The Study Of Ni Zan’s Aesthetic Thought Of Painting

Ni Zan is a distinguished painter and art theorist in Yuan Dynasty, his work and painting aesthetic ideas played a very important role in the history of Chinese traditional painting and resulting in far-reaching effects, which required for specific in-depth study. Ni Zan’s painting aesthetics is not only a conclusion of study previous theory and drawing, but also by the trend of the times, particularly which is the crystallization of his experiences, ideas and his unique experience of painting.Art is the product of the time, study an artist can not deviate from his age, life and the art history. Ni Zan’s life is a hermit’s life, artistic life, there are three words most closely to his hermit and art life, namely:"Han literati", "Southern landlords" and " study three religions." They are from three levels to explain the influence for NiZan, which are political environment, economic status, and ideological.In the First chapter discuss Ni Zan’s life and the times. From the political environment, Ni Zan is a Han scholar in Yuan Dynasty. Yuan Dynasty is established by an invaded alien national, the talented policy stressed "the root foot", which make Mongolia and Semu in dominant position, while the Han Chinese and Southern people are at disadvantage; the other hand, which lead to the imperial examinations not flourish in Yuan Dynasty. Han people literati scholars are difficultly enter to government branch. To the late Yuan Dynasty, together with social unrest, most of the Han scholars not intended to official positional, but to find a new spiritual sustenance. Ni Zan’s early Hermit life affected by his family, while the late Hermit life chosen by him. From the economic state., Ni Zan lived in Southern China which damage to smaller, economy development more stable, its strength plays a decisive role in the Yuan Dynasty. Land acquisition is serious in Southern, well-developed commodity economy, created a number of wealthy Southern landowners, who no longer hopes politics, nor in politics, they live in self-built garden, and gave hermit life. This is also different from the previous Yuan Dynasty hermit, the hermits living between urban and rural areas. Ni Zan has hermit ambition, live a reclusive life. In the economic background, NiZan’s early living is very comfortable. In the late Yuan Dynasty, due to ethnic conflict turn into class conflict, peasant uprisings against impact on the largest landlords, such as Ni Zan, which in turn makes Ni Zan’s life and the state of mind has changed dramatically. With the social environment changes, Ni Zan’s life is from the early leisure, affluent seclusion, turn to his later years difficultly and GaoYi hermit life.In the Second chapter discuss Ni Zan’s philosophy and aesthetics thoughts. New Confucianists claim adjust Zhu and Lu, Quanzhen Dao advocated three-religion, Zen advocates the gradual cultivation and reached enlightenment, the three stressed the Mind of practice. From the Tang Dynasty confluence of three-religion continue to develop during the Yuan Dynasty, which showed in Neo-Confucianism, Quanzhen Dao and Zen interaction and integration. Basically, scholars in the Yuan Dynasty studied the three religions, affected by the three religions, who take the indifferent and self-cultivation as an ideal life forms, as political ambitions cannot realized, then anti-body in order to clear their heart and into hermit. Ni Zan study the three religions, specifically described as "basis on Confucianism," "according to Dao" and "escape Zen."For the political frustration, economic independence and ideological change, Ni Zan and other southern scholars were not willing to enter official, and turn hermit, literature and art creation, which gave the development of Chinese painting unprecedented influence. Ni Zan formed a set of systematic ideas; build his own aesthetics of painting, which contains response to three questions such as the essence of painting, painting function and the painting’s form features. These three questions were originally constantly discussed in the whole of China painting aesthetics. There had been many discusses before Yuan Dynasty. However, Ni Zan concluded on the basis of our predecessors and a new development. Therefore, in the third, fourth and fifth chapters as a whole body of paper, three issues will be discussed.In the third chapter discuss Ni Zan’s thought of the nature of painting-write one chest’s Yiqi. Discussion of the nature of painting is to answer the question what is painting. Before Yuan Dynasty, Xiehe proposed the essence of painting is "lively." In Tang Dynasty, Zhang Yanyuan proposed "ideas before the pen", he believed that "meaning" is the essence of painting, which opinion be further developed in Yuan Dynasty. In North Song Dynasty, for the development of Neo-Confucianism, "reason" is the nature of painting. The personality of Ni Zan tend to "Qiyi", affected by the "Qiyun"(气韵)and "Yiqi" theories and Yuan Zhao Mengfu’s "painting need have classical taste" theory, he proposed the nature of the painting is "write the Yiqi on chest". This theory have two aesthetic significance and value. First, take the calligraphy into painting. Second, take the poetry into painting, achieving a perfect fusion of poetry, painting and calligraphy.In the fourth chapter discuss Ni Zan’s thought of the function of painting. Painting function refers to the useless of painting. The problem of nature and function problem is closely related to each other, the nature is on metaphysical, function refers to a relationship, which between the painter, works and audience. Chinese painting first to emphasize cognitive and enlightenment functions, they are unified together. Starting from the Wei and Jin periods, painters aware of the painting also has aesthetic function. This view in the theory and practice of painting after gradually strengthened, in Song and Yuan Dynasty have a great development and shared by many literati painters, which has a dominant position in the function of panting. In Ni Zan’s thought, he always depend on Confucianism, in view of the poetic function, on the one hand, he believed that the poems have the role of "chant disposition",on the other hand, he pay more attention to its " Tao-carrying literature " function. In painting function, Ni Zan directly advocated concept of aesthetic functional of the literati painting, and further drawing "self-entertainment" function. This functional perspective origin from the thought of "You yu yi"(游于艺)and is a metaphysical spiritual entertainment, at the same time, which has a closely relationship with the scholarly gathering in Yuan Dynasty. Ni Zan’s Qing Bi Tower is a an important place for scholarly gathering. Some scholars have a common aesthetic ideals, interests, not for political purposes, and to cheer adaptive together, focusing on the elegant calligraphy, appreciate antiquities product and Chin, chess, poem and wine and so on entertainments, extending out from the scholarly gathering, paintings give each other and present the poems with each other, which are also important ways to achieve "self-entertainment". In scholarly gathering "self-entertainment" and "entertainment" are unities, To a large extent, "self-entertainment "become the pronoun of appreciation and spiritual interaction of literati painters. Ni Zan proposed "self-entertainment" is not a coincidence, on the one hand, which based on the previous understanding of the aesthetic function of painting, on the other hand, which is have a closely relationship with scholarly gathering activities, most important which is related to Ni Zan’s Taoist and Buddhist thought. "Self-entertainment" concept emphasizes the achievement of painter’s, its aesthetic value is take the painting as a kind of freedom and express individual spirituality activities, so defend the independence of the painting, and take the spirit of game into painting creation.In the fifth chapter discuss Ni Zan’s thought of the creation of painting-not seeking similarity in form. Painting is always a visual art, which take line, color, composition and other form factors as the expression means. The expression of painting ideas must ultimately be implemented in such form, so the "form" is an important issue in painting. In the history of calligraphy and painting in China, there are no "form" and "content" concepts, only the concept of "spirit" and "form ". Therefore, discuss the history of "form" in ancient Chinese painting, in fact, which is to discuss the interaction history of "shape" and "spirit". The debate "form" and "spirit" in philosophy directly affects the relationship between form and spirit in painting. Prior to Ni Zan, the relationship between "form" and "spirit" can be divided into four stages:1. Qin and Han Dynasties, change weight form light spirit to take the form and Spirit as same; 2. In Wei and Jin Period, change into weight spirit and light form; 3. Tang and Five Dynasties period, weight spirit and not light form; 4. Song Dynasty, weight form and spirit. But the literal painting is different from academy painting, which pays more attention to spirit. In the form issue, Ni Zan think should not rigidly adhere to the form, but "not seeking similarity in form", meaning take outside of the shape. Ni Zan first explicitly put forward " not seeking similarity in form " theory, stressed the need to create a visual image beyond the limits of the artistic realm, so as to achieve the deeper the whole realm of life experience, this is an important contribution to the aesthetics of painting in China. In the sixth chapter discuss the works of Ni Zan and entered into the analysis of his painting style, and prove his painting aesthetics. Ni Zan’s painting artistic conception can be summarized as three types:"innocent and insipid", "simple and Gaoyi(高逸)" and "desolate and lonely." Artistic conception is a summary of the overall effect works, but it is also conveyed by a painting. Ni Zan’s painting style changed as his life experiences, thoughts and painting ideas and divided into three phases, which are meager, carefully and neatly style in early stage, high-simple and estrangement style in Medium-term, and insipid and at will style in later period. In Chinese painting, there is a rating system to evaluate the artist’s achievement. The judge system directly from the person appraisal in Wei and Jin Dynasties, Xiehe’s "six grades" opened the history of tasting Chinese painting. Since the Song Dynasty, some of the paintings put"YiPin" in the first place in painting judge system. Ni Zan’s work has been considered as "Yipin" in Ming and Qing Dynasty, which is not only the evaluation of his works but also an affirmation of his character. Ni Zan’s Painting had an important impact on Ming and Qing Dynasty, and many painters have imitated his literary works or hitsui, they hope though this way to understanding the spirit of Ni Zan, and express enthusiasm and feelings of individuals in painting.Ni Zan’s painting aesthetics influence has been extended to modern times, he take the poem, calligraphy and painting as the unity, he pay attention to character and pursue the meaning without the paintings, which directly impact on the basic view of literati painting of contemporary painters. From the perspective of the development of Chinese contemporary painting, how to combine the depth understanding study of the Ni Zan, and inherited the aesthetics legacy for us, and play an important role in create contemporary painting, which is an noteworthy question. This is the desired objective of writing this article.