Chinese Thought And Its Relationship to Portraiture: a comparative overview

8/6/2019 Chinese Thought And Its Relationship to Portraiture: a comparative overview

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CHINESE THOUGHT AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PORTRAITURE:- a comparative overview

Lee WenJanuary 1992, London

Though not the oldest, Chinese cultural history is the longest continuous civilizations inthe world. Modern China is the direct descendant of Neolithic proto-Chinese culturesestablished in the Yellow River valley dating as far back as 2000 B.C. Chinese and Europeancultures possess the two most ancient traditions of representational painting. A survey of

painting gives us a visual account of the development of the human consciousness throughthe artists and their works of art. Arising from a different socio-cultural and historicalbackground, the themes, techniques, styles and aesthetics of Chinese art inevitably divergefrom western directions.

Chinese painting is epitomized in the mastery of landscape painting but it is interestingto find that although portraiture is not entirely absent, the subject of the artist himself in self-

portraiture is markedly avoided. Art schools in the Western tradition are apt to resort to self-portraiture as a rewarding and fulfilling exercise. The self as a subject seems worthy for focusand attention, equal to other subjects like landscape, still life or other natural subjects.

Though portraiture was not a relatively late development, it was rare to find recognizablelikenesses as an important characteristic until after 1400 AD. It was only during theRenaissance with the propagation of the Western idea of man as mankind's most properstudy that portraiture began to emerge as a significant genre in its own right. 1 TheReformation brought about a crisis in art when the Protestants objected to pictures of saintsand regarded them as signs of a Popish idolatry. Within Protestant regions, painters lost theirformer best source of income, which came from painting of saints and biblical stories inchurches and cathedrals. The effect of this crisis is best seen in the German painter Hans

Holbein the younger (1497-1543) who started his career in altar painting. In 1526 he went toEngland where he continued his career painting portraits within the royal household. Henry VII

finally gave him the official title of Court Painter.Subjects for portraiture during these early times were largely monopolized by rulers, the

aristocracy and later by the merchants and bankers. Craftsmen, painters and sculptors werenot equal in class and could not make the same claims for the social and intellectual statussuch an indulgence might prove to imply.

Dryden (1471-1528) the German graphic artist and printmaker was one of the earliestartists who chose to use himself in his various sketches. However it was only with Peter PaulRubens (1577-1640) the Flemish artist, who was an art-dealer and diplomat and therefore

was able to justify self-portraits in luxuriant oils that his status deserved. Despite a lowlystatus, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 69) broke the taboo by constantly returning to his ownimage as a source for many oil paintings. He observed his self-image in the mirror with acomplex objectivity and sincerity, leaving out all traces of pose and vanity, which mostcommissioned portraiture, would require. They were never an attempt at disguising his agedwrinkles or ugliness.

At the beginning of the 19th century Paul Cezanne (18391906), Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) were deviating from the 'art as imitation' ideal that


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Western art have long dealt with since Plato's aesthetics of mimesis was lodged. What theyinvestigated later set precedents for the 20th century movements in Cubism, Primitivism, and

Expressionism. Amongst them Van Gogh, also made considerable effort in self-portraiture. Heoften expressed what he felt using primary colors, broad brushstrokes and welcomingdistortions as he saw fit.

The self-portrait therefore became an important and acceptable genre in westernpainting, which never gained as much significance in Chinese painting.The Chinese regard for painting as a fine art has a close relationship to writing. Not only

are the materials of brush and ink on silk or paper similar to that of writing but it is alsoclassed as one of the three ways of apprehending nature. Yen Yen-Chih (384-456) cited

these three graphic conventions as language, representing concepts (tu-shih), the eighttrigrams of the I-Ching, representing nature's principles (tu-li) and painting, representingnature's forms (tu-hsing). 2

Painting was to be more than just a craft but also a means of interpreting andunderstanding natural phenomena. It was an embodiment of the artist's feelings towards thesubject depicted in his response to nature. The earliest writings assigned 3 functions of

painting as illustrative, magical and moral. The moralistic function prevailed over the other two.Examples of portraiture as early as Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.) showed idealizedexpressions of exemplary figures like the Duke of Chou, Confucius and other culture heroes.

There are more written records about the early painters than the actual paintings thatsurvived. Earliest evidence of portraiture are those attributed to Ku Kai-Chih (344-406), anartist of great reputation working at the Chin Court of Nanking. Two scrolls representing thearchaic style are 'Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies' (illus. A) and the othercalled 'The Nymph of the Lo River', both showing an illustrative type of painting. For Ku Kai-Chih the purpose of painting was to portray the spirit through form. By way of gestures, poseand action implied, likeness has never been important, even in later portraitures in Chinesepainting.

The Chinese word for portraiture, yin-tu (shadow picture) or fushen (depicting the soul)emphasizes its predilection of giving an impression of the subject, going beyond likeness. The

idea was to capture the spirit using form only as a vehicle.When Hsieh-Ho (479-502 A.D.) wrote the Six Principles in painting, he laid out the basic

elements in good painting, which became the cornerstone for all later Chinese art criticismand aesthetics. The first and most important principle was 'chi-yun-sheng-tung' (breath-resonance-life-motion). 3

Chi was the all-pervasive life force in every living being, of which there were twoparticular types. 'Shenchi' (breath of spirit) or 'shen-chi' (breath of life) was the objective anddescriptive qualities of representation or depiction. The other was chuang-chi (robust breath)

(breath-cultivation) or 'chi-li' (breath force), showing the individual, personal qualities of theartist. 'Yun (resonance) referred to the harmonious manner of execution of the painting itself.A good painting therefore must have the spiritual element of chi in a personal way ofdepicting, alive with harmony and full of motion. 4

In Chang yen-yuan' s (mid-9th century) 'Record of Famous Paintings in SuccessiveDynasties', during the Tang Dynasty, he reiterates going beyond 'formal likeness'. He advisedpainters to aim for 'that which lies beyond formal likeness', insisting that if a painter had onlysought for 'chi-yun' (breath resonance), formal likeness would be present in his work


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inevitably. He also commented on the relationship between the artist and his work saying,"from ancient times, those who have excelled in painting have all been men robed and

capped and of noble descent, retired scholars and lofty-minded men thus indicating theexemplary role in that of the artist himself. He writes about 'seeing the man in his works' whilecommenting on the landscape paintings of Yang Yen (late 8th century),' He was polished and

elegant in his bearing, vigorous and energetic in his spirit and feeling. He was good atlandscapes; his work s were lofty and unusual, refined and strong When I look at the lateMr. Yang's landscape pictures, I see in imagination what he was as a man his imposingstature and unconventionality.5 Chinese aesthetics therefore placed emphasis and value onvigorous and elegant brushwork, stylistic innovations that reflect nobility of the artist himself.

These precepts became the foundations for the wide acceptance of 'literary man' artists(wen-jen hua) during the Yuan dynasty (1260-1368). The emergence of the 'wen-jen hua aesthetics was partly stimulated by the introduction of unorthodox brushwork in calligraphyinto painting. This was already evidenced during the Tang dynasty, not because thebrushwork could depict better representation but because they were more efficient in showingthe artist's temperament. Painting then became closer to calligraphy as a single art while the

emphasis also drifted from subject matter to formal elements.The later evolution of 'wen-jen hua' recognized in painting the Confucian notion of

communicating learned thoughts of the artist. The painting, regardless of its subject matter,

was a revelation of the nature of the man who painted it. Expressive contents of mood,feelings and emotions depended on personal qualities and transient feelings, not the qualitiesof the subject matter represented.

Kuo Jo-hsu (late 11th century) was the leading spokesman for the wen-jen huatheorists. He expounded in his 'Experiences in Painting' (Tu-hua Chien Wen) that painting andcalligraphy were the artists imprints or images of the mind (hsin-yin) and hence werereflections of the artist, the man, his ideas, thoughts and self-cultivation. 6

Another Sung Dynasty poet-artist who advocated the wen-jen hua theory was Su Shih or

Su Tung Po (1036-1101). He was variously interested in Taoism and Chan Buddhism andobjected to the stern morality of the Neo-Confucianists. He derided those Neo-Confucianists

who preferred formal likeness as exemplifying the investigating of things leading to theextension of knowledge. For Su Tung Po painting was an expression of the artist's inner selfand to discuss paintings in terms of formal resemblances is a view comparable to a child's'.Adding that 'the artisans of this world may be able to capture the form perfectly, but when itcomes to theprinciples, only a superior man of outstanding talent can discern them'. 7

In the light of these aesthetic theories we find that Chinese painting did not aspiretowards real-life likeness. In portraiture too, from the earliest examples like Ku Kai-Chih, theaim was to capture the spirit through form. Artists were said to be able to reveal his qualities

and temperament through his paintings. Not because of the subject matter shown in the workdepicted them but by the way of brushwork displaying innovation and originality. The mainbelief was that Self-cultivation is basic to artistic creativity. Nobility and goodness in the artistwill give rise to good painting. The dichotomies of subject and object, self and society, manand nature was unreal and seemingly transformable through the act of creation.

There is a close association between the society and how an artist sees himself, and hisphysical body in nature. 8 In traditional China's holistic cosmological view and even intoday's in modern China, the self is often described in reference to its social role and


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functions. For the Chinese, uniqueness should not draw too much attention; common featuresare more readily upheld. In Western society, adulthood implies a completion of growth

whereas the Chinese idea of becoming a person (cheng-jen) implies an unlimited potential fordevelopment. Maturation then is a life long process for which to attain genuine humanityrequiring one's continuous effort, culminating at death. Thus the only time a portrait was

painted directly from the subject was when the ancestral portrait was being done.

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Sometimes these were done while the subject was still alive but usually these were paintedafter death. During the three days before burial, the artist sketch the face in detail from thesubject and finish the painting in his studio, filling in the appropriate costume and dress. TheChinese do not see this as an art form though these have been prized by Western collectors.

Ancestral portraits served in their function of being part of ancestor worship altars and ritualhalls and were treasured only for this purpose. (illus.B)

Both the Confucian and the Taoist pursue the Tao (the way of nature) and recognizesthis as inseparable from one's self. The Confucian's self-cultivation was also a development ofselflessness. The Taoist sees egotism as having desires and strives 'tzu-jan' cultivating ortuning oneself with the ultimate 'tao' which requires a conscious effort to rid himself of such

'desires'. For Chuang-Tzu, who was apt to rejecting political activity, confounding our logicand normal mental processes, the individual was a transient creature. The self develops andchanges through nature from 'tao', the ultimate source and returns to it at death thus

upholding an anti-materialist stance towards the self. The specific needs of the masses sets apriority especially in modern China where individuality is usually not encouraged. There is aless egotistical and more collectivist orientation in modern Chinese Marxism, which equatesthe self to a fluid entity, that seems to recall the Confucian concept. A concern for the self isusually derided, played down. The tendency is more towards group oriented of self-concepts.In social and psychological surveys, Chinese levels of self-esteem have been found to becomparatively lower than that of his western counterparts. 10

When the art of landscape painting gained popularity and prominence during the end ofthe tenth century, portraiture fell into less competent and less capable artists. The elite and

literati developed "wen-jen hua' aesthetics favoring an amateur spirit of expressing one's selfand mind through painting. "Professionals' were derided as insincere and were not taken tooseriously. Although portraiture revived in the 16th and 17th century by the literati-'wen-jen', itwas usually in the landscape, gardens and other romantic settings, which helped, evoked thespirit of the people portrayed. (Illust.C)

Self-portraiture never developed to any considerable significance in Chinese painting butthe images of the artists were represented spiritually through the brushwork, innovation andoriginality in the calligraphy and nature painting, especially through landscapes instead. This

evolved and developed following the Chinese aesthetic principles backed by a philosophy ofintegration with nature and favoring the spiritual evocation of representing the self in nature.However the intimate situation of self portraiture where the artist explores his outer and innerimage of self at close quarters, offering this privileged position to the viewer of looking at theartist through his own eyes may never find justification in a culture which nurtures a self-effacement of the individual and which advocates the integration of self with nature.


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Afterword

The preceding essay started with the question of why self-portraiture did not grow to becomean important aspect in Chinese painting as compared to its role in Western painting.This is such a complex question which I feel could have been dealt with in greater depth thanmy short essay allows. Without intending to be superficial, I've tried to confront the questionfrom as many angles as I've felt necessary. If there is one aspect which I felt I've not coveredsufficiently is that of elaborating on some Chinese artists. This self-conscious avoidance is

due to my inability to find any artist dealing with the subject of self-portraiture and also my fearthat the choice of artists may not be exemplary due to my limited knowledge of Chinese artistsat large. After writing this essay I came across two self-portraits. One of them is by Wang Wei(Tang dynasty), an aristocrat, scholar and poet, showing him turning away as if in defiance ofthe viewer and seems an ironic depiction of the Chinese denial of self-portraiture.

The other is that of Tao-chi an enigmatic artist of exceptional individualism and modernism(1640-1720?) who once boasted of being a painter of 'no style' (wu-fa). He developed his'single-stroke' aesthetic theory opposing the didactic encyclopedic analysis of brush strokesadvocated in the 'Mustard Seed Garden' manual on Chinese painting. The painting was donewhen he was 33 showing the artist supervising the planting of pine trees with the assistanceof a boy disciple and a monkey. Although it was painted in a manner, which was in keepingwith the narrative, gestural and inclination of the Chinese predilection for balance with natureit also illustrated his deviation from the norm. Being of such rebellious countenance andadventurous individualism it is no wonder that he was able to give us a realistic self-portrait,

which defied the norm in Chinese attitudes towards self-portraiture in painting.

Endnotes1Gombrich E.H. 'The Story of Art' (The Phaidon Press, Oxford 1934), also Martindale, Andrew,

Heroes, ancestors, relatives and the Birth of the portrait' - The fourth Gerson Lecture (GarySchwartz/SDU Publishers 1988)2(2) Wen C. Fong 'Images of the Mind' (The Art Museum, Princeton University 1934) - pg.33Wen C. Fong 'Images of the Mind' - pg.4; Sickman and Soper, The Pelican History of Art -The Art and Architecture of China' 1984 - pg.654

(ibid.) W.C.Fong 'Images of the Mind' - pg.55Acker, Williams, "Some Tang and Pre-Tang Texts on Chinese Painting' (Leiden 1954) pg.72-75

6(ibid.) W.C.Fong, 'Images of the Mind', pg.5-67Bush, Susan 'The Chinese Literati on Painting' (Harvard University Press, Cambridge,


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Massachusetts 1971) pg.328 Douglas, Mary 'Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology' (Pelican 1970) - an extensive

study of this relationship of the individuals physical body and the social body: - 'The social

body constrains the way the physical body is perceived. The physical experience of the body,always modified by the social categories through which it is known, sustains a particular viewof society. There is a continual exchange of meanings between the two kinds of bodilyexperience so that each reinforces the categories of others.'9Lancman, Eli -'Chinese Portraiture' (Charles C.Tuttle Co. Tokyo, Vermont, 1966) pg.38-4010Bond, Michael Harris (editor) 'The Psychology of the Chinese People' (HK: OxfordUniversity Press 1986), pg.236.

Bibliography

Acker, Williams, "Some Tang and Pre-Tang Texts on Chinese Painting' (Leiden 1954)

Bush, Susan, "The Chinese Literati on Painting" (Harvard University Press, Cambridge,Massachusetts 1971)

Bond, Michael Harris (editor) "The Psychology of the Chinese People" (HK:Oxford UniversityPress 1986)

Calvin, Lewis and Walmsley, Dorothy Brush, "Wang Wei, the Painter, Poet", 1968

Douglas, Mary, "Natural Symbols: Explorations in Cosmology" (Pelican 1970)

De Bary, W.T, Self and Society in Ming Thought" (N.Y. Columbia University Press 1970)

Edwards, Richard, "The World around the Chinese Artist" 1987

Fong, Wen C. "Images of the Mind" (The Art Museum, Princeton University Press 1984)

Gombrich, E.H. "The Story of Art" (The Phaidon Press, Oxford 1984)

Lancman, Eli, "Chinese Portraiture" (Charles E.Tuttle Tokyo 1966)

Lin Yutang, "The Chinese Theory of Art" 1967

Marsella, Devos and Hsu (editors) "Culture and Self" 1985

Munro, Donald (editor) "Individualism and Holism; studies in Confucian and Taoist values"1985


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Sickman and Soper, "The Pelican History of Art: The Art and Architecture of China" 1984

Siren, Oswald, "The Chinese on the Art of Painting" 1963

Spiro, Audrey G. "Contemplating the Ancients: aesthetic and social issues in early Chineseportraiture" (Berkeley: University of California Press 1990)

Waley, Arthur "An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Painting" (1923)

Other publications

"The Beginnings of Portrait Painting in China" - Max Loehr proceedings of the InternationalCongress of Orientalists twenty-fifth congress vol.5 pg.210-14 Moscow 1960

"The Question of Individualism in Chinese Art" - Max Loehr Journal of the History of Art Vol.221961 pg. 147-58 reprinted in the Garland Library of the History of Ideas vol.14 NY and London1976 pg. 19-30"The Paintings of Tao Chi" catalogue of an exhibition Aug.13-Sep 17, 1967 held at Museumof Art, University of Michigan

Illustrations

(A) Admonitions of the Imperial Princess by Ku Kai Chih (4th century A.D.)

Ink and color on silk Ht.19.5 cm L 347 cm British Museum, London(B) Ancestral Portrait Artist Unknown (Late Ming) Ht.144 cm(C) Mi Fei Bowing to the rocks by Chen Hung Shou (late Ming) Color and ink on silk Ht.116cm, private collection, Japan

CoverShi Tao (b.1641)Master Shi Planting Pines (detail H near 21cm), hand scroll, ens. H 40,3 x L 170cm, light coloron paper. Located at the National Palace Museum.


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Ll.Lus t ra t i .o ns=============

(A) A d m o n i t i o n s o f t h e I m p e r i a l P r i n c e s sby Ku Kai Chih (4th c e n t u r y A.D.)I n k a nd c o l o u r on s i lk Ht.19 .5 cm L 347 C Bri t ish Hus eum , London


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(B) Ances t ra l PortraitArt is t U II k n0 wn (1 a te 1'1 in g )Ht.144 cm


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(c) Mi Fei Bowing to the rocksby Cn en Hung S ; lOU (1 a te t'1ing )Colour and ink on s i lk Ht.116 cmpr iva te co l l ec t i on , ]3Jan

Chinese Thought And Its Relationship to Portraiture: a comparative overview

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