A Research On The Evolution Of The Methodology Of Chinese Landscape Painting

The research of the methodology of the traditional Chinese painting turned out to be "three more and three fewer", In the first case, there are more research about the concrete techniques and experiences but fewer research about conclusion of theory; In the second case, there are more research about the thchniques of specific painter or of a painter belonging to a specific regien or a specific painting school or a specific dynasty but fewer research about the contexts and the systems of the painting techniques; In the third case, there are more adoption of western discourses and concepts but fewer adoption of Chinese traditional language and methodology. The research of this dissertion only focuses on an aspect of the Chinese landscape painting history, that is the research about the techniques of Chinese Landscape painting. The dissertation will study the painter, painting relics, painting techniques, briefly in the complex historical materials, at the same time the dissertation will also combine the resarch of painting techniques and specific painter, analysing painting works, drawing the outline of the several phases of the evolutions in Chinese Landscape painting history: the evolution of blue-and-green Landscape painting----the evolution of ink and wash----the evolutioan of brush and ink----the evolution of rejuvenation. The division of those four phases is not so absolute but comparatively there are some overlappings and its inner logic connections. If we care about the importance and influence about the evolution of the Landscape painting, then the above four evolutions were actually the main characteristics of different phases.As for the painters the methodology has the mort pragmatic value. The methodology has two levels of meaning----theory and technique. The national painting methodology has been gradually accumulated in the process when the painter in different historical stages tried to answer the basic questions such as what was the better landscape paniting and how to create a wonderful landscape painting. The methodology referred to nature and art and it was a painting system following regulations and free creations, it was also a kind of specific concepts. The rules of its evolutions can be concluded as:1. The methodlogy of landscape painting was by no means without foundation. It was established with the discovery of natuer by the painter sketching the real nature. "Likeness"is the base of "dislikeness", and "dislikeness"is the end of "likeness". The procedure of the evolutions happening in the methodlogy of Chinese Landscape painting is the procedure when sketching, copying and creation continuously separated and merged. It is also the procedure of the combination of theoy and practice and the procedure of development from sketching the nature, copying, creation, resketching the nature, recopying, up to once more creatin. In the procedure some thories and methodolgies were created.2. Caring of the relationship between theory and techniqne may better our understanding about the methodolgy of painting and " Xie he's six techniques". The "Four rules" of landscape paintings' techniques evoluted from "Xiehe's six techniques" enriched the meaning of the "Six techniques". We can conclude the contents of "Six techniques"briefly as the methodology of brush, the methodology of ink, and the methodology of composition.3. Brush and ink are the life of Chinese landscape painting and they are the embodiment of the spirit of Chinese painting, without brush and ink there were no spirit of Chinese painting. The skills of brush have been the pursuit of the painters in the past dynasties. Therefore the skills of brush and ink have been regarded as the important standard in judging the value of the landscape paintings.The procedure of the evolution of the Chinese landscape painting's methodology is the procedure of gradual discovery of the truth of the Chinese painting's methodology, it is also the procedure of combining"Xiehe's six techniques", "three distand techniques", brush methodology, ink methodology, composition methodlogy and so on together with the creation of concrete landscape paintings. It is the embodiment of Chinese national art spirit and characters. If we discard these fixed methodologes, then Chinese landscape painting will become non-Chinese landscape painting. "what frequently changes is the appearance and what does not change is the spiritt." To unify together the general character with individual character, sketching and copying, tradition and present day, idealism and realism, is a very important rule in creating Chinese landscape painting.In a word, a nation cannot lose its memory. The evolutions and inheritance of the painting's methodology in the past dynasties are a long time accumulation. And they are also the development of paintings which have combined the skills of sketching together with the contents of various times. Our basic experience and conclusion about the methodology of Chinese Landscape painting is that we must adhere to combining the general rule of the methodologies of brush and ink together with the particular creation of landscape paintings.