A Study Of The Image Of Zhong Kui From The Previous Generation Of Artists

In the branch of Chinese painting, figure painting is one of the most independent one which plays an important role in Chinese art history. As an important part in Chinese figure painting, the image of ghosts and gods runs through all over the development of figure painting. However, Zhong Kui, a trinity combination of “human”, “ghost” and “god”, is the typical one.Through all the Chinese painting history, the images of Zhong Kui are various from times and painters. There are the images of Zhong Kui who pursues good fortune and avoids disaster, who reflects dejected liberator and unappreciated artist, who pursues interests and innocence, and who embodies integrity to threaten ghosts. These Zhong Kuis present the distinction of aesthetic interests of different painters from different times; what’s more, they show to us that one theme can contain an abundant of aesthetic interests and cultural connotation in Chinese painting.This thesis tries to analyze the image of Zhong Kui from the following aspects: firstly, starting with the origin of Zhong Kui, this thesis forces on the origin of this image including the formation of the concept “Zhong Kui”, the transition of concept to concrete image and the confirmation as specific signal which is absorbed by painters as painting material. Secondly, this thesis is an analysis of the variation and development of the image of Zhong Kui from the angle of macroscopical social culture. On the basis of the art background era,the thesis analyzes the development and variation of this image. Thirdly, this thesis takes the typical Chinese painters from different times as examples to analyze this image. From three different aspects, that is, the characteristic of pen and ink, cultural background and aesthetic connotation, the thesis presents different explanations from different painters towards Zhong Kui. At last, the thesis forces on the aspect of aesthetic to analyze the image of Zhong Kui,furthermore, makes a conclusion on the aesthetic spirit of Zhong Kui.