Author: Fan Ruihua
Title: Artist
Paper Title: The Direction of the Traditional Chinese Painting
Key words: imagery; holistic concept of The Absolute (t'ai chi);
Abstract:
Debates are going on about the fate of the traditional Chinese painting (TCP) among Chinese artists at the turn of the century. Some note that Chinese painting has come to a dead end; others argue it has no worth; still others say preserving it is the bottom line. But I myself want to use the holistic concept of t'ai chi to analyze its future development. There are four obstacles to the progress of the traditional Chinese painting: 1. too much emphasis on imagery results in the decline of the theory of TCP; 2. too much emphasis on the use of lines leads to monotony; and 3. the combination of TCP with western painting gives rise to confusion of artistic thinking. And the solution lies in the tradition, which is the philosophy of Taoism. Only in this way can TCP taps its potential and techniques, thus making further development.

Author Profile:
Through years of research on the techniques of Chinese ink and wash, Mr. Fan discarded the use of line and resorted to light and "surface", an renovation that enriched the expressiveness of the Chinese painting. His achievements can be attributed to his knowledge of music, Buddhism, calligraphy and poetry, all of which helped him to create paintings that are at once beautiful and metaphysical.

back