To Establish Identity: Painters Of The Six Dynasty And Taoism

This article is mainly on the relations between Taoism and artists in the Period of Six Dynasties,and Particularly by virtue of the study of art history and Taoism with the use of Taoist sutra, givesinterpretation to relative painters’ biography and painting theory in the view of Taoism. There are threeparts, on Ku K’aichih, Xie Linyun（谢灵运） and Zong Bing（宗炳） respectively. The first part startsfrom a story of Ku K’aichih in Shishuoxinyu(《世说新语》) and points out that “Cunsi”（存思）techniques were very popular among mandarin artists of that time. Ku might be a Taoist, and his“religious experiences” were affected by contemporary novels whose text might be the records of theTaoists’ Cunsi. Ku’s fascination shows a none-moral, materialistic or mechanical, yet optimistic attitudeof Taoism, which might be related to Du Zigong（杜子恭） Order of that time. The second part is on thethatched hut in Xie Linyun’s Shanjufu（《山居赋》）, and discusses its unique significance. The thatchedhut and Myongdang are identical in out form and both from the holy house in remote antiquity. Thethatched hut then became the symbol of Taoism, used by Xie to decorate his Pure Land, actually areminiscence of Xie’s Taoist life in childhood. The third part is on Zong Bing’s Huashanshuixu（《画山水序》）. By reviewing western perspective, this part denies the theory that Zong was the inventor ofso-called perspective. Additionally, oriental and occidental religion are compared, with the conclusionthat, as the case of the western, there was no ascendable mountain in the ideas of Pure Land Buddhismof Zong’s time, and in fact, Zong’s idea of landscape was indigenous and came from Taoism. Zong’s“Woyou”（卧游） was typical internal alchemy, and because the ideas of landscape inYoushimenshibingxu（《游石门诗并序》）completed around400AD are different from those ofHuashanshuixu, Zong’s thoughts probably changed in his later years, which could be the results ofsickness.