On The Lines Of Vitality In Chinese Painting

An important feature of Chinese painting distinguished from drawing in other countries is that choosing lines as main form of expressing. The theories on painting in every dynasty in China pay emphasis on line more than on colour. As to the form of expressing, the lines of Chinese painting have two types: one is delicate line, which has being marked the distinctive aesthetic value with the development from Warring States, two Han Dynasty, Wei and Jin Dynasty and Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty. The other kind of line is writing line. In Song and Yuan Dynasty, the scholar painting pursued the aim of writing and painting having a common source and painting using writing way, that made the technique of painting shoulder more subjective spirits. And the line changes more colorfully, even made the theory of Eighteen Depicts appear.This paper discusses the important role of line in Chinese painting from four aspects:Chapter 1 mainly describes the course of Chinese painting's development in remote antiquity. In fine arts in primitive society and pre-Qin, the forms of expressing from painting to applied arts are displaying by lines. Such as the primitive cliff carving has two making ways: one is drawing by soft tools contracted with colours. And another way is carving on the cliff by hard tools. The topic of design is very rich, but the forms can be divided into geometric figures and concrete images. Also the pattern bronzes in pre-Qin ages and the painting on silk choose line as main composition and expressing way.Chapter 2 describes that both painting and writing pursue the form beauty from their relationship and the feature of their same tool, writing brush. And then expresses the endless life form the viewpoint of the technique of writing. Zhang Yanyuan in Tang Dynasty and Zhao Mengfu in Yuan Dynasty respectively proposed the theories of writing and painting having a common source and painting using writing way, which is common on the emphasis on line and painting using the writing line as reference. The writing brush has especial advantage to stress the feature of line, and is easy to manifest the feature of plastic arts by line in writing and painting.Chapter 3 discusses the line drawing helped expressing ability of line develop to an unprecedented height by using rough sketch. The line drawing is the foundation of Chinese painting and the highest expressing form. The common feature of line drawing and rough sketch is composed of line. So they are all called line drawing. Wu Daozi, who is called painter of genius, created the beginning of line drawing. Baihua , which is another form of line drawing, was born with the thriving of fresco. The most important contribution of Li Gonglin is helping the Baihua develop into line drawing way, and that spured the latter one to be an independent course.Chapter 4 proves the influence of philosophical ideas on Chinese traditional aesthetics, which is the inevitable outcome for painters to choose line as art form of Chinese painting. Chinese traditional aesthetics with long history are influenced mainly by Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Especially Confucianism and Taoism,which are repelling and complement each other, found the main Chinese aesthetic spirits. That makes Chinese painting show different utterly form from Western drawing.The ending part concludes and emphasizes that the line is the life for Chinese painting. The reform and creation of Chinese painting must root the basic of Chinese nation and traditional culture. Otherwise, Chinese painting would lose its life and extinct among fine arts in the world.