On "Yi" In The Theory Of Ancient Chinese Calligraphy And Painting

This thesis aims to discuss the art concept "Yi" in the field of ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting, attempting to explain its meaning clearly. The original meaning of "Yi" is "lost", then this concept gradually implies the meaning of escape and hide. In the field of art, this kind of escape is based on the artists’actively choices, in order to pursue one’s personal style and seek the achievements of art. On the other hand,"Yi" is not a kind of blindly escape, but a short absence aiming at the final return. When this return finished, it will bring art developments to the world.Specifically, this thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter mainly discusses the original meaning and the philosophy connotation of "Yi", providing the background to the further research in the field of painting and calligraphy. This part will demonstrate the negative to binary opposition in Chinese traditional thoughts by discussing the theories of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.The second chapter discusses "Yi" in the field of ancient Chinese painting. As a background, this part will firstly talk about some other painting concepts which are associating with "Yi", then introduce the history of "Yi" in the field of Chinese painting. This part wants to prove that "Yi" is an aesthetic pursuit of high standards and it can show its value transcending specific painting styles and fashions of time.The third chapter discusses "Yi" in the field of ancient Chinese calligraphy. Relative to its gradually improved status in painting area,"Yi" has early become a high standard in calligraphy area due to the masterpieces created by Wang Xizhi and other artists. And the developments and debates in the history of Chinese calligraphy give us the chances to deeply understand the meaning of "Yi". Meanwhile, because calligraphy is more practical than painting, it will prompt us to think about art in a more extensive domain such as folk craft.To sum up, the research of "Yi" expands our aesthetic vision, discovers the self-transcendence features of Chinese art. During this self-transcendence process, the concept of "Yi" also has been gained the inexhaustible vitality.