And Song Dynasties "yiping" Transmutation Research

[Abstract]The development of the "I-p'in" or "untrammeled" style is one of the most uniquely Chinese phenomena in the history of world art. It has consistently been among the most important topics in Chinese art, as its broad definition spans artistic standards of criticism, theory, and aestheticism.Since the term I-p'in originated in the Tang Dynasty as a qualitative and stylistic measure of art that deviated from the mainstream, it has undergone dramatic reconfigurations in definition. By Northern Song, the I-p'in had already developed non-artistic association with a type of personality; the impact of these connotations deeply affected the educated elites for generations afterwards and formed a historical momentum fundamentally shook the core of Chinese painting. In the Yuan Dynasty, although the definition of I-p'in became less lofty-returning to a stylistic criterion-in practice, artists brought the technical aspects of the I-p'in to new depths, consolidating its superior place in Chinese painting. By the Middle and late Ming Dynasty, the personality criticism dimensions had returned to the definition of I-p'in, and with this return, I-p'in, at its origins a departure from mainstream, now became the dominant and "orthodox" form of Chinese painting.The evolution of the I-p'in in Chinese traditional painting is integral to the rise of Chinese Literati art. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the continuously shifting social class of the literati has been the main progenitor of the dominant trends in traditional Chinese art and the real bearers of the burden of China's so-called "great tradition." The peculiar nature of this social class, combined with specific historical conditions, led to the creation of a set of "Laws of Painting", which have been deconstructed, reconstructed, and interwoven with the I-p'in into a set of new laws of painting. In other words, literati painting shaped the trajectory of Chinese art history. Thus, as a vector of literati art, the I-p'in evolved concurrently with shifts in the social and historical status of the literati, gives expression to the "great tradition" in Chinese art.This study traces the evolution of the I-p'in through the Tang and Song dynasties by examining the relationship between literati art and the Great Tradition (the dominant academic tastes), the I-p'in theory (in contrast with "orthodox" art theory), and I-p'in paintings. The majority of this paper delves into the causes and processes of the I-p'in's evolution, but a brief discussion of the I-p'in during the Ming and Qing Dynasties is carried out in the epilogue to outline a basic framework for future research topics.