The Light And Shadow Expression Of Chinese Classical Painting

In Chineseclassical painting,light and shadow seem to be neglectedby selectivity,and the graphic representation of light and shadow do not seem to besubstantivity and facticityin the language of Chineseclassicalpainting.Lines and ink arethe main technique of expression in Chineseclassical painting.Although light and shadow elements do exist in Chineseclassical painting,on the whole,they are inferior to pen and ink.Compared with Western painting,Chinese painting mainly focuses on line modeling,and basically does not represent the complete image in the visible light system from light and shade to projection to reflection.However,ancient Chinese literati and literati painters all had a certain understanding of light and shadow in the nature,and in ancient paintings,there had always been implicit modeling and expression of light and shadow,such as the theory of painting involving yin and yang,facing back,light and shade,as well as virtual and real theories,which were basically related to light and shadow.Unlike Western painting,which takes light and shadow as the main component and evaluation standard of a picture and pursues authentic natural light and shadow reproduction and restoration effects,the performance of light and shadow in Chineseclassicalpaintingtends to be introverted and subjective,some painting works even deliberately ignore the impact of light.In history,Chinese culture has had in-depth exchanges with Western cultureseveral times,along with trade exchanges,ethnic migration,and integration,Chineseclassical painting has absorbed "Western methods" for many times as well.However,why has Chineseclassical painting not formed a graphic representation of light and shadow that imitates natural light just like the Western Painting?How is the understanding of light and shadow reflected in the paintings of ancient literati painters?This article attempts to centre on these issues and conduct the research.First,it sorts out and elaborates on the ancient Chinese light and shadow cognition,and summarizes the generation,evolution,and reasons for the expression of light and shadow in Chinese classical painting.On this basis,the performance of light and shadow in Chinese painting is divided into four modes for discussion,namely,following each other’s shadow,integrating the shadow into the shadow,giving up the shape and pleasing the shadow,and mirror imaging.These four modes respectively represent four trends in the performance of light and shadow in Chinese painting.The first mode focuses on figure painting,the second emphasizes the laws and characteristics of objective performance objects,the third pursues the expression of subjective emotions,and the fourth mode focuses on mirror painting,These four classifications correspond to different ideological concepts in Chinese painting,and are inextricably linked to traditional Chinese science,philosophy,religion,and literature.It reflects the natural,mental,and cultural views of ancient Chinese.Ancient Chinese painters did not lack knowledge of light and shadow,nor were they unable to express the realistic light and shadow relationship technically,but had their special starting point and practicality.Research has shown that the reason why Chinese painting has not formed an "accurate" law of light and shadow perspective is not because it has not mastered the methods of scientific observation of the natural world,but because it follows the traditional "Tao".The exploration of natural images by Chinese painters transcends the scope of what the eyes see and reaches directly to the heaven and the heart.Therefore,what the eyes observe does not need to be equivalent to a true light and shadow portrayal of what is written.In the emptiness and solitude,light and shadow have the possibility of depicting nature,but also have more changes and even extreme abstraction and simplification."Chinese painting not only" paints what it knows ",but also" paints what it understands ",integrating the emotions and the Tao of the painter.Painting itself is a subjective and truthful externalization.".It can be said that what ancient Chinese painters painted was the Tao of the constant world they knew,and what the paintings showed was also the light and shadow expression of the Tao of Constant.