the family. There is Tao Qian's "Picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely walking in the south mountain"; there is Su Shi who made straight bamboos and said, "When bamboos are growing, how can they grow from section to section?"; there is Wu Zhen who calls himself the Taoist of Plum Blossoms, saying that plum blossoms are married to cranes and they will die in old age; there is Zheng Sixiao who died because of the country's subjugation Losing soil and making orchids... Although they are all inspired by Confucianism and Taoism, there is also some gentle romance. Literati paintings emphasize meaning. Du Fu said that "the craftsmanship is bleak but the management is bleak". The uniqueness of the craftsmanship can be remembered endlessly. Ni Zan said, "The painter only cares about the brushstrokes and does not seek resemblance in form. He just entertains himself and writes what is in his heart." Literati paintings attach great importance to simplicity, and anything that has nothing to do can be simplified, even as simple as "zero", "zero" is both white and empty. "When considering white, use black", the emptiness and whiteness are for "more", for "enough", for satisfaction. Blank space can give people an endless, profound and long-lasting feeling, as if "silence is better than sound at this time". Literati's painting attaches great importance to calligraphy. Zhang Yanyuan said in "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties" that "the character, character, and shape are all based on the conception and the use of the pen, so anyone who can calligraphy can draw." Zhao Mengfu's poem says, "Stones are like flying white trees, and white trees are like clusters. To write about bamboo, you still need eight skills. If someone can do this, you must know that calligraphy and painting are originally the same." Ke Jiusi talks about painting bamboo, "Use seal script to write bamboo poles, use cursive calligraphy to write branches, use eight-point method or Lu Gong's brushwork to write leaves, use broken hairpin strands to write wood and stone, and leave traces of leakage in the house." Literati paintings emphasize the interest of ink, using the subtle changes of dry, wet, thick, light, rich and green ink to summarize the gorgeous nature with pure ink color. These unique and strong subjective consciousness expressed in paintings are the essence of literati painting.