An Aesthetic Analysis And Cultural View Of "Endow Old With New" Of Wu Changshuo's Creative Theory Of Painting

Inheriting and reforming the tradition has always been an important aesthetic problem, which is also a factual problem that a lot of artists cofronting in their creative work. WuChangShuo, a leading artist of Hai Group, who lived in the era of the end of Qing Dynasty and the beginning of Ming Qynasty, which was going through the foundamental changes. As a traditional scholar and painter, he was interested in individual expression painting. But he created a lot of worldly paintings under the pressure of historic context of painting marketing. He set forth his viewpoint on how to reform the traditional painting in lots of poems, postscripts and letters, thus formed explicit and integrate creative theory called "Endow Old With New"of painting. Reformation is required by the social actuality, creating painting of up-to-date characteristic and realistic spirit is the final aim for artist to imitate classical art. The aesthetics thought of expressing emotion and writing mood in traditional literators'painting acquired new expression under the historic context of painting marketing. Though WuChangShuo's creative theory of painting carried on the ideology of the Romanticsism innovators of both Ming and Qing dynasty, the essence of aesthetic interest and culture meaning had taken place great transformation. If we discuss and analyse his theory through aesthetic thought, and probe his theory into appraising and viewing under the culture context, thus the value and significance of his theory will be displayed explicitly. Though the aesthetic spirit of WuChangShuo still carried on the tradtional literary thought of expressing emotion and writing mood expressing of the Romanticsism innovators of both Ming and Qing dynasty, he merged the individual sensibility into marketable objectivity and worldly commonness. The representation of aesthetic view mainly has three facets. first, the creative motivation of expressing emotion and writing mood had been turn into conformed to marketing demands. Secondly, the creative method not only inherited the traditional representation, but also paid attention to emphasize on the objectivity of object,the particularity of shape and the spiritualism of target. Thirtly, the aesthetic tendency of traditional literators'painting changed the implicative spirit and elegant pattern into exterior vigorous gas. The phenomena of culture as a kind of ideology not only impeled by the contemporary economic foundation and politic configuration, but alse influenced by the diachronic rule of self-evolved. Only laying his theory back in the historic context of painting marketing can we find out its correct position, make a rational appraisement and take availably assimilation. The culture view of his theory alse mostly has three facets. First, his theory is a kind of countermeasure supported by traditional literature in the historic context of painting marketing. Secondly, the countermeasure is a kind of embodiment which WuChangShuo and other painters in Hai Group carried on the self-controled system of traditional culture. Thirdly, Hai Group's painting carried forward and endowed with the traditional painting new vitality in the historic context of painting marketing, So we need to comprehend and appraise the culture signification of Hai Group's painting reasoningly and logically. The connotation of "Endow Old With New", which is WuChangShuo's ceative theory of painting, basically succeeded to the thought of the romantic painting renovator in both Ming and Qing dynasty. However, his motivation, motive power, painting methods, aesthetic criteria and so on contained the factors of the need of the reality and the spirit of the time. For the inheritance and changes of the traditional literary thought, the aesthetic spirit of his theory represented the traditional literators'artistic countermeasure. That is to arouse and change the vigorous factors of traditional literary thought and culture to meet the pressure from the reality, which was completed with the aid of the inherent inheritance of traditional culture by WuChangShuo and other painters in Hai Group. Only in the specific historic circumstances of the cultural collisions between ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign can the value and significance of his drawing theory completely show. To a certain extent, WuChangShuo and other painters in Hai Group offered a great valuable train of thought to the way of how Chinese traditional painting combining with realistic need and contemporary spirit. In the historic context of painting marketing, Hai Group's painting finds its living space and adds vitality to traditional painting, which will enlighten us to solve the problems of putting Chinese traditional painting in the market.