The Style Of Ink In Flower-and-bird Paintings Of Yuan Dynasty

This paper is based on a rather strange phenomenonin Chinese art history that flower-and-bird paintings abandoned colorful imperial-court decorative style in Yuan Dynasty, whileliterati’s ink flower-and-bird paintings became the mainstream of this era. The author started the analysis and investigation on ink flower-and-bird paintings of Yuan Dynasty according to formulation and evolution of the style of ink paintings. Discussions are on the following issues: the first one is the reason that the style of ink was popular in both court and the commonalty,and the color at that time moved towards the edges; the second issue is the changes and essence of ink flower-and-bird paintings of Yuan Dynasty on expression of painting techniques, aesthetic taste, ideological implication and other aspects; the third one is the influence and role of these changes of flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty on later development of Chinese painting. The author compared and analyzed the available related works and d o c u m e n t l i t e r a t u r e s t r y i n g t o s e a r c h a n s w e r s f o r t h e s e q u e s t i o n s.Introduction, the first chapter of this paper, shows the current research and deficiencies of flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty, and the research significance, methods and innovations of this topic. The second chapter mainly discusses the phenomenon and reasons of forming the style of ink. Chapter three discusses the formation and evolutional pattern of ink flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty, formation of the style of ink flowers and ink birds, and the popularity of paintings about plum, orchid and bamboo, so-called three gentlemen flowers in traditional view. Chapter four further analyzes artistic style of flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty from the spirit of ink and ideological implication contained in the ink flower-and-bird paintings. Chapter five is the focus of this paper, revealing the transition of the aesthetic image and emotional interests of flower-and-bird paintings of Yuan Dynasty. It also explains the change of judgment criteria that “outstanding works”is the best, analyzes the construction of the appreciation system ofhomologous calligraphy and painting, and generalizes the features and era values of flower-and-bird paintings of Yuan Dynasty. Chapter six mainly demonstrates the influence of changes of flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty on the same categoryin Ming and Qing Dynasty, and puts forward the real reference combined with the problems in the development of modern and contemporary art. Conclusion part explains that the popularity of ink style in Yuan Dynasty is an important revolution in Chinese art history, which formes an overall transformation of flower-and-bird paintings form brush lines to freehand, from color to ink, from “no-self” to “self-involved”, and from “ for m art” to “enjoyable art”.Yuan Dynasty is the watershed in Chinese painting history and itserves as a link between the past and the future.. Flower-and-bird paintings changed from “putting importance on subtlety” in Song Dynasty to “painting carelessly but leisurely” in Yuan Dynasty, which marks Chinese painting transforming from concrete aesthetics to abstract aesthetics, and forms the image aesthetic between concrete and abstract under the influence of this transformation. Under the positive promotion and influence of Zhao Mengfu and other painters, flower-and-bird paintings in Yuan Dynasty changes from color to ink, from “no-self” to “self-involved”, brought calligraphy into painting, made combination of poetry and painting, andhad the pursuit of “outstanding works”as the style of the age. It is this kind of change makes the ink become the new directions for Chinese paintings. With practice and research in the fields of painting with comparison method, iconology research method and other methods, the authorcollected a large number of historical materials, and combined painters’ works in Song and Yuan Dynasty to elaborate and explore artistic value of flower-and-bird paintings of Yuan Dynasty thoroughly and accurately. New explanations on “vintage” thought of Zhao mengfu and “clerical script” theory of Qianxuan are discussed in this paper, and the status of Zhao Mengfu in “The four greatest of Yuan Dynasty painters” is also restudied.