On The Implication Of "Dan" In Chinese Landscape Painting

As one of the most important carriers in Chinese traditional culture, Chinese landscape painting is not only the intuitive expression of Chinese traditional aesthetics theory and art spirit, but also the direct manifestation of the view of life, nature and universe of Chinese people. It has dominated Chinese painting since the late Tang Dynasty for the reason that it is most similar to the "Dao" in the philosophy of Chinese ancient sages, as Laozi says:"Man follows the earth, the earth follows heaven, heaven follows Dao, and Dao follows nature"Chinese landscape painting has implied the Dao of sages from the beginning of its rise. Zong Bing in the Southern Dynasty once said:"the Dao of sages is expressed in the natural world."" Landscape with its appearance reflects the Dao",by which he was referring to the "Dao" of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Nearly all the later painters followed the art spirit of Taoism. When elaborating the core concept of Taoism, namely "Dao", Laozi has given it a new philosophical connotation by citing "Dan", which was used to indicate the taste. By the expressions of "But Tao is mild to the taste"" Tranquil is the best""indifference, loneness, vacancy and non-action"" Indifferent to the extreme" of Laozi and Zhuangzi, "Dan" has become the core of Taoism, a symbol of Taoism, which was the highest art standard that Dong Qichang in the late Ming Danysty setted for his paintings. "Nature is natural, is that the Dan". Throughout the development of Chinese landscape painting, countless landscape painters has pursued for the "Dan" as their supreme ideal.In this thesis, the author tried to solve the following questions based on the concept of "Dan":how has "Dan" become the aesthetic ideal of Chinese landscape painting? What is its specific connotation in different periods? How did the landscape painters in different dynasties paint their ideal "Dan"? And what is the value of "Dan" in modern Chinese landscape painting?This thesis is composed of six chapters. Chapter one illustrated the research significance of the present study. Chapter two is the explanation of the philosophical origin and esthetics characteristics in detail. Chapter three discussed the essence of "Dan" which Chinese landscape painting has regarded as its fundamental. Chapter four briefly talked about the essential connotation and current significance. In chapter five, the author analyzed the influence that "Dan" has to personal aesthetic thought and artistic expression by combining his own study and creative experiences. The last part concluded the connotation and meanings of "Dan" in Chinese landscape painting and reiterated the research significance.In conclusion, by studying the connotation and meanings of "Dan" in Chinese landscape painting, the author illustrated the fact that Chinese landscape painting could not do without "Dao" during its development. And the development and innovation of the form and skill in modern Chinese landscape painting could not lose the mind of nature. In the research, the author combined his own situation to explore and enhance his artistic culture and guide his creation path.