On The Paintings Of The Law And Its Influence

Southern Song dynasty Chinese painter Fa Chang(Mu Xi)was born in Sichuan province and lived in Qiantang county of Zhejiang province.He is considered one of the most legendary painters in Chinese history.In recent years there has become an increase in research regarding Fa Chang’s work.In general Fa Chang’s works have not been widely spread and existing examples of his original works are also exceedingly rare.Furthermore,there are plenty of imitations of his works.As a Japanese student who studies in China,I have focused my research on the works of Fa Chang.In addition,his authentic works,which have been handed down for generations for the most part exist mainly in Japan.Therefore,these factors indicate that this research is meaningful.This research firstly considers an investigation of Fa Chang’s life,collecting and sorting through literature sources evaluating them from an art historical point of view.Secondly,Fa Chang’s representative artworks entitled,“Guanyin”,“Monkey”and “Crane” are expounded in the second chapter.These paintings are collected in Daitoku temple in Japan.No matter which kind of method the paintings show,or how the quality of the painting style is manifested,these paintings are regarded as valuable masterpieces.In addition to these descriptions,this research pays attention to how Zen’s spirit deepens the paintings of Zen monks.Chapter three puts an emphasis on the influences of Fa Chang’s paintings on Japanese paintings,mainly focusing on the painter “Sessyu ",the “Kano school" and “Tohaku Hasegawa”.Thus,through sorting out literature and comparative studies of paintings we are able to distinguish some answers.At the end,this paper seeks to explore how the paintings of Fa Chang have profoundly affected ink painting in Japan,with emphasis on how the spiritual nature of his paintings is carried out in their composition and expression.In the process of this research,it has been madeapparent that literature and research about Fa Chang at the present time are still not enough.Therefore,I hope this research will be able to contribute to the progress of research about Fa Chang’s biography,paintings and the paintings that have become influenced by Fa Chang.