Ideal Reconstruction Of Literati Painting

Songjiang Painting School was mentioned by the painting learning literatures and art history writings in late Ming Dynasty, Qing Danasty and 20th century, but its period from start to end, representatives, school structure and artistic characteristics have never been defined clearly and studied deeply. The thesis, for the first time, makes a systematic review, exploration and collation on the relationships between the schools of Huating, Yunjian, Susong and Songjiang mentioned by the art history writings, and makes a deep analysis on the painters, their relationship between teacher and student as well as the artistic characteristics referred to by the literatures. The thesis puts forward its view clearly: regarding the structure of Songjiang Painting School, Dong Qichang was the founder; Mo Shilong and Chen Jiru were backbones; Gu Zhengyi, Song Xu,Zhao Zuo, Song Maojin, Shen Shichong and Jiang Ai were supporters.The thesis makes a specific study and discussion on the artistic style of Songjiang Painting School. Rising in the late Ming Dynasty when the last-stage Wu and Zhe Schools were overflowed with bad habits, Songjiang Painting School demonstrated its artistic characteristic and revolution in rooting up the Zhe School's bad habit of stiffness, inflexibility, incompletion and clumsiness and reforming the last-stage Wu School's style of slimness, complication and sweet, so as to reconstruct up the teaching route and innovation system. Dong Qichang, as the founder painter of Songjiang Painting School, well mixed the painting styles of Huang Gongwang and Ni Zan, two of the Four Painting Master in the Yuan Dynasty with those of Dong Yuan and Ju Ran, so as to create a classical, elegant, innocent and simple artistic style. One important artistic characteristic of Songjiang Painting School represented by Dong Qichang is that they rooted their painting at the Four Painting Master in the Yuan Dynasty and traced to Dong Yuan and Ju Fan, but with different specific styles.The flourish of Songjiang Painting School not only rested with its innovation in artistic practice or its special feature in artistic style, but to a great extent depended on the series of theories put forwarded by the founder and backbones creatively. Out of so many Chinese ancient painting schools, the theory put forward and studied by Songjiang Painting School is quite deep and unparalleled, which makes its important characteristic of theory focus. The thesis points out that the Theory of Southern and Northern Schools is the most philosophic painting learning theory in Chinese painting learning history put forward by Songjiang Painting School. Though the Theory of Southern and Northern Schools uses Buddhism to imply paintings and gives theories from the history, it is a theory sublimation and ideal reconstruction of literati paintings that appeared from the Tang and Song Dynasties.The thesis indicates that the ideal of literati painting reconstructed by the Theory of Southern and Northern Schools is mainly presented in three respects: first, the suddenly enlightened creation psychology structure of literati paintings endowed its painters with acute artistic gnosis and special Buddhist aesthetic enlightenment. Secondly, it emphasizes the creation purpose and attitude of "regarding painting as pleasure", which highlights paintings' particular aesthetic and pleasing function as well as the aesthetic value of the paintings themselves. Thirdly, it emphasizes the aesthetic joy of "simplification is the principle", and the simplification is not only from natural temper but also indispensable to cultural influence.According to the thesis, the reconstruction of literati painting ideal by the Theory of Southern and Northern Schools to a great extent inherited the literati painting philosophy put forward by the literati painters like Wang Wei and Su Shi, but its reconstruction is mainly embodied in reacquiring and rearranging the literati painting history. Therefore, this reconstruction is an adjustment of the denotation and object of literati painting philosophy, with a great practical guidance meaning. On the one hand, it rooted up the influence of the Zhe School's bad habits in the late Ming Dynasty so that the painters from the Northern School hardly encountered with a catastrophic defeat after the Theory of Southern and Northern Schools had been put forwarded. On the other hand, it reestablished a high status in painting for the Southern School and cleared up the teaching route of literati paintings to make the last-stage Wu Painting School not be limited to Wen and Shen Schools, so as to broaden the vision and start a new scene for painting.However, the reconstruction of literati painting history by Songjiang Painting School is only a kind of ideal literati painting history but not the real history. The thesis makes a specific analysis on the historical fact mistake of "history is from theories" in the reconstruction of literati painting ideal by Songjiang Painting School and points out the influences and abuses of this reconstruction on the painting of the Qing Dynasty.