The Shadow And Shape In Ancient Chinese Painting

There rarely occurred shadow in ancient Chinese Painting, neither related discussion inmainstream theory research. However, this is not to say that there is no relationship betweenChinese Painting and the shadow. By research I found that not only Chinese Painting paysattention to the shadow, but also has some techniques and concept related to it, whichinlfuence the creative work on painting, aesthetics appreciation and the evolution ofPainting’s history, to some extent.First, there generated correct recognition and unique concept of shadow in the earlystage of Chinese culture. Some four-character phrases related to shadow are treasures inancient Chinese ideology. Different with the West, Chinese culture determines that thedi"scussion on shadow did’nt go to light and shad"ow, but concentrated on "figure and"shadow. In Wei and Jin dynasty, due to the deep exploration on "ifgure and spirit" as wellas the Buddhism’s influence, the shadow went into the relationship between figure and spirit,thus injecting the shadow a profound philosophical connotation. All of these laid theideological foundation for the use of shadow in ancient Chinese Painting.Second, the method of abstracting the figure through the shadow existed in ancientChinese Painting due to the inwardly consistency between the shadow and the ifgure，In theifeld of figure painting, Mr Su Shi discussed being lifelike in virtue of the shadow. He alsointroduced a method of "abstracting the figure u"nder the lamplight, which brought positiveinfluence on figure painting. In the bird-and-flower painting, the ink painting of bamboo andplum blossom is said to originate from "tracing the shadow on the window under the’moonlight，’. Though it may lack evidence in historys perspective, it relfects their closerelationship. Actually, the modeling method of "abstracting the ifgure through the shadow"was widely accepted and adopted in ancient painting, which benefited the creative work ofpainting，and moreover, brought the important inspiration for Chinese P’aintingstransformation.Third, amid the rise of freehand brushwork in Ming and Qing dynasty, the concept of"abandoning the ifgure and enjoying the shadow" was introduced, which turned into animportant theory for freehand brushwork. In the freehand ideology, the shadow became theprop for the painting that abandoned the ifgure similarity, thus offering the theoreticalsupport for freehand painting. The concept of "abandoning the ifgure and enjoying the "shadow was put forward by Mr. Xu Wei, acknowledged and advocated by importantfreehand brushwork painters like Ba Da Shan Ren, Shi Tao and Zhen Xie, which advancedthe development of Chinese Painting. The significance of shadow on painting went beyondthe techniques, and finally entered the field of artistic creation and aesthetic appreciation.