"Arts, Faculty of"@en . "Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of"@en . "DSpace"@en . "UBCV"@en . "Stocking, John Robert"@en . "2011-08-09T17:19:58Z"@en . "1968"@en . "Master of Arts - MA"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "This study is directed at the problem of an apparent contradiction within the theory of Chinese painting, between insistence on the importance of individuality in painting on the one hand, by Chinese critics, and on the other their veneration of traditional ways and means, subjects, styles, and the criteria used in judging excellence.\r\nSince this dichotomy is clearly embodied in the single most important document within the theory of Chinese painting, Hsieh Ho's Six Principles (the First and Sixth in particular), I have structured the first three parts of the thesis around an evaluation of Hsieh Ho's reputation, and the literal meaning of the First and Sixth principles, respectively. The method is essentially that of literary criticism, tempered, hopefully, by a familiarity with many of the great masterpieces of Chinese painting.\r\nIn the last two sections I moved from an evaluation of the values and customs of the social class which supported the art of painting, back to the theory itself. Within the scholar-official class, as a social entity, a similar apparent contradiction exists between the importance placed on individual freedom and talent in living, and the recognized authority of fixed tradition. Since this dichotomy is embodied within the apparently conflicting ways of Confucianism and Taoism, I have built my argument around these two socio-religious traditions. The method used is one of socio-philosophical analysis and interpretation.\r\nFrom a consideration of Confucianism and Taoism a set of relatively a-historical constants emerges: for Confucianism a moral imperative and the practice of calligraphy; for Taoism a metaphysical imperative and the practice of meditation. In the great literary and artistic tradition of China, a fifth constant exists, shared by the Confucian and the Taoist mind alike.\r\nMy formulation of these constants and evaluation of their inter-relationships, and interdependence, is almost completely philosophical--the intuitive and deductive construction of a resolution which seems to adequately explain all of the important issues. My actual presupposition that the conflict (between the individual talent and tradition) is illusory comes, foremost, from my sense of complete unity in the painting, and, secondly, from the fact that the Chinese themselves were never particularly aware of any such threat to the production of masterpieces of uncompromised spiritual significance. In the \"Introduction\" I suggest that the illusion of conflict or compromising conflict within the field-theory of Chinese painting is, very likely, based on a defensive Western cultural-egotism, and the superstition that the Orient has always negated the individual spirit while we in the new West alone know its true value. Once we emphathize with the Chinese scholar-painters, the illusion melts away.\r\nThe conclusion I reach is that the apparently opposing and conflicting elements are in fact complimentary and supportive, within the overall unity of the Chinese spirit. However, a certain irony must be admitted in that an a-historical, or universal level of being is a necessary postulate in order to consumate the resolution. That the Chinese themselves were convinced of the reality of such a metaphysical level, I have substantiated with quotations; and it is on this level that the result of Taoist meditation emerges as the supporting basis of the Confucian moral commitment to the essential goodness of man.\r\nIn a similar way the Confucian practice of calligraphy provides the essential technical equipment of the painter, and a ready-made audience of experts in brush work, while the final criteria for judging the excellence of painting is closely related to the experience of the Taoist mystic. Moralizing on the Confucian side of the coin takes the form of transmission of ideal types and subjects in painting, while the Taoist commitment to spontaneous use of the brush, on the other side, leads toward the unconscious lodging of individual moral character--and, conceivably, all within the same painting. Individual talent finds its freedom to live in expression primarily through the function of negative capability, while tradition, the authority of the sages, in strictly governing the artist's positive invention ironically preserves the ideal conditions under which the painter's negative capability may be activated."@en . "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/36612?expand=metadata"@en . "TRADITION AND INDIVIDUAL TALENT IN THE THEORY OF CHINESE PAINTING (The paradox of Hsieh Ho's F i r s t and S i x t h P r i n c i p l e s ) by' John R. Stocking A Thesis Submitted i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t of the Requirements f o r the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS i n the DEPARTMENT of FINE ARTS We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard. THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A p r i l 17 , 1968. In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s in p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r an advanced deg ree at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , I ag ree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s t u d y . I f u r t h e r ag ree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y pu rpo se s may be g r a n t e d by the Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n -t a t i v e s . I t i s u n d e r s t o o d t h a t c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i t h o u t my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Depa r tment The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Co lumb ia Vancouve r 8, Canada Date Mgj. cj, -Q 2 . / ? \u00C2\u00A3 8 ABSTRACT This study i s d i r e c t e d at the problem of an apparent co n t r a d i c t i o n within the theory of Chinese painting, between insis t e n c e on the importance of i n d i v i d u a l i t y i n painting on the one hand, by Chinese c r i t i c s , and on the other t h e i r veneration of t r a d i t i o n a l ways and means, subjects, s t y l e s , and the c r i t e r i a used i n judging excel-lence. Since t h i s dichotomy i s c l e a r l y embodied i n the single most important document within the theory of Chinese painting, Hsieh Ho's Six P r i n c i p l e s (the F i r s t and Sixth i n p a r t i c u l a r ) , I have structured the f i r s t three parts of the t h e s i s around an evaluation of Hsieh Ho's reputation, and the l i t e r a l meaning of the F i r s t and Sixth p r i n c i p l e s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . The method i s e s s e n t i a l l y that of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m , tempered, hopefully, by a f a m i l i a r i t y with many of the great masterpieces of Chinese painting. In the l a s t two sections I moved from an evaluation of the values and customs of the s o c i a l class which sup-ported the art of painting, back to the theory i t s e l f . Within the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c l a s s , as a s o c i a l e n t i t y , a s i m i l a r apparent co n t r a d i c t i o n e x i s t s between the impor-tance placed on i n d i v i d u a l freedom and talent i n l i v i n g , i and the recognized authority of f i x e d t r a d i t i o n . Since t h i s dichotomy i s embodied within the apparently c o n f l i c t i n g ways of Confucianism and Taoism, I have b u i l t my argument around these two s o c i o - r e l i g i o u s t r a d i t i o n s . The method used i s one of socio-philosophical analysis and interpre-t a t i o n . From a consideration of Confucianism and Taoism a set of r e l a t i v e l y a - h i s t o r i c a l constants emerges: f o r Confucianism a moral imperative and the p r a c t i c e of c a l l i -graphy; for Taoism a metaphysical imperative and the prac-t i c e of meditation. In the great l i t e r a r y and a r t i s t i c t r a d i t i o n of China, a f i f t h constant e x i s t s , shared by the Confucian and the Taoist mind a l i k e . My formulation of these constants and evaluation of t h e i r i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s h i p s , and interdependence, i s almost completely philosophical--the i n t u i t i v e and deduc-t i v e construction of a r e s o l u t i o n which seems to adequately explain a l l of the important issues. My actual presupposi-t i o n that the c o n f l i c t (between the i n d i v i d u a l talent and t r a d i t i o n ) i s i l l u s o r y comes, foremost, from my sense of complete u n i t y i n the painting, and, secondly, from the fact that the Chinese themselves were never p a r t i c u l a r l y aware of any such threat to the production of masterpieces of uncompromised s p i r i t u a l s i g n i f i c a n c e . In the \"Intro-duction\" I suggest that the i l l u s i o n of c o n f l i c t or compro-mising c o n f l i c t within the f i e l d - t h e o r y of Chinese painting i s , very l i k e l y , based on a defensive Western c u l t u r a l -egotism, and the s u p e r s t i t i o n that the Orient has always negated the i n d i v i d u a l s p i r i t while we i n the new West alone know i t s true value. Once we emphathize with the Chinese scholar-painters, the i l l u s i o n melts away. The conclusion I reach i s that the apparently opposing and c o n f l i c t i n g elements are i n fact complimentary and supportive, within the o v e r a l l u nity of the Chinese s p i r i t . However, a c e r t a i n irony must be admitted i n that an a - h i s t o r i c a l , or u n i v e r s a l l e v e l of being i s a recessary postulate i n order to consumate the r e s o l u t i o n . That the Chinese themselves were convinced of the r e a l i t y of such a metaphysical l e v e l , I have substantiated with quotations; and i t i s on t h i s l e v e l that the r e s u l t of Taoist meditation emerges as the supporting basis of the Confucian moral commitment to the e s s e n t i a l goodness of man. In a s i m i l a r way the Confucian p r a c t i c e of c a l l i -graphy provides the e s s e n t i a l t e c h n i c a l equipment of the painter, and a ready-made audience of experts i n brush work, while the f i n a l c r i t e r i a for judging the excellence i i i of painting i s c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to the experience of the Taoist mystic. Moralizing on the Confucian side of the coin takes the form of transmission of i d e a l types and subjects i n painting, while the Taoist commitment to spontaneous use of the brush, on the other side, leads toward the unconscious lodging of i n d i v i d u a l moral character\u00E2\u0080\u0094and, conceivably, a l l within the same painting. Individual talent finds i t s freedom to l i v e i n expression p r i m a r i l y through the function of negative c a p a b i l i t y , while t r a d i t i o n , the authority of the sages, i n s t r i c t l y governing the a r t i s t ' s p o s i t i v e invention i r o n i c a l l y preserves the i d e a l conditions under which the painter's negative c a p a b i l i t y may be activated. i v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter I. HSIEH HO . 5 II. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE 15 II I . THE SIXTH PRINCIPLE 26 IV. THE CONFUCIAN CONSTANTS OF CHINESE PAINTING ... 40 V. TAOISM, THE ALTERNATE CONVENTION 67 BIBLIOGRAPHY 79 APPENDIX I (Translations of the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Hsieh Ho) 83 APPENDIX II (Negative C a p a b i l i t y and Formal Values).. 87 v INTRODUCTION In developing a discussion around two of the c e n t r a l themes of aesthetic theory about painting i n China, the themes embodied i n Hsieh Ho's F i r s t and Sixth P r i n c i p l e s , i t has been a l l too easy to speak i n terms of \"paradox\" and \" c o n f l i c t \" within a system of thought which probably did not s t r i k e the Chinese as very paradoxical or c o n f l i c -t i n g . Though generated through the experience of something which d e f i n i t e l y e x i s t s , the paradox and tension of which I write i s r e a l only within our minds--our Western minds; and i t i s within the Western mind that I want most to reach a r e s o l u t i o n of the apparent competition between the needs of t r a d i t i o n and the needs of i n d i v i d u a l talent i n Chinese p a i n t i n g . The great t r a d i t i o n of Chinese painting forms a u n i t y of being, a m o r a l - a e s t h e t i c - h i s t o r i c a l continuum, a s e l f - d e f i n i n g wholeness which must be f u l l y r e a l i z e d before just appreciation can be f r e e l y granted to i n d i v i d u a l works. Through t h i s discussion I hope that what f i r s t seemed s u p e r f i c i a l l y a n t i t h e t i c a l w i l l come to reveal i t s e l f as profoundly complementary i n the f i n a l a n a l y s i s , and that the paradoxical w i l l begin to emerge as s e l f - e v i d e n t l y supporting. Perhaps strength and meaning 1 2 w i l l emerge out of the Eastern mist where we thought we recognized i n f e r i o r i t y and s u p e r s t i t i o n . And the mysterious \"mysticism\" of the East may take on the curiously f a m i l i a r colors of Dr. Einstein's universe. \u00C2\u00B0 The seeming f a i l u r e of the Chinese gentlemen painters to widely explore new materials, subject matter, and formal p r i n c i p l e s may seem paradoxical to the Westerner, i n view of the emphasis which the Chinese placed on an i n t u i t i v e approach to a r t , and the remarkable i n d i v i d u a l i s m which many of the great Chinese painters displayed i n t h e i r personal ways of l i f e . It i s the paradox between Hsieh Ho 1s F i r s t P r i n c i p l e , which dictates an almost mystical release of completely spontaneous brushwork, and the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , which i n s i s t s on the transmission of past expe-rience through the adherence to formal conventions, leading to a r e l a t i v e l y t i g h t vocabulary of brush strokes and representational modes, and--in the extreme\u00E2\u0080\u0094to the p r a c t i c e of a c t u a l l y copying the works and st y l e s of past masters. In other words, i f a painter values the i n t u i t i v e and spontaneous approach, does the close adherence to t r a d i t i o n , and c e r t a i n l y the act of copying, imply some kind of moral or aesthetic compromise\u00E2\u0080\u0094an hypocrisy, 3 dishonesty, a deviousness? That i s what many Westerners would l i k e to think i s true, and that i s what one hears from not a few academics among us as they c r i t i c i z e the Chinese i n defending Western art i n i t s own terms, i . e . Western art displays more material and te c h n i c a l inventive-ness, v a r i e t y , a more o r i g i n a l and dynamic evolution of meanings, etc. Now, I am sure what i s a c t u a l l y involved i n t h i s sort of defensive a t t i t u d e on the part of the West i s a deep-seated fear of i t s own s p i r i t u a l inadequacy (as expressed i n the materialism and vainglory of much of i t s a r t ) , and a subsequent desire to devaluate i t s natural mirror i n the East\u00E2\u0080\u0094which shows us just what we are \u00E2\u0080\u0094 on grounds which are e s s e n t i a l l y based on delusions of r a c i a l and c u l t u r a l s u p e r i o r i t y . Needless to say, we do not fear the East because of some o v e r a l l c u l t u r a l s u p e r i o r i t y to the West, which i t obviously lacks, but because acceptance of the East on i t s own terms reveals much to the Western mind about i t s e l f which i t l i k e s to avoid knowing, and which i t would l i k e to continue to avoid knowing u n t i l the end. What I have attempted to do i n t h i s paper i s to resolve the seeming paradox of t r a d i t i o n and the i n d i -v i d u a l talent i n Chinese p a i n t i n g . And, i n addition, I have also attempted to explain i t i n h i s t o r i c a l terms. The h i s t o r i c a l explanation i s concerned mainly with such matters of fact as the p r a c t i c e of c a l l i g r a p h y , the t r a -d i t i o n a l social-economic r o l e of the Chinese painter, the Chinese a t t i t u d e toward nature, h i s t o r y , and a r t . The r e s o l u t i o n of the paradox depends upon an evaluation of the c e n t r a l control source responsible for the appearance of any phenomenon, meditation or action, within time--i.e. the human mind as a bio-cybernetic information-processing device. D i f f i c u l t i e s have arisen, and w i l l be experienced by the reader, i n the area where the two f a c t o r s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 h i s t o r y and the abstract mind\u00E2\u0080\u0094come together, areas of philoso-p h i c a l speculation. Hopefully, the confusion which develops w i l l not be on a communication-blocking l e v e l . I. HSIEH HO Within the East Asian f i e l d of reference i t i s f i t t i n g that the f i r s t known art the o r i s t of major impor-tance came to be accepted as the greatest authority.\"'\" Hsieh Ho did not write h i s famous t r e a t i s e on painting, the Ku hua-p'in l u (The Old C l a s s i f i e d Record of Pain t e r s ) , 2 u n t i l 475 A.D., or quite late i n the h i s t o r y of Chinese philosophy. (The t r a d i t i o n a l dates f o r Confucius are 3 551-479 B.C.). Yet, as the development of a c r i t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e on painting was about 1000 years behind the development of thought i n the areas of p o l i t i c s , morals, and metaphysics, Hsieh Ho could s t i l l be f i r s t . The p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e of h i s primacy must be emphasized, i f we are to attempt to look at the problem from a Chinese point of view. Edwin 0. Reischauer and John K. Fairbank, East Asia The Great T r a d i t i o n (Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n Com-p a n y ,~~1958), p.~~69 2 Michael S u l l i v a n , The B i r t h of Landscape Painting In China (Berkeley: The Uni v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1962), p. 105. 3 Reischauer, Great T r a d i t i o n , p.. 69. 5 6 Like Confucius, Hsieh Ho never claimed to be 4 an o r i g i n a t o r of the ideas he c o d i f i e d , but rather, a transmitter of ideas already i n e x t r i c a b l y woven into the f a b r i c of the great t r a d i t i o n , as he, himself, says i n introducing the Old Record of the C l a s s i f i c a t i o n of Painters.^'^ What he had to say had doubtless been said before on countless occasions when scholars met and discussed painting and, more important, the f i n e art of c a l l i g r a p h y . The roots of the famous Six P r i n c i p l e s of Hsieh Ho were deep, grounded, as Acker suggests, not merely i n the c r i t i c i s m of c a l l i g r a p h y , but most l i k e l y also i n a system for judging horses which originated during the previous dynasty.'' It was not so much the o r i g i n a l i t y or newness of what Hsieh Ho wrote that ^William Theodore DeBary, (ed.), Sources of Chinese T r a d i t i o n (New York: Columbia U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1960), pp. 15-20. ^Osvald Siren, The Chinese on the Art of Painting, (New York: Schocken Books, 1963), p. 18. ^William Reynolds Beal Acker, Some T 1ang and Pre-T'ang Texts on Chinese Painting (Leiden: E. J . B r i l l , 1954), p. 5. Ibid., L I I I and XXXIV. 7 accounts for h i s fame, but rather i t s u n i v e r s a l accepta-b i l i t y within the great t r a d i t i o n , and the way i n which he expressed i t i n w r i t i n g . It i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that, although h i s s t y l e as a painter had much that was i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c or novel, o r i g i n a l and clever, he was always placed i n i n f e r i o r categories by l a t e r c r i t i c s , who seemed to agree that the way i n which he gained h i s e f f e c t s was s u p e r f i c i a l . We may be sure that Hsieh Ho was a painter, and learn a few things about h i s painting, mainly because of information found i n the Hsu Hua P 1 i n by Yao Tsui ( c i r c a . 550), the second oldest major t h e o r e t i c a l - h i s t o r i c a l g work on painting i n Chinese which i s known, and from which I w i l l quote the section on Hsieh Ho, using Acker's t r a n s l a t i o n . In painting people's p o r t r a i t s he (Hsieh Ho) did not have to s i t opposite them and keep looking. A l l he needed was one glance and he would go to work and wield h i s brush. His dots and sweeps are polished and r e f i n e d , and h i s a t t e n t i o n was f i x e d on (getting) a close likeness. (Even to) the expression of the eyes and the least h a i r , a l l was (done) without a single s l i p or omission. (Even) the f e s t i v e robes and the cosmetics (of his g Siren, Art of Painting, p. 9. 8 women) changed according to the times, and he made straight eyebrows or curved forehead locks, according to the l a t e s t (fashion) i n the world's a f f a i r s . Such refinement i n the d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of st y l e s generally speaking began with (Hsieh) Ho, but the consequence i s that he has set a l l the (men from the) back a l l e y s to chasing a f t e r unessentials so that they a l l resemble (the ugly women) who imitated the frown (of the famous beauty). For i n what concerns s p i r i t resonance and the es s e n t i a l soul, he was far from fathoming the meaning of v i t a l i t y . The path of h i s brush was tenuous and weak which i l l accords with a f e e l i n g of vigour and c l a s s i c elegance. W i l l , ever since the Chung Hsing era (501) ^ no one had equalled him i n portraying people. And, according to G i l e s , i t would appear that Huang Po-ssu (the Sung scholar and art c r i t i c ) had access to a copy of a painting by Hsieh Ho, of which he wrote as follows i n a b r i e f note: The p i c t u r e of the Emperor Ming T i of the Chin dynasty (A.D. 323-326) r i d i n g i n h i s wheeled chair, was painted by Hsieh Ho of the Southern Ch'i dynasty. Although t h i s i s only a copy which has been handed down, the concep-t i o n and likeness are those of ancient times; but to place a small table i n the chair, and to display two carrying-poles alongside, i s not^ at a l l i n accordance with t r a d i t i o n . . . Further, at the time of the Eastern Chin dynasty, hats and boots had not come into general fashion, yet i n t h i s picture we see the eunuchs wearing Acker, T 1 ang and Pre-^-T1 ang Texts, p. 45. 9 them. Concerning Hsieh Ho as painter, l i t t l e else of value remains to inform us. Concerning h i s character, there seem to be many legends, but nothing of clear-cut h i s t o r i c a l worth. In evaluating the b r i e f material which has been quoted, i t would seem that, while Hsieh Ho recognized the Six P r i n c i p l e s i n order to record them, he was not able to abide by them i n p r a c t i c e , nor to embody the F i r s t P r i n c i p l e i n h i s painting at a l l . Thus he was condemned as a painter by l a t e r c r i t i c s using the very c r i t e r i a he had established. Apparently, to a man l i k e Yao Tsui, who wrote only f i f t y years a f t e r Hsieh's death, the author of the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Chinese Painting was no immortal or sage, l i k e Confucius, but merely a good c r i t i c who could not paint very w e l l . Since the painting seen by Huang Po-ssu was c l e a r l y a copy, l i t t l e value may be attached to i t , and one must conclude that no paintings by Hsieh Ho have survived, nor reasonable descriptions other than what Yao Tsui has to o f f e r . \"^Herbert A. G i l e s , An Introduction to the History of Chinese P i c t o r i a l Art, (Shanghai: Kelley and Walsh, Ltd., 1905), pp. 27-28. 10 As S u l l i v a n suggests, Yao Tsui's c r i t i c i s m of Hsieh Ho's paintings, that they lacked l i f e movement or s p i r i t resonance\u00E2\u0080\u0094the most important of the \" s i x elements,\" 11 constitutes a \"scathing v e r d i c t . \" S u l l i v a n , himself, speaks of Hsieh Ho's \"mediocrity as a painter,\" and goes on to conclude that he was \"doubtless a pedantic c r i t i c 12 whose taste leaned toward meticulous realism . . . \" His p o r t r a i t s must have been more clever than profound, with an i n t e r e s t i n d e t a i l and a l i m i t e d kind of personal c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n overriding the expression of u n i v e r s a l moral and metaphysical p r i n c i p l e s which the Chinese i n t e l l e c t u a l has always valued above t e c h n i c a l f a c i l i t y or o r i g i n a l i t y . And, as a c r i t i c , how could he have looked well at Ku K'ai-chih's paintings and s t i l l placed him (of whose well-established greatness we have considerable 13 evidence),in the t h i r d rank of painters? Why does he place Wang Wei i n the even lower fourth class? These, and other questions about Hsieh*s a b i l i t y as a painter and i n t e g r i t y as a c r i t i c , which tend to support Sullivan's v e r d i c t , must go unanswered. \"'\"'''Sullivan, B i r t h of Landscape Paint ing, p. 106, 12 Ibid. 13 Acker, T 1ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, p. 17. Hsieh Ho's fame grew s t e a d i l y because he was the f i r s t writer to o f f i c i a l l y , or formally record--to uphold and t r a n s m i t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a set of p r i n c i p l e s which i n and of themselves surround the secret of Chinese painting, the Tao, just as the p o l i t i c a l philosophy of the Duke of Chou (transmitted by Confucius) embodies the Chinese moral and p o l i t i c a l sense. Although he was c e r t a i n l y not a great sage l i k e Confucius, Hsieh Ho's name was attached to the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Chinese Painting because of h i s l i t e r a r y - h i s t o r i c a l contribution. He passed them on i n a written s t y l e which the l a t e r Chinese took as c l a s s i c prose. To quote the s i n o l o g i s t , Acker, \"The s t y l e i n which i t (Ku Hua P'in Lu) i s written i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the period, c l o s e l y k n i t , elegant and polished, with nearly a l l the sentences arranged i n c a r e f u l l y balanced 14 p a i r s . This same d e s c r i p t i o n applies c l o s e l y to the Wen-fu of Lu Chi (261-303 A.D.), a remarkable work i n rhymeprose and the f i r s t comprehensive theory of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m i n C h i n a . B u t , unlike the Wen-fu of Lu Chi, i t i s hard to believe that the Six P r i n c i p l e s 1 4 I b i d . , XIV. ^ J o h n L. Bishop (ed.), Studies i n Chinese L i t e r a -ture (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1965) pp. 3-41. of Hsieh Ho contain any of t h e i r author's o r i g i n a l thought It would be better to think i n terms of The Six P r i n c i p l e s of Chinese Painting, which Hsieh Ho transmitted, rather than i n terms of Hsieh Ho's Six P r i n c i p l e s . As anyone who has read The Chinese on the Art of Paint ing w i l l agree, the \"Six P r i n c i p l e s . . . \" survived and f l o u r i s h e d with great tenacity i n the minds of Chinese scholar painters, c r i t i c s , and art h i s t o r i a n s . \" ^ As a r e s u l t , they have also drawn the att e n t i o n of most writers i n English, Japanese, and other foreig n languages, when dealing with questions of the theory of painting i n China. As \u00C2\u00A7oper remarks, \"...they s a t i s f i e d the genera requirements of c l a s s i c a l lore by being at once ancient, terse, and s u p e r f i c i a l l y simple about a core of mystery... In t h i s paper, although questions of l i t e r a l meaning and t r a n s l a t i o n of texts are i n t e r e s t i n g and e s s e n t i a l to the understanding of the basic problem, and w i l l be dealt with, the int e r e s t here i s not with Hsieh Ho's \"^Siren, Art of Painting. \"^Alexander C. Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws of Hsieh Ho,\" The Far Eastern Quarterly: Review of Eastern Asia and the Adjacent P a c i f i c Islands, V o l . 8 ( i t h i c a , New York: C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1948-49), p. 412. 13 r e n d i t i o n f o r i t s own sake, but rather i n i t s function as a v e h i c l e of h i s t o r i c a l and t r a n s - h i s t o r i c , or u n i v e r s a l , meaning. In 1954, William R. B. Acker published an exten-sive t e c h n i c a l study of Some T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts on Chinese Painting (Leiden, E. J . B r i l l ) , including Hsieh Ho's Ru Hua P 1 i n Lu. In his argument concerning the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Hsieh Ho, he attempts to prove that of the four Chinese characters which were previously thought to make up each p r i n c i p l e , only the f i r s t two comprise the p r i n c i p l e , while the l a s t two provide a d e f i n i t i o n . Thus, i n t r a n s l a t i n g the Six P r i n c i p l e s he presents only the f i r s t two characters of each l i n e , although he provides a t r a n s l a t i o n of the \" d e f i n i t i o n s \" elsewhere i n hi s text. The r e s u l t i s a t r a n s l a t i o n which I cannot help but f e e l , i n i t s ideogramatic concen-t r a t i o n , i s much closer to the way i n which the Chinese wrote and thought. A comparison of Acker's t r a n s l a t i o n with e a r l i e r readings by men l i k e Laurence Binyon, F r i e d r i c h H i r t h , Shio Sakanishi, Arthur Waley, and to a c e r t a i n extent, Osvald Siren ( i n which the p r i n c i p l e s and the d e f i n i t i o n s tend to be interpreted more as whole sentences or phrases), w i l l i l l u s t r a t e what I mean. 14 (See Appendix I ) . Most leading contemporary.scholars of Chinese painting, such as Alexander Soper, William Cohn, Sherman E. Lee, Michael S u l l i v a n , and Laurence Sickman, base t h e i r t r a n s l a t i o n s at least i n part on Acker's 18 i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , although some go on to cast the meaning established by Acker into standard English sentences or phrases. In dealing with the l i t e r a l meaning of the f i r s t and s i x t h p r i n c i p l e s i n the next two sections of t h i s paper, I have r e l i e d heavily on Acker's opinion. Laurence Sickman and Alexander Soper, The Art and Architecture of China (Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1956), p. 65. II. THE FIRST PRINCIPLE Of the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Chinese Painting, the f i r s t has received by f a r the most att e n t i o n from writers i n China and i n the West.''\" Its p h i l o s o p h i c a l r a m i f i c a -tions and implications surround a p h i l o s o p h i c a l - r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f , or f a c t , which i n i t s e l f unlocks the door to understanding the other f i v e laws. For the Chinese i t was a concept which expands to touch every area of a c t i o n and meditation i n l i f e , and, l i k e the Indian concept of Brahman or the medieval C h r i s t i a n concept of Light, came to the c r i t i c i s m of art from a p h i l o s o p h i c a l system already complete with morals, metaphysics, l o g i c , and p o l i t i c s . Obviously such a lineage makes the problem of adequate t r a n s l a t i o n into the language of another culture extremely d i f f i c u l t , p a r t i c u l a r l y when the culture and i t s language embody the values of a people at odds with the kind of l i f e s o l u t i o n which the Chinese system i n e v i t a b l y suggests. In t r a n s l a t i n g the f i r s t binome, the f i r s t of Hsieh Ho's Six P r i n c i p l e s ( c h ' i yun), Acker adheres to 1Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws,\" p. 412. 16 2 Siren's e a r l i e r rendering as \"Spirit-Resonance.\" Although Alexander Soper eventually decides i n favor of the \"less s p e c i f i c \" (but also less dynamic) \" S p i r i t -Consonance,\" the argument he uses i s almost i d e n t i c a l to Acker's, and he also considers \"Spirit-Resonance\" as a f a i r l y adequate d e f i n i t i o n as long as the.English meaning 3 of \"Resonance\" i s c l e a r l y defined. The general argument of these two t r a n s l a t o r s may be outlined roughly as follows. Before Han times, the character \"Ch'i,\" although already ancient and charged with the implication of r e l i g i o u s - p h i l o s o p h i c a l profundity, was used i n a r e l a t i v e l y undiscriminating way. It could r e f e r to man's actual p h y s i c a l breath, or to a number of v i t a l humours or q u a s i - s c i e n t i f i c f l u i d s generated by the i n t e r n a l organs then thought to con t r o l the personality, or, perhaps by implication, to d e f i n i t e l y psychological concepts, i . e . man's abstract \" s p i r i t , \" h i s \"passion-nature,\" h i s \"presence\" or s p i r i t u a l s t y l e . And, i n connection with what we might c a l l the \"natural world,\" 2 Acker, T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, XXIX. 3 Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws,\" p. 412. 17 i t was also used to express a sense of some primal element or ether, the e s s e n t i a l energy-transmitting element of the whole world continuum, something at once u n i v e r s a l and yet capable of p a r t i c u l a r i z a t i o n under concrete circumstance i n time and space. By Han times, however, the two general uses of the one character \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i n reference to nature and i n reference to man as part of nature\u00E2\u0080\u0094had been f a i r l y w e ll fused into a single p h i l o s o p h i c a l system, or cosmology, as the c e n t r a l metaphysical p r i n c i p l e . Soper attempts to explain i n English prose, as follows: A primordial \" c h i \" had existed at the beginning of time before the appearance of created forms. The f i r s t act of creation had been the separation of t h i s ether into i t s grosser and subtler components, which became the n u c l e i of earth and heaven, res p e c t i v e l y , and the agents i n further cosmic i n t e r a c t i o n and subdivision. In the mature universe were a l l kinds and conditions of \" c h ' i \" , i n d i v i d u a l or c o l l e c t i v e , grouped about a common q u a l i t y of r e l a t i o n s h i p , parceled out into numerical categories. At the same time, as t h e i r common name suggested, a l l these units and groups, the \" c h ' i \" of rock, the \" c h ' i \" of the human s p i r i t , the \" c h ' i \" of meteorological phenomena and of the d i v i s i o n s of time, were i n some way one. Here, half-formed and s t i l l f u l l of gaps and contradictions, was the kind of tremendous metaphysical concept that i n Indian thought was more systematically presented under the names of Atman and Brahman, or even Buddha. Its p o t e n t i a l value f o r the more mystical side of Chinese painting theory 18 i s s e l f - e v i d e n t . To get s u b s t a n t i a l l y c l o s e r to the c e n t r a l meaning of t h i s idea i n English, i t i s necessary to pass over a l l of the c r i t i c s and l i t e r a r y - p h i l o s o p h i c a l hacks who have waxed eloquent on the subject, and con-sul t a true poet. In the passage I quote from \"Lines above T i n t e r n Abbey,\" Wordsworth speaks of a force d i s t i n c t l y r e l a t e d to the Chinese concept of \" c h ' i , \" and--what i s most important \u00E2\u0080\u0094 does so i n a way which can recreate the f e e l i n g of the experience described, evoking as well as defining the event i t s e l f . And I have f e l t A presence that disturbs me with the joy Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling i s the l i g h t of s e t t i n g suns, And the round ocean and the l i v i n g a i r , And the blue sky, and the mind of man; A motion and a s p i r i t , that impels A l l thinking things, a l l o b j e c t s of a l l thought, And r o l l s through a l l things. The defining binome, or explanatory equivalent of \" c h ' i yun\" i s \"sheng tung\" which tra n s l a t e s unequivo-cably as \" l i f e - m o t i o n . \" ^ The appropriateness of t h i s Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws,\" p. 419. Ernest Bernbaum, Anthology of Romanticism (New binome w i l l be apparent at once to anyone who has watched a master c a l l i g r a p h e r or painter i n a c t i o n . Chinese painting i s a performing a r t , not unlike the dance i n i t s requirements, but with the difference that i t i s s e l f - r e c o r d i n g . The c r i t e r i a f o r judging i t s excellence i s i m p l i c i t i n the f i r s t p r i n c i p l e : the record l e f t i n the ink on the paper must be the record of a c t i o n which u n s e l f i s h l y p a r t i c i p a t e s , which f r e e l y becomes a knowing part of the primary processes of c r e a t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 p r o c e s s e s which for the Chinese were the impelling forces of l i f e , the source of l i f e * s - m o t i o n i n \" a l l thinking things\" and \" a l l objects of a l l thought.\" \"Yun,\" the second character of the binome which i s the f i r s t law, poses few problems to the t r a n s l a t o r when compared with the ancient and enigmatic \"Ch'i.\" To quote again from Soper's a r t i c l e : 'Yun,' i n contrast, was for Hsieh Ho a r e l a t i v e l y new character that had had l i t t l e opportunity to grow i n meaning. The K'ang-shi d i c t i o n a r y c i t e s ancient authority to the e f f e c t that i t was a new creation of the post-Han period, a response to the greater i n t e r e s t of York: The Ronald Press Company, 1 9 4 8 ) , p. 1 9 3 . 6Acker, T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, XXXII. 20 that age i n problems of poetic form. Out of t h i s need, then, of i n d i c a t i n g a precise sound r e l a t i o n s h i p comes i t s primary trans-l a t i o n , \"rhyme.\" In the \"Wen h s i n t i a o lung,\" ch. 33, i t i s the subject of a valuable d e f i -n i t i o n , contrasting i t with the \"ho,\" normally t r a n s l a t e d as \"harmony:\" \"When d i f f e r i n g sounds are i n mutual accord, one speaks of '\"ho.\" When notes of the same key respond to one another, one speaks of \"yun.\" 7 He goes on to quote from the Book of Changes, perhaps the c l a s s i c most important as a source of aesthetic philosophy to the poet and painter a l i k e , where a \"supplementary explanation\" of a hexagram, t r a d i t i o n a l l y ascribed to Confucius, speaks of sympathetic v i b r a t i o n of strings i n r e l a t i o n to \" c h ' i . \" Notes of the same key respond to one another; creatures of the same nature, \" c h ' i , \" seek one another. Thus water flows down toward wetness, while f i r e aspires toward dryness; clouds follow the dragon, and winds the t i g e r . The sage appears, and a l l things look to him. A l l that has i t s o r i g i n i n Heaven i s drawn upward; a l l that has i t s o r i g i n i n Earth i s drawn downward; for everything follows i t s kind. Developed by the post-Han philosophers under the name of \"yun,\" t h i s metaphor to p h y s i c a l phenomena observable i n musical instruments came to accompany the Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws,\" p. 419. Ibid., p. 421. 21 primary concept of \" c h ' i . \" \"Yun\" was thus thought of as the condition i n which \" a l l thinking things, a l l objects of a l l thought\" v i b r a t e or resonate sympa-t h e t i c a l l y , or are impelled or energized by the d i r e c t primal source, gaining self-evident presence by sharing i n i t s authority. It i s a responsiveness, an active or v i t a l cooperation, a submergence within and r e a l i z a t i o n through the e s s e n t i a l currents of cosmic energy at work creating the world, rather than a r e b e l l i n g or struggling against the natural order out of the ignorance of s e l f i s h n e s s . In English, Coleridge comes close to expressing the f e e l i n g and meaning of the Chinese concept, i n these l i n e s from \"The E o l i a n Harp.\" And what i f a l l of animated nature Be but organic harps d i v e r s e l y framed, That tremble into thought, as o'er them sweeps P l a s t i c and vast, one i n t e l l e c t u a l breeze, 9 At once the soul of each and God of a l l ? Hsieh Ho used the character, \"yun,\" f r e e l y , but he appears to have meant about the same thing by i t i n each case, as one can see from the examples Acker quotes: Bernbaum, Anthology of Romanticism,p. 140. 22 shen yun soul resonance t ' i 1 yun s t y l e tone c h 1 i n g yun emotional resonance yun ya resonance and c l a s s i c elegance 10 He goes on to explain: In a l l these binomes \"yun\" (resonance) seems to point to a sort of vibrant q u a l i t y i n the works of the painters of whom he uses these terms--lingering resonances or over-tones of the painter's own soul, nervous energy, f e e l i n g , etc. Some scholars have t r i e d to bring out the \"rhyme\" sense of \"yun\" by sug-gesting that i t might mean the conveyance of the a r t i s t ' s own emotion to others by means of the work of a r t , and they would, there-fore, explain \" c h ' i yun\" as sympathetic v i b r a t i o n s of the \" s p i r i t \" between the painter and the c r i t i c brought about through the medium of the work of a r t . Or, i n other words, the work of art should have the power of evoking i n the c r i t i c the same f e e l i n g s which i n s p i r e d the painter when he created i t . Those who take t h i s view support i t by pointing out that another character, \"yun,\" (to convey, transport) i s often used instead of \"yun\" (resonance, sympathetic v i b r a t i o n s , etc.) and that the use of t h i s character proves thatts Chang Yen-yuan and the other early writers who substituted i t , must have understood by Hsieh's \" c h ' i yun\" some sort of transference of emotion from person to person by means of works of a r t . 11 Acker, 1 1 T V , Ibid. T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, XXXII. 23 In dealing with the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , and the problem of copying i n p a r t i c u l a r , i t w i l l be important to remember that these early writers emphasized the po s s i -b i l i t y of contact transfer of \" c h ' i \" or v i t a l s p i r i t , a s p i r i t u a l communication, through completed works of a r t . So much i s cl e a r . However, since the Chinese did not h a b i t u a l l y d i s t i n g u i s h between body and s p i r i t , mind and matter, as we are accustomed to doing i n the West, some confusion i s bound to occur f o r us i n attempting to get at what \" c h ' i \" a c t u a l l y meant, and what the process of \"yun\" e n t a i l e d : was \"yun\" the i n t e l l e c t u a l or mental r e a l i z a t i o n of s c i e n t i f i c (cosmological) f a c t , or was i t a p h y s i c a l (emotional) re a c t i o n to some kind of u n i v e r s a l idea? Were both \"yun\" and \" c h ' i \" thought of i n terms of consciousness,or idea, or were they both known purely as p h y s i c a l forces experienced by man? The answer, of course, i s that some form of u n i v e r s a l mind or conscious-ness i s involved, but that t h i s force i s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 o r at least was for the Chinese--a r e a l i t y which existed on a l e v e l s i m i l a r to the l e v e l on which we place such s c i e n t i f i c notions as quantum mechanics or magnetic wave t h e o r y -l e v e l s of an a b s t r a c t l y s p i r i t u a l nature, to be sure, butfe also of concrete a c t u a l i t y . We may not understand the 2 4 universe of Dr. E i n s t e i n , but no doubt most of us believe f e r v e n t l y i n i t s existence, and on occasion may even receive intimations concerning i t s nature. With much less recorded data to go on, the Chinese also seem to have had a deep f a i t h i n some primary undernetting, and took t h i s constant and never-changing base as a c a t e g o r i c a l reference point i n dealing with a l l p h i l o s o p h i c a l - s c i e n t i f i c problems--moral, aesthetic, and h i s t o r i c a l . For the ancient Chinese the sage was the man who knows. And, not merely knows, but knows he knows and i s not a f r a i d to speak h i s mind or to act. His absolute knowledge leads to t o t a l commitment and spontaneous ac t i o n based on an i n t u i t i v e grasp of the m o r a l - h i s t o r i c a l -aesthetic s i t u a t i o n . As i n the case of the legendary Duke of Chou, the sage model of Confucian p o l i t i c a l philosophy, action, based on absolute knowledge and cooperation with the pre-ordained order, becomes vibrant with the energy of \" c h ' i , \" and once charged with the w i l l of the cosmos i s i r r e s i s t a b l y e f f e c t i v e . Yet, i n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, the Chinese Superman i s not amoral. For the Chinese world order was an extremely human v i s i o n , and r a r e l y begins to approach the mechanistic n e u t r a l i t y of our 25 s c i e n t i f i c cosmology. Enlightened action was, a f t e r a l l , nothing more than cooperation with the * w i l l of Heaven.\" Fortunately, the p o l i t i c a l f e a s i b i l i t y of ch a r i s -matic leadership i s beyond the scope of t h i s paper. The only point i s that s p i r i t resonance, or sympathy-empathy with cosmic energy patterns, was not thought of as a means to enter c e r t a i n s t a t i c r e l i g i o u s - a e s t h e t i c realms of consciousness \u00E2\u0080\u0094 realms of disinvolvement\u00E2\u0080\u0094as was so often the case i n India. \"Tuning-in\" was f i r s t of a l l a way of unlocking an unusual kind of spontaneous action force; and Chinese pain t i n g i s the ultimate form of ac t i o n p a i n t i n g . I I I . THE SIXTH PRINCIPLE As one can see at once from scanning the various renderings of the Sixth P r i n c i p l e ( l i s t e d i n the Appendix), there i s almost no disagreement concerning i t s general meaning. Some kind of transmission and conveying from the t r a d i t i o n of Chinese painting was intended; and, t h i s should occur through a mechanism of formal reproduction such as the learning of models, s t y l e s , and the actual making of copies. Only the t r a n s l a t i o n of Herbert G i l e s (as \" F i n i s h \" ) , which must have been some kind of joke, c o n f l i c t s with the general consensus. The r e a l issue centers around the question of what kind of \"transmission\" i s meant, and what kind of \"models\" or c l a s s i c examples; and, more important, i s p u l l i n g \"the great cart of t r a -d i t i o n \" compatible with the search for l i f e - b r e a t h at a l l ? If the v i t a l \" c h ' i \" i s a v a i l a b l e to a l l , at a l l times, to be accepted by anyone who can take i t , why waste time memorizing the s t y l e s of dead masters? Of the f i r s t two characters which, i n Acker's opinion, form Hsieh Ho's Sixth P r i n c i p l e (Ch'uan and i ) , he writes as follows: 26 27 The combination ch'uan 1. which the Ku Hua P'in Lu has for the Sixth Element seems to occur nowhere else, and i s not to be found i n any Chinese or Japanese dicti o n a r y . The f i r s t character, ch'uan, means \"to transmit,\" to \"hand on,\" \"continue,\" etc., and the second, i., means \"to s h i f t , \" \"to change,\" \"to influence,\" but also \"to send,\" \"to transmit,\" \"to convey,\" etc., i n which i t s meaning i s very close to that of ch'uan. One might render the binome f a i r l y l i t e r a l l y with the words, \"transmission and conveying.\" Hsieh Ho gives as equivalent the binome mu hsieh, mu, meaning \"to take as a model,\" and hsieh, \"to render f a i t h f u l l y , \" \"to copy.\"-'-Without the defining or \"equivalent\" binome, a t r a n s l a t o r might conceivably take the f i r s t binome to mean some form of n a r r a t i v e transmission, as i n s t o r y - t e l l i n g , 2 i . e . the l i t e r a l handing on of ideas. However, (Acker f e e l s ) , the second binome makes i t clear that \"some sort of copying i s intended, perhaps of a rather free nature, the idea being that one should be able to paint i n a v a r i e t y of s t y l e s , and copy famous masterpieces with f a c i l i t y , thus producing a b e a u t i f u l thing, and at the same 3 time helping to ' p u l l the great cart of t r a d i t i o n ' . \" Acker, T'ang and Pre-Tang Texts, XXXIX. 2 I b i d . , XL, 3 I b i d . 28 I r o n i c a l l y , t h i s makes l i t t l e d i f ference; f o r i t was not the older Imperial L i b r a r y manuscript of the Ku Hua P'in Lu (which Acker uses), but Chang Yen-yuan's quotation of the Six P r i n c i p l e s of Hsieh Ho ( i n L i T a i 4 Ming Hua Chi) which most l a t e r Chinese were f a m i l i a r with and tended to use. In t r e a t i n g the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , Chang changes what appears to have been Hsieh Ho's o r i g i n a l wording (\"ch'uan i mu hsieh\") to \"ch'uan mu i hsieh. The binome \"ch'uan mu\" (\"taking as a model\") was i n Chang's time, and continued to be, a commonly-used term for copying i n pain t i n g ; ^ although of course i n Chinese ink pai n t i n g there can be no \"copying\" i n the sense we use the word i n the West. That i s to say, the c o n t r o l l i n g information syndrome responsible f o r the hand movement of the copyist--the c o n t r o l l i n g information within h i s mind--must come close to d u p l i c a t i n g the master's. T h e o r e t i c a l l y , for a perfect copy to be made a near-mystical communication must take place between the master and the copycist, through the 4 Acker, T'ang and Pre-T*ang Texts, p. 61. 5Acker, T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, XLI. 6 I b i d . 29 masterpiece\u00E2\u0080\u0094an emphatic t r a n s - h i s t o r i c communication by means of which the copyist \"becomes\" the master, i n the sense that h i s mind conforms to the thought patterns and le v e l s of consciousness of the master at the time of painting the o r i g i n a l . In the fourth section of the paper i t w i l l be possible to explore t h i s notion further, f o r , though perhaps not altogether f e a s i b l e t a c t i c a l l y , the idea of t r a n s - h i s t o r i c communication by way of art i s quite a l o g i c a l one within the Chinese aesth e t i c . Acker puts i t very w e l l : One reason why copying as d i s t i n c t from t r a c i n g i s not so much looked down upon i n China as i n the West i s no doubt the circum-stance that the average painting was not the c a r e f u l l y elaborated confection th^t the t r a -d i t i o n a l European paintings were, a l l the l i n e s of which could be made as slowly and painstakingly as one wished. The nature of the brush l i n e i s such that i f the copy i s to be any good at a l l the brush must be moved with some speed and considerable c o n t r o l . They should be made at about the same rate of speed which the painter of the o r i g i n a l masterpiece employed, and with as nearly as possible the same vigour and dexterity.. 7 Hsieh Ho, himself, was apparently s k e p t i c a l about the work a b i l i t y of d i r e c t copying as a way to enlightened s t y l e Acker, T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts, XL. 30 i n p ainting, or, at least understood that copying must come from within as part of a s p i r i t u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p with the past, and not merely as a mechanical exercise. In h i s short section on the painter, \" L i u Shao-tzu\" (placed i n the f i f t h c l a s s ) , he writes as follows: He excelled i n copying but did not study the thought of those (whose works he copied). In (the genre) sparrows and s q u i r r e l s h i s brushwork i s bold and free, and occasionally stands out from the crowd. His contempo-r a r i e s i n speaking of him c a l l e d him \"the copyist.\" But \"to transmit without o r i g i -nating\" i s not what painting puts f i r s t . ^ Throughout the h i s t o r y of Chinese painting debate over the place of copying i n an a r t i s t ' s education continued unceasingly, as we w i l l see i n the next section. The general concensus appears to be that, given correct models to follow, some copying i s a good thing, although too much i s extraneous or even detrimental. Generally, the c r i t i c s and painters seemed to f e e l that the best models are to be found i n nature--expression born out of impression, not from expression. Yet, the Sixth P r i n c i p l e i t s e l f i s never challenged i n t h i s connection. Its meaning involves much more than the p r a c t i c e of copying, or the Ibid., p. 30. 31 following of models, f o r that matter. Its importance i s grounded i n a whole a t t i t u d e toward learning, toward \"transmission and conveying\" of knowledge, which may best be understood within the context of the f i n e art of c a l l i g r a p h y , the great and encompassing te c h n i c a l constant most responsible for s o l i d a r i t y of s t y l e i n Chinese painting through the centuries. The formal ae s t h e t i c behind Hsieh Ho's \"Ku Hua P'in Lu\" was not developed i n connection with painting, and, of course, not i n connection with any of the \" c r a f t s \" such as sculpture or ceramics which were to remain far 9 below the brush art s i n the minds of the i n t e l l i g e n t s i a . The f i r s t l i t e r a t u r e containing theories relevant to the s o - c a l l e d \" p l a s t i c \" or v i s u a l arts concerned i t s e l f s o l e l y with the f i n e art of c a l l i g r a p h y , and, since t h i s l i t e r a -ture served as a model for the ~^ Ku Hua P'in Lu\" and sub-sequent works of painting, i t should be viewed as the primary source of aesthetic dealing with the f i n e arts i n China. Although i t i s impossible to deal with any of these early works i n the context of t h i s paper, i t w i l l be 9 I b i d . , XII. 32 necessary to review the e a s i l y forgotten facts about how the Chinese painter learned h i s a r t . For to get close to the meaning of the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , and to fathom the nature of i t s tremendous authority, we must t r y to put ourselves i n the place of the Chinese painter as he f i r s t begins to learn to manage brush and ink* \"Unlike the old masters of the West we were never fated f o r membership i n a g u i l d - c l a s s of craftsmen, i n i t i a t e d from early childhood i n the expectation of devoting l i f e to the s p e c i a l i z e d task of manufacturing luxury objects to s e l l . As our fathers, we began by a s p i r i n g toward careers i n the government s e r v i c e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e profession of r u l i n g men, c o n t r o l l i n g lands and waters, educating and evaluating minds through the vast examination system, tempering the w i l l of the Emperor with the wisdom of the sages, or recording dynastic h i s t o r y i n the service of future r u l e r s . The other choice i s retirement from p u b l i c l i f e , on an independent income or i n poverty, to perfect the s p i r i t i n communication with nature and the past. How could we plan to be p r o f e s s i o n a l a r t i s t s ? That \"profession\" has never existed i n our land, only the craftsman-peddler's way, f a r below the l e v e l of our 33 expectations--a way i n which a gentleman might be driven to bend, but never the way of h i s choice. Yet, to win e i t h e r of the two honorable p r i z e s of life--enlightenment or worldly p o w e r \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i t i s necessary from the st a r t to develop the s e n s i b i l i t i e s of an a r t i s t , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the use of the language. Given a good r u l e r , the worthy scholar w i l l i n e v i t a b l y be recognized i f he has developed the accomplishments necessary to express h i s understanding. If unrecognized, the enlightened mind i s i t s own reward and the accomplishments serve well to sustain i t i n e x i l e , or i n the seclusion of a mountain r e t r e a t . Given the w i l l of heaven, enlighten-ment and secular power w i l l come together i n one l i f e t i m e , transmitted down the ages through the minds of the sages. A r t i s t i c s o p h i s t i c a t i o n i s c a l l e d upon to transmit and convey i t to the future from the l i v i n g past, and thus to make a name for a l l time. Many are c a l l e d ; i f chosen, the mind and brush must be we l l tuned to accept the v i t a l energy of the great t r a d i t i o n and speed i t on i t s way. The brush and ink, inkstone and s i l k , are not l i k e common t o o l s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 n o t l i k e Western q u i l l and inkpot, the count-less s p e c i a l i z e d brushes and paints, spatulas, scrapers, 34 p a l e t t e s and palette knives, p l a s t e r s and canvasses, panels and papers and parchments. They are rather l i k e the sword. They are the key to secular power and a l i n k with the knowledge of the past, not merely the means to a common l i v i n g * Not everyone can aspire to use them: a d i f f i c u l t r i t u a l i s required* The way to mastery i s long and for most i t i s very expensive: an independent income i s a near p r e r e q u i s i t e . Thus, f o r centuries brush and ink have served not merely as a means of communication, but as the sing l e most important u n i f y i n g bond and weapon of the s o c i a l - i n t e l l e c t u a l class of s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l - - a free-masonry of music, l i t e r a t u r e , painting, c a l l i g r a p h y , and power. Holding together the structure of the Empire, l i n k i n g past and future, conveying knowledge between i n d i v i d u a l s and ages, the brush has proved mightier than the sword. Its apprenticeship has remained a p r i v i l e g e which i s the basis of p r i v i l e g e . Yet, unlike the sword, the c a l l i g r a p h i c brush simultaneously records a h i s t o r y of i t s own history-making action, and mysteriously deposits a p o r t r a i t of the mind which controls i t s l i f e movement. As c h i l d r e n we began learning to write with the brush by copying from stone rubbings of ancient texts, the 35 texts of the great past masters of the brush. If f o r -tunate, we eventually study from o r i g i n a l s c r o l l s . Against these models we learn to measure our progress and correct our habits, along with the i n s t r u c t o r with hi s more experienced and committed v i s i o n , who provides bodily punishment to embody the mind's desire for excel-lence. The method i s an i n d o c t r i n a t i n g r i t u a l of memorizing and conforming to requirements set by an absolute h i s t o r i c a l standard. As i n the dancer's or fencer's a r t , a vocabu-l a r y of t r a d i t i o n a l moves or strokes i s established with which to execute the i n d i v i d u a l characters. Strangely, these movements must be made completely habitual; a f u l l y automatic system of control information must be b u i l t w ithin the mind to unquestionably guide the brush within r i g i d l i m i t a t i o n s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a l l i n order to create a condition of freedom i n the art of w r i t i n g . If poor models are used, or i f the i n s t r u c t i o n allows f o r the incorporation of inappropriate or i l l - d e f i n e d movements within the vocabulary, a l l i s l o s t . For bad habits so deeply ingrained during^frhe formative years are most d i f f i c u l t to unlearn, more d i f f i -c u l t to replace without v i o l a t i n g the organic u n i t y of the mind-hand-brush system. 36 A double standard of excellence governs the compo-s i t i o n of the i n d i v i d u a l characters \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the measure of prac-t i c a l l e g i b i l i t y , and the measure of taste. The l a s t i s a serious matter, since we w i l l be judged as men according to the sense of d i s c r i m i n a t i o n and decorum, moral f i b r e and personal energy which any page of characters displays to the knowing eye. And, of course, i f the great t r a d i t i o n of China i s to l i v e , the c l a s s i c l i t e r a t u r e which surrounds the spark of i t s l i f e must be copied and recopied with objective c l a r i t y f o r absolute l e g i b i l i t y , i n order to preserve the p u r i t y of i t s meaning. The s u r v i v a l of a c l a s s i c c i v i l i z a t i o n , w ithin a c l a s s i c t r a d i t i o n , demands the maintenance of a standard c l a s s i c method of idea-transmission and storage, f o r reasons which are at once both p r a c t i c a l and r e l i g i o u s . In a near mystical union the double standard becomes a monolithic moral-aesthetic p r i n c i p l e . The idea from the f i r s t was, subsequently, not to influence the set nature of the i n d i v i d u a l characters but to conform with t h e i r independent existence as c l a s s i c forms. We were to be influenced by them. A gentleman does not need to invent: he transmits. And the influence 37 of the c l a s s i c c h a r a c t e r s , and our a t t i t u d e toward them, has p r o f o u n d l y shaped our o v e r a l l approach t o f o r m . The exact n a t u r e of the i n f l u e n c e d i f f e r s from man to man, and i n the aspect of t ime and p l a c e i s c o m p l i c a t e d t o the p o i n t of i n d e c i p h e r a b l e h e t e r o g e n e i t y . B u t - - i n the a b s t r a c t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i t i s c l e a r t h a t the r i t u a l of l e a r n i n g to w r i t e and the p r i n c i p l e s and a t t i t u d e s thus generated have s t r o n g l y l i m i t e d , or c o n t a i n e d , our use of the b r u s h i n p a i n t i n g . T h i s i s not t o say t h a t the l i m i t s and c o n -t a i n m e n t s have been of a s i m p l e , a b s o l u t e , i n f l e x i b l e , or i n any way f i x e d n a t u r e . I t i s more a mat ter of e x p e c t a t i o n s w h i c h are too p r i m a r y , g e n e r a l i z e d , and a u t o m a t i c a l l y a c c e p t e d to be c o n s c i o u s l y c o n t r o l l e d or m a n i p u l a t e d at a l l ; not so much a matter of d e l i b e r a t e c r i t i c a l d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , but of c o n d i t i o n e d r e f l e x a c t i o n . F o r example, the b r u s h and i n k \u00E2\u0080\u0094 f i r s t known to us and o r i g i n a l l y p e r f e c t e d i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h c a l l i g r a p h y -are u n q u e s t i o n i n g l y a c c e p t e d as the c e n t r a l c h a r a c t e r -g i v i n g m a t e r i a l elements of p a i n t i n g i n the Chinese manner. As we l e a r n e d t o w r i t e , we are i n c l i n e d to l e a r n to p a i n t , by f i r s t s u b m i t t i n g t o the a u t h o r i t y of c l a s s i c models , and a t t e m p t i n g t o t r a n s m i t and p r e s e r v e t h e i r meaning. 38 Why do we take such pains i n adopting the s p i r i t of our invention to the r e s t r i c t i o n s of the d i f f e r e n t established modes or st y l e s of painting? The d i f f e r e n t modes and sty l e s are each appropriate and u s e f u l within given aesthetic-emotional s i t u a t i o n s , j u s t as the d i f f e r e n t s t y l e s of w r i t i n g \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e \" l i , \" the \"ts'as\" e t c . \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a r e appropriate and u s e f u l within s p e c i f i c s o c i a l - p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n s . Why i s the expressive q u a l i t y of the swift, free c a l l i g r a p h i c l i n e i n e v i t a b l y the prime c r i t e r i a used i n judging the worth of a painting? It i s because of the i n t r i n s i c nature of the l i n e instrument used, and because of aesthetic expectations deeply ingrained by the evalua-t i o n and judgment of c a l l i g r a p h y during the formative childhood years.\" Not a l l scholar o f f i c i a l s went on to learn to paint i n the Chinese manner, and few, indeed, attained high l e v e l s of excellence i n such a d i f f i c u l t and time-consuming d i s c i p l i n e . But a l l came equipped with a highly-developed c r i t i c a l system with which to evaluate brush work. This freemasonry of taste was doubtless one of the most f o r -midable mechanisms through which the c a l l i g r a p h i c l i m i t s to Chinese painting made themselves f e l t . It i s not 3 9 reasonable to speak of \"patronage\" i n respect to an art which i s e s s e n t i a l l y amateur, but one may c e r t a i n l y speak of the painter's audience; and, i n t h i s regard the common lineage of a c a l l i g r a p h i c education cannot be overempha-sized. Although many forms of r e b e l l i o n and r e j e c t i o n i n e v i t a b l y manifest themselves on an i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l , and as symptoms of individ u a l i s m p a r t i c u l a r l y during times of s o c i a l i n s o l i d a r i t y , the act of denial or repulsion i s i t s e l f a form of recognition and a sign of a more funda-mental influence. IV. THE CONFUCIAN CONSTANTS OF CHINESE PAINTING The creative act does not occur i n i s o l a t i o n . In the course of the previous sections a number of constants have emerged\u00E2\u0080\u0094generalized ever-present forces which influenced the Chinese gentleman painters i n t h e i r a r t ; and, although these forces are a l l r e l a t e d within a single r e l a t i v i s t i c continuum, i t i s only possible to deal with them r a t i o n a l l y one at a time. Throughout the h i s t o r y of Chinese painting, and i n d i f f e r e n t places within the Empire, c e r t a i n of the constants exercised greater influence than the re s t , creating an h i s t o r i c a l pattern of s t y l e , a pattern i n which the i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t s provide the d e t a i l . Because of the obvious u n i t y which the art has maintained throughout i t s long h i s t o r y , i t i s c l e a r that some kind of e quilibrium must have existed between the constants with t h e i r endless f l u c t u a t i o n of i n d i v i d u a l importance. I would l i k e to propose that the Confucian way of l i f e or theme i n Chinese i n t e l l e c t u a l l i f e was the single most important factor i n e s t a b l i s h i n g and maintaining t h i s equilibrium. But, before dealing with Confucianism and i t s a lternate convention, i t w i l l be necessary to enumerate 40 41 and b r i e f l y review the constants. The primary and c e n t r a l constant i s the i n d i v i d u a l mind of the a r t i s t , the only possible source of i n d i v i d u a l talent i f i t may be said to ex i s t at a l l . The a r t i s t ' s mind creates r e a l i t y i n i n t e r a c t i o n with the natural world and mankind, i n thought and action, modifying sense i n f o r -mation through re a c t i o n with the h i s t o r i c a l sense or memory. If the painter's mind i s to conform with the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , the a c t i o n i t generates i n painting w i l l have been f u l l y formed by the h i s t o r i c a l s ense\u00E2\u0080\u0094a knowledge of the Great T r a d i t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a n d w i l l therefore produce a s t y l e i n harmony and agreement with the c l a s s i c models of Chinese painting and c a l l i g r a p h y . If i t i s to be i n harmony with the F i r s t P r i n c i p l e , the character of i t s i n t e r a c t i o n with the natural world (and society, a part of nature f o r the Chinese) w i l l be one of v i t a l c o o p e r a t i o n \u00E2\u0080\u0094 l e a d i n g to a s t y l e which i s charged with spirit-resonance and a brush which i s impelled by the force of l i f e ' s motion. Since i n d i v i d u a l talent c l e a r l y has l i t t l e place within the j u r i s d i c t i o n of the Sixth P r i n c i p l e , and would rather tend to i n t e r f e r e with the i d e a l transmission or conveying of h i s t o r i c a l knowledge, 42 we w i l l be i n c l i n e d to look more c l o s e l y for i t s r i g h t f u l place w i t h i n the approach to painting necessitated by the F i r s t P r i n c i p l e , although, of course, l i k e the rules to any game, t r a d i t i o n i t s e l f must somehow be r e l i e d upon to create the condition of i n d i v i d u a l freedom. The next (and i n a metaphysical sense, the p e r i -pheral) constant i s the t o t a l i t y outside of the mind of the i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t , a t o t a l i t y which for the Chinese included both the humanized and the s o - c a l l e d \"natural\" world as a v a i l a b l e to the s e n s e s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a true \"universe\" i n a s u r p r i s i n g l y modern and s c i e n t i f i c sense. Obviously, t h i s i s a primal source of q u a l i t a t i v e r e a l i t y , although as a thing i t can exist for us only within the i n d i v i d u a l mind, a fact of which the Chinese were sharply aware. L i u Hsieh, the eminent 6th century l i t e r a r y c r i t i c , has put i t very w e l l : And as one sees above the sparkling heavenly bodies, and below the manifold forms of earth, there i s established a difference between high and low estate, giving r i s e to the two archetypal forms (Yin and Yang). Man and man alone forms with these the Great T r i n i t y , and he does so because he, alone, i s endowed with s p i r i t u a l i t y . He i s the r e f i n e d essence of the fj.ve elements \u00E2\u0080\u0094 indeed, the mind of the universe. 43 It i s the Thi r d and Fourth Laws of Chinese painting (as recorded by Hsieh Ho) which have most bearing on the a t t i t u d e of mind which the painter should take toward the world i n representing i t on h i s paper or s i l k . They are (3) \"Ref l e c t i n g the Object,\" and (4) \"Appropriateness to Type,\" by Acker's t r a n s l a t i o n . Sherman Lee gives us (3) \" F i d e l i t y to the object i n portraying forms,\" and (4) \"Conformity to kind i n applying c o l o r s . \" The implication here i s c l e a r , that i t should be the objects, themselves, which determine the nature of the representation i n the painting, and not the i n d i v i d u a l talent or independent imagination of the a r t i s t , himself. Through the mind of the a r t i s t , p ainting should not merely erect a mirror \" r e f l e c t i n g the object\" but as reasonably objective and undistorted a mirror as circumstance permits.. Put i n metaphysical terms, t h i s i s simply the d i s c i p l i n e of allowing the world to l i v e within the mind as i t s own idea, to determine i t s own embodiment i n idea form and a c t i o n the process which Coleridge has named \"negative c a p a b i l i t y , \" Vince Y. C. Shih (tr a n s . ) , The L i t e r a r y Mind and the Carving of Dragons (New York: Columbia U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1959). 44 and one which d e f i n i t e l y connects the u n i v e r s a l constant of Chinese painting with i t s F i r s t Law. Of i n d i v i d u a l talent--as opposed to negative c a p a b i l i t y or depersonalised t a l e n t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 w e may again r i g h t l y ask, what place does i t have? The p r a c t i c e of c a l l i g r a p h y together with i t s materials forms another of the constants already con-sidered, an element which was established e a r l y and which has survived with i n c r e d i b l e t e n a c i t y . L i t t l e f u rther explanation of the r e l a t i o n s h i p between c a l l i g r a p h y and the c e n t r a l constant (of the i n d i v i d u a l a r t i s t ' s mind) i s necessary: within the aspect of time we have seen how the c a l l i g r a p h i c education, or i n d o c t r i n a t i o n , conditions the motor ref l e x e s of the c h i l d during h i s formative years, not only e s t a b l i s h i n g the implements he w i l l use, but also molding the very motor reflexes with which he w i l l use them. Outside of the aspect of time, i . e . within the context of the creative act as an abstract idea, the importance of the p r a c t i c e of c a l l i g r a p h y becomes manifest f o r the painter. He may draw at w i l l upon a large vocabu-l a r y of spontaneous strokes or moves, as does a dancer\u00E2\u0080\u0094 combining, connecting, j o i n i n g , and composing elements i n automatic response to representational-symbolic r e f l e c t i o n s 45 without having to burden conscious consideration with these t e c h n i c a l matters. And (again because of calligraphy) the brush he has i n h i s hand i s i n i t s e l f such a simple, hyper-responsive and adaptable l i n e instrument that a r e a l condition of freedom i s created, d e a r l y , i t i s i n connection with the r e s u l t s of t h i s freedom that we may look for evidence of i n d i v i d u a l talent within the main-stream of Chinese p a i n t i n g . L a s t l y , there i s the simple fact of other human beings with minds of t h e i r own\u00E2\u0080\u0094the constant of Chinese society and the Great T r a d i t i o n . For, while undergoing continual change, society and t r a d i t i o n i n China also maintained enough of a continuing e s s e n t i a l form to be considered a constant during the great centuries of painting, at least f o r c e r t a i n l e v e l s of the population. Around the time of Confucius an unusual s o c i a l class 2 began to emerge. F i r s t securing a permanent place f o r i t s e l f i n the economic and p o l i t i c a l l i f e of the country, i t went on to completely dominate the i n t e l l e c t u a l l i f e 2 H. G. Creel, Chinese Thought! From Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung (London: Un i v e r s i t y Paperbacks, 1954), pp. 25-59. 46 of China, serving as the primary l o g i s t i c support for c a l l i g r a p h y and painting down to the present time. Exactly how did the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c lass come into existence? Traveling from state to state i n search of s c h o l a r l y or administrative employment from the feudal r u l e r s , i t i s clear that the founding members of the class could not have come from among the peasants. For, l i k e Confucius himself, they were highly l i t e r a t e and w e l l -acquainted with matters of court protocol. But, unlike the nobles, they found i t necessary to support themselves on t h e i r own moving from court to court, and taking with them l i t t l e more than the accomplishments and knowledge they could display when facing the m i l i t a r i s t i c a r i s t o -crats who employed them.. By acting as educators, accountants, o f f i c i a l administrators, or p r o f e s s i o n a l diplomats and consultants, they were able to exist on a l e v e l well above the only other a l t e r n a t i v e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e ever-present threat of serfdom or slavery as a peasant. Some became pr o f e s s i o n a l s o l d i e r s , no doubt. In the C h r i s t i a n West most of the others would have been p r i e s t s . But i n feudal China, where r e l i g i o n remained predominantly an i n d i v i d u a l or family involvement, and 47 where monasticism was not a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r , the handy-r o l e of s p i r i t u a l caretaker was not a v a i l a b l e . Without k i l l i n g f o r the r u l e r , the only way to remain and survive within society\u00E2\u0080\u0094above the l e v e l of a serf\u00E2\u0080\u0094was to f i n d some other valuable secular service with which to provide the r u l i n g c l a s s . Any a c t i v i t y i nvolving hand labor i n the manufacture of objects for use i n material exchange was out of the question, for to the Chinese the only a c t i o n worthy of a gentleman within society was the exercise of power. But the exercise of power even i n the administra-t i v e sense i s a dangerous occupation, indeed, e s p e c i a l l y for those who have no material or h e r e d i t a r y - r e l i g i o u s support within the establishment. I think, i f we put our-selves i n the place of those wandering scholar o f f i c i a l s of Chou times, as the d i s i n h e r i t e d bastard or youngest sons of rulers\u00E2\u0080\u0094well-educated:^, but l e f t without an independent income\u00E2\u0080\u0094the r a t i o n a l e behind the Confucian ethic w i l l become self - e v i d e n t , as w i l l the social-moral emphasis of the Confucian aesthetic regarding the p r a c t i c e both of painting and c a l l i g r a p h y . They became the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l class o r i g i n a l l y because they i n h e r i t e d no material grounds f o r the exercise 48 of power--the one action, the only suitable action of a gentleman. It was necessary to somehow borrow or appropriate some of the worldly power of the r u l i n g c l a s s . The only way open\u00E2\u0080\u0094outside of p r o f e s s i o n a l s o l d i e r ing\u00E2\u0080\u0094was through the performance of administrative duties, and i n a d i s i n t e r e s -ted and thus extremely e f f i c i e n t manner which made them more u s e f u l than the r u l e r ' s own k i n . But such service was c l e a r l y not enough i n i t s e l f \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e serf and the common s o l -dier provide invaluable material services, and are rewarded accordingly. The problem was to develop some i d e o l o g i c a l bulwark or j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r the secular power they exer-c i s e d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a n independent and c a t e g o r i c a l moral imperative, or r e l i g i o u s - s o c i a l super-ego with which to protect t h e i r independent status from both those above and below. Around the man, and the man's name--Confucius--such an i d e o l o g i c a l weapon was forged, with consummate s k i l l from ways of thought already deeply rooted i n the Chinese way of l i f e . Thus were the brush and ink f i r s t r a i s e d against the sword. Raised against the sword, but not i n the manner of the sword, the brush became the instrument of moral judgment\u00E2\u0080\u0094 the judgment of h i s t o r y , of the \" r e c t i f i c a t i o n of names.\" In a land where ancestors l i v e on for centuries as i f r e a l 49 i n the minds of the l i v i n g , i t i s possible to punish and even to k i l l - - a n d therefore to c o n t r o l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 w i t h the brush, as i f a judgment i n a h i s t o r y book were the judgment of Heaven. The w i l l of Heaven, of course, was the ultimate source of the \"Way\" as Confucius and Mencius defined i t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 l i k e the r u l e r s these early o f f i c i a l s grounded t h e i r authority i n the Ultimate, but not through the hereditary argument of divine r i g h t . Their p r i v i l e g e could not be based on heredity, i n any c a s e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e y had a l l been cut o f f from that; rather, i t was to be \"academic\" or \"sc h o l a r l y \" as b e f i t t i n g men of the pen. Instead of receiving the mandate of power as an ancestral g i f t , they would claim knowledge of the w i l l of Heaven through voluntary study of h i s t o r y and through meditation. Since few others could read the ancient texts, or made claim to interpret them; and since the scholar-o f f i c i a l s copied, edited, annotated, and created a l l of the books which were made new; and since the knowledge gained through meditation must pass through the brush' to be communicated; and because they were also to control the education of the sons of the r u l e r s , i t was only a matter of time u n t i l \"The Way\" of Confucius became the accepted way of gentlemen throughout China. 50 C l e a r l y , corruption and i n e f f i c i e n c y of government brought about by family f a v o r i t i s m and quarreling, and through the amateurish power-seeking of hereditary despots \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the object of Confucian moralizing\u00E2\u0080\u0094formed and continued to form one of the two great supporting factors of the scholar-o f f i c i a l c l a s s . Throughout Chinese h i s t o r y the breakdown of government con t r o l through cla n and family entanglements, leading to flood, famine, and for e i g n invasion, demanded a countering f o r c e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a n objective, moral, e f f i c i e n t , and p a t r i o -t i c element--in order for the nation to survive or grow at a l l . With the f i r m entrenchment of the examination system\u00E2\u0080\u0094 the second great coup of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l i n assuring his c lass long-term s u r v i v a l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e ground was W e l l l a i d for a r e l a t i v e l y objective, though a r b i t r a r y , means of supplying the manpower needs of the c e n t r a l bureaucracy, and providing a countering force against the standard p r a c t i c e s of f a v o r i -tism and nepotism i n making appointments. Thus, for example, a highly l u c r a t i v e o f f i c i a l post could be given as a bribe by the r u l e r to another noble or a family member, regard-less of the low c a p a b i l i t y or i n t e r e s t of the appointee, and without endangering the effectiveness of the o f f i c e i t s e l f ? for a highly capable and industrious assistant 51 could always be supplied to a c t u a l l y administer the post, from the t r i e d and true ranks of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c l a s s . The second great supporting f a c t o r of the scholar-o f f i c i a l c l ass was the c l a s s i c a l education system, the great h i s t o r i c a l - l i t e r a r y t r a d i t i o n and\u00E2\u0080\u0094most important \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the matter of l i t e r a c y i t s e l f . In a land where the class which controls education has a vested inter e s t i n l i m i t i n g the general l e v e l of l i t e r a c y throughout the population, i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g to f i n d a language which, d i f f i c u l t from the s t a r t , became more and more so as characters and meanings accumulated over the years. When one considers the number of accomplishments which were also expected of a gentleman and a scholar, i n order to be accepted as a member i n good s t a n d i n g - - a r t i s t i c accomplishments over and above mere l i t e r a c y , such as poetry, music and p a i n t i n g \u00E2\u0080\u0094 the importance of the time (and i t s cost) to learn them becomes evident. Needless to say, the examination system supported t h i s sort of d i s c r i m i n a t i o n most e f f e c t i v e l y , as well as giving the scholar some sort of tangible evidence of time well spent. Thus separated from the masses by h i s expensive education and the manners and accomplishments of a gentleman, 52 and from the decadent r u l i n g classes by h i s r e l a t i v e l y p u r i t a n i c a l and not overly ambitious mind, hi s industry and dedication, the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l held the other two classes together while separating them, l i k e a marvelous e l a s t i c s o c i a l cement. One can imagine the kind of pres-sures which must have res u l t e d for the poor o f f i c i a l , par-t i c u l a r l y during times of political-economic duress, crushed between the other two segments of society--each powerful i n i t s own way\u00E2\u0080\u0094or else p u l l e d apart by the dual commit-ment which i n v a r i a b l y entangles a bureaucrat. The monopoly which h i s c l a s s held was ingenious i n i t s effectiveness as an o v e r a l l structure, but to hold i t i n the concrete c i r -cumstances of h i s t o r y from day to day required the scholar-o f f i c i a l ' s absolute commitment, and a degree of conformity i n behalf of c l a s s s o l i d a r i t y which often amounted to a genuine act of s a c r i f i c e leading to martyrdom. To c a l l Confucianism a r e l i g i o n i s not as misleading as we have been led to believe; and, i n t h i s sense, much of Chinese painting i s not as secular as i t appears to be at f i r s t glance. Although the most transcendental or e s o t e r i c ideas and emotions of the c l a s s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 m a t t e r s which we normally think 53 of as re l i g i o u s - - f o u n d expression within the context of Confucianism's a l t e r n a t i v e convention, the Taoist Way, i t i s surely a mistake to draw a sharp l i n e between that way and the Confucian Way; for the same men, the same minds, were nearly always involved with both, depending, among other things, on the political-economic climate. Of course the Confucian r e l i g i o s i t y must be described by the word, \"piety,\" but p i e t y i s not n e c e s s a r i l y unknowing or mechani-c a l i n i t s motivation. The Confucian constants of painting, c a l l i g r a p h y and the moral imperative of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c l a s s , may be seen as thoroughly dependent on, and compli-mentary to, the Taoist constants of the i n d i v i d u a l mind within the Universal object of i t s meditation. And the p i e t y with which the Confucian a r t i s t i c r i t u a l was regarded, was, I am sure, u l t i m a t e l y derived or rooted i n the r e l i g i o u s experience of Taoist meditation, at least f o r many of the greatest masters. But what, a c t u a l l y , i s the philosophic content of the Confucian moral imperative? The premise i s simply that man--or, rather, the abstract idea of man outside of the aspects of time and space (man's e s s e n t i a l P l a t o n i c form)--i s good. E v i l r e s u l t s because of the confusion, short-54 sightedness, and wrongly interpreted s e l f - i n t e r e s t which develops under concrete circumstances, and not from any p o s i t i v e source. E v i l i s not the absence of good, f o r the e s s e n t i a l man i s always good, but rather the f a i l u r e of i n d i v i d u a l man i n time and space to recognize and conform with h i s own e s s e n t i a l nature. From t h i s premise two depen-dent tenents follow: you must know man, and thus r e a l i z e his and your own goodness; and you must \"know your game\" (to use the modern slang), i . e . you must know what your r e a l r o l e i n l i f e i s , and thus avoid the errors of inap-propriate goals and as p i r a t i o n s , of i n f l a t e d , deflated, or i n any way inappropriate self-image. In other words, know man (and thus, yourself) outside of time and space; and, i n order to c o r r e c t l y manifest t h i s knowledge i n action, understand the l i f e of man (and thus, your own) within time and space, i . e . within h i s t o r y . As a method, the study of h i s t o r y i s recommended above a l l others. The alternate Taoist convention, of course, emphasizes the act of meditation leading to self-knowledge, and from s e l f -knowledge to u n i v e r s a l wisdom. The d i r e c t i o n of t r a v e l i s d i f f e r e n t , but the destination i s r e a l l y the same. The a s s e r t i o n which i s commonly made or implied by writers (H. G. Creel, f o r one) that Confucianism i s simply 3 morals without a metaphysical side, i s simply not the case. As with any complete philosophy or world view, which Con-fucianism c e r t a i n l y became by the time of Mencius, metaphysics and morals are i n e x t r i c a b l y linked and i n t e r -dependent l y supported. Any absolute (such as an abstract idea of goodness of man), to be applied within the concrete circumstances of time and place (within h i s t o r y ) implies metaphysical change. The f a l s e assumption that Confucianism i s a s t r i c t l y p o l i t i c a l philosophy\u00E2\u0080\u0094opposed to Taoism which i s supposedly amoral and m e t a p h y s i c a l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 l i e s at the roots of the f a i l u r e to f u l l y appreciate the Confucian current at the mainstream of Chinese painting. The way i n which the i d e a l forms of human behaviour are to be promulgated\u00E2\u0080\u0094forms such as the \" l i \" or r ttao\" which exist as native inheritance within the c o l l e c t i v e c o n c i o u s n e s s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i s a case i n point, and one of great impor-tance f o r p a i n t i n g . Because within the Confucian way these e s s e n t i a l forms are known as basic, or more natural and fundamental than deviation from them, i t follows that 3 Creel, Chinese Thought,pp. 45, 52. 56 they are s e l f-evident to a l l who experience them through the good example of another i n d i v i d u a l who \"knows.\" And to \"know\" _is to conform, when the appropriateness of a mode of a c t i o n i s self-evident--although i t i s always possible to forget. Now, as we a l l know, self-evident knowledge d i f f e r s metaphysically from l i n g u i s t i c or h i s t o r i c a l f a c t -just as the d i r e c t r e a l i z a t i o n of a s i t u a t i o n d i f f e r s from th e o r i z i n g or l e c t u r i n g concerning i t . The Confucian element i n Chinese p a i n t i n g i s ce/rtainly moralizing; but, at i t s best, i t i s always a moral communication at the l e v e l of self-evident example. In t h i s sense i t exi s t s on very much the same metaphysical l e v e l as the art rooted i n the Taoist p r a c t i c e of meditation, which, of course, i s moralizing i n i t s own way. The sort of moral e f f e c t which paintings were supposed to have, i n early times, i s well demonstrated by the famous passage from Chang Yen-yuan i n which he discusses t h e i r b e n e f i c i a l e f f e c t on the onlooker: Loyal and f i l i a l men were a l l represented on the Yun t ' a i (Cloud t e r r a c e ) . Brave and meritorious men were entered i n the L i n k'o ( C h i - l i n p a v i l i o n ) . The contemplation of good men became a reason to avoid e v i l , and to look at the e v i l men was enough to make people turn to the sages of the past. The painted records 57 of the old manners and miens became models f o r exercising v i r t u e . The representations of the successes and f a i l u r e s transmitted the events of the past. The written records t e l l about the acts of men, but they cannot convey t h e i r appearan-ces. The poems and ballads sing about t h e i r v i r t u e s , but they cannot represent t h e i r images. By the art of painting the two (sides) may be combined.^\" Chang then goes on to quote from the e a r l i e r c r i t i c , Ts'ao Chih (192-232), whose words r e f l e c t a si m i l a r a t t i t u d e : When one sees pictures of the three kings and the f i v e emperors, one cannot but look at them with respect and veneration, and when one sees pictures of the San Chi (the bad la s t r u l e r s of the Hsia, Shan and Chou), one cannot but f e e l sad. When one sees pictures of rebels and u n f i l i a l sons, one cannot but grind the teeth. When one sees pictures representing men of high p r i n c i p l e s and wonderful sages, one cannot but forget one's meals. When one sees pictures of f a i t h f u l subjects who died at the c a l l of duty, one cannot but f e e l exalted. When one sees p i c -tures of e x i l e d c i t i z e n s and expelled sons one cannot help sighing. When one sees p i c -tures of v i c i o u s men and jealous women, one cannot but look askance. When one sees pictures of obedient empresses and good secon-dary wives, one cannot but f e e l the deepest admiration. By t h i s we may r e a l i z e that paintings serve as moral examples or mirrors of conduct. Siren, The Chinese, p. 225. Ibid., p. 226. 58 This \"elevated subject matter\" moralism, as C a h i l l a p t l y dubs i t , ^ remained (with important modi-f i c a t i o n s ) throughout the h i s t o r y of Chinese painting: and, as C a h i l l f a i l s to point out, i t i s one of a num-ber of reasonable explanations of the l i m i t e d subject range of the a r t . With the exception of a few highly i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c a r t i s t s , such as Wu Wei and L i Sung, most of the painters with whom we are concerned r e l i e d h e a v i l y upon l o f t y or elevated subject matter, such as landscape, bamboo and flowers, i n order to express par-t i c u l a r l y d i g n i f i e d and life-enhancing mental states \u00E2\u0080\u0094 ei t h e r Taoist or Confucian, both moralizing and metaphysical i n holding up an example of self-evident force. One can-not help but question C a h i l l ' s a s s e r t i o n that the Con-fucia n scholar-painter and c r i t i c , of Han times was somehow torn between art f o r art's sake (an aesthetic approach) and the moralizing one just mentioned.'7 More l i k e l y , the Good and the Be a u t i f u l were considered\u00E2\u0080\u0094at kjames F. C a h i l l , \"Confucian Elements i n the Theory of Painting,\" Confucianism and Chinese C i v i l i z a t i o n , Arthur F. Wright (ed.), (New York: Atheneum, 1964), p. 84. 7 I b i d . , p. 80. 59 least i d e a l l y \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a s inseparably fused; and the \"innovations of s t y l e \" which C a h i l l r e c i t e s as examples of \"aesthetic\" i n t e r e s t , most l i k e l y f e l l under the category of what we would consider mere \"technique,\" of i n t e r e s t as a way to reproduce the good and the b e a u t i f u l , but of no r e a l \"aesthetic\" importance on t h e i r own. ,; And, just as the Confucian i d e a l of elevated sub-je c t matter would influence the so-called Taoist approach to subject matter i n nature, another Confucian c r i t i c a l concept\u00E2\u0080\u0094the unconscious or spontaneous lodging of moral character\u00E2\u0080\u0094would deeply influence the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of meaning. The notion of the lodging of moral character of the a r t i s t , through h i s s t y l e i n the formal elements of a painting, i s a l o g i c a l extension of the Confucian preoc-cupation with example. For the Confucian, the good man\u00E2\u0080\u0094 the man who \"knows\"--inevitably a t t r a c t s other good men, and weak and e r r i n g men around him turn to v i r t u e : auto-m a t i c a l l y and spontaneously the charismatic force of h i s example brings the l i g h t of goodness to everything he touches, i f h i s knowledgeable character i s strong enough i n i t s resolve. Just being near him i s enough! Thus, one may expect a painting by a good man, and e s p e c i a l l y a sage, 60 to embody on some formal level--say, i n the q u a l i t y of the brush stroke--the exact moral nature of the a r t i s t himself, h i s e s s e n t i a l humanity. Now here, c l e a r l y , i s a point where i n d i v i d u a l talent--although i t i s not a narrowly a r t i s t i c talent--may be seen to enter the main-stream of Chinese painting. By lodging h i s i n d i v i d u a l moral character, as a concrete and actual p e r s o n a l i t y within h i s t o r y , the painter may l i v e as an i n d i v i d u a l w ithin h i s painting, although subject, materials, brush technique and formal conventions remain completely con-f o r m i s t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 e v e n though representation i s determined s o l e l y by the nature of the object depicted (as i t s own idea). While the \"what\" of the painting remains conventional, the \"way i n which\" can emerge as d i s t i n c t l y personal and i n d i v i d u a l i z i n g . Again, one must note that a metaphysical s h i f t i s involved, f o r , while the Confucian v i r t u e s were known to derive u l t i m a t e l y from absolute p r i n c i p l e s or forms within man's nature (beyond time and space), no one expected them to be embodied homogeneously or m o n o l i t h i c a l l y within a given h i s t o r i c a l s i t u a t i o n . Rather, they were thought to 'manifest themselves through \"changes,\" and i n a s p e c i f i c 61 and concrete manner f o r each unique personality, through s p e c i f i c personal a c t i o n such as painting, and by means of a process which though u n i v e r s a l i n t o t a l i t y remains i n d i v i d u a l i z e d i n d e t a i l . C l e a r l y , an important element within the system of s o c i a l s o l i d a r i t y of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c l a s s , both painting and c a l l i g r a p h y served as tests of the man. The a s p i r i n g scholar who was asked to compose a poem or paint a p i c t u r e at a gathering was very d e f i n i t e l y put up for judgment, since e i t h e r act comprised a t o t a l moral-aesthetic commitment, and the r e s u l t i n g work of art (or artlessness) would stand bare as a yardstick of both the l e v e l of taste and the moral f i b r e of the mind which brought i t f o r t h . If i t stood strongly, appropriately, r i g h t l y and l o f t i l y \u00E2\u0080\u0094 and f o r the moral-aesthetic values which the class continued to value \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i t would stand the test of h i s t o r y . That i s , i t would l i v e on as a yardstick against which other men could be measured i n t h e i r time; and yet, more than that, i t would also function as an example or source of p o s i t i v e influence for the good\u00E2\u0080\u0094an icon to guide the mind, not toward transcendence, but toward a well-balanced and morally enlightened stance within time. Far from being 62 a purely u t i l i t a r i a n - mechanism by which the class protected i t s hierarchy of scholarship and taste (although that was involved), the masterpiece of moral-lodging served a t r u l y r e l i g i o u s function. As C a h i l l points out, Chang Yen-yuan 1s comments on the landscape painter, Yang Yen ( l a t e eighth century), comprise the f i r s t example of seeing the a r t i s t ' s moral character i n h i s works, which has come down to us within the l i t e r a t u r e on painting. He quotes Chang as follows: He was polished and elegant i n h i s bearing, vigorous and energetic i n his s p i r i t and f e e l i n g . He was good at landscapes; h i s works were l o f t y and unusual, r e f i n e d and strong. . . . When I look at the late Mr. Yang's landscape pi c t u r e s , I see i n imagination what he was as a man\u00E2\u0080\u0094his imposing stature and unconventionality.^ Kuo Jo-hsu ( l a t e eleventh century) develops Chang's idea further, with s p e c i a l reference to the scholar-o f f i c i a l c l a s s , i n h i s Mti' 'u-hua Chien-wen Chih: I have . . . observed that the majority of the rare paintings of the past are the work of high o f f i c i a l s , talented worthies, superior scholars, or recluses l i v i n g i n c l i f f s and caves; of persons, that i s , who \"followed the C a h i l l , \"Confucian Elements,\" p. 84 d i c t a t e s of loving kindness and sought delight i n the a r t s . \" . . . Their elevated and r e f i n e d f e e l i n g s were a l l lodged i n t h e i r paintings. Since t h e i r personal q u a l i t y was l o f t y , the \" s p i r i t consonance\" (df t h e i r paintings) could not be but lofty.'' In t h i s l i g h t , the p r a c t i c e of making copies comes into sharper and more meaningful focus. The notion that s p i r i t u a l goodness, wellbeing, enlightenment, could somehow be contacted or communicated spontaneously\u00E2\u0080\u0094 on the l e v e l of self-evident example--reinforced the habit of making copies established by the c a l l i g r a p h i c education, there can be l i t t l e doubt. Our very r e a l Western materialism i n c l i n e s us to think of any e f f o r t at d u p l i c a t i o n as a way to obtain, to own, the object which w i l l r e s u l t , and by i m p l i c a t i o n to s e l l , display, or i n some way p r o f i t economi-c a l l y or e g o t i s t i c a l l y from i t s material presence. That forgers existed i n China, we may be sure; but i t i s not with men of t h i s l e v e l that we are concerned, but rather with the masters of the a r t . Why did they copy, i f not to own the object for the object's sake? As I have suggested, a process of s p i r i t u a l communication (or, rather \"trans-mission\") was involved. If the \"great cart of t r a d i t i o n \" i s heavy not with dead learning but with the l i v i n g wisdom of u n i v e r s a l truth, i t i s well worth the e f f o r t of p u l l i n g . 64 To r e t r a c e the brush strokes of the master\u00E2\u0080\u0094presumably an e n l i g h t e n e d s a g e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i s e s s e n t i a l l y the same as to r e t r a c e h i s f o o t s t e p s . To copy i n t h i s sense i s a d e v o t i o n a l a c t , an act of p i l g r i m a g e or prayer. Indeed, what i s the d i f -ference between chanting the words of some s p i r i t u a l leader of the past and r h y t h m i c a l l y and l o v i n g l y r e t r a c i n g h i s p a i n t i n g s ? The idea of t r a n s m i s s i o n of i d e a l h i s t o r i c a l types as s o c i a l i c o n s , and the r e l a t e d n o t i o n of communication of a b s t r a c t s p i r i t u a l q u a l i t i e s through the p r a c t i c e of copying both make sense i n e x a c t l y the same way that the t r a n s m i s s i o n of r e l i g i o u s symbols and r e l i g i o u s essence through r i t u a l s has made sense to so many s e r i o u s t h e o l o -g i a n s . I t i s a l l based on the same k i n d of l o g i c . An i d e a l type (such as a \"good f i r s t emperor\") was perpetuated by p a i n t e r s who copied h i s p o r t r a i t , as w e l l as by s c h o l a r s who passed on h i s biography i n w r i t i n g , and, indeed, the s c h o l a r and the p a i n t e r were o f t e n one i n the same. However, does communication of the second l e v e l of m o r a l i z i n g power make sense w i t h i n the context of d i r e c t copying i . e . the t r a n s m i s s i o n of the a r t i s t ' s moral ch a r a c t e r lodged i n h i s p a i n t i n g s ? No, i t does not. And I am sure that most of 65 the Chinese c r i t i c s and painters would have emphasized the use of free or i n d i v i d u a l treatment i n making copies dir e c t e d toward t h i s end. Again, we must remind ourselves that the great painters of China were not held i n high esteem, were not copied, so much because of the i n d i v i d u a l q u a l i t y of the s p i r i t u a l representation; rather, they were valued as i n d i v i d u a l s because of the u n i v e r s a l nature of the moral essence, or goodness, which they managed to lodge i n t h e i r brushwork. It i s something primordial and formless, to be picked up by contact and passed on l i k e a spark of e l e c t r i c i t y . So that, although the accu-racy of laborious copying was no doubt c r i t i c a l to the success of transmission on the f i r s t l e v e l ( i d e a l h i s t o r i -c a l types), free copying was u s u a l l y chosen as the most reasonable way i n which to increase contact with the s p i r i t of a master of the past, without destroying the all-important spontaneous approach. In f a c t , the act of making a free copy obviously contributed to a spontaneous use of the brush by freeing the mind from the task of deliberate composition. The Confucian elements required d i r e c t copying, the Taoist a free contact motivated and i n s p i r e d reproduction. This was a very r e a l c o n f l i c t , one 66 of means rather than ends, and one which the Chinese, themselves, were never able to resolve. For learning to paint, to paint as one's s e l f , d i r e c t copying was seldom recommended by the respected c r i t i c s , although a c e r t a i n amount of free copying was nearly always suggested as one means for improving s t y l e . Hsieh Ho was the f i r s t of a long l i n e of c r i t i c s who were well aware of i t s l i m i t s , p r e f e r r i n g nature to art as a source of impressions with which to charge the painter's mind. The e s s e n t i a l union was that of nature and cal l i g r a p h y . V. TAOISM, THE ALTERNATE CONVENTION Thev: Taoist c o n s t a n t s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e i n d i v i d u a l and the w o r l d -may be seen as complementary and supporting i n r e l a t i o n to the Confucian constants, a l l of which involve the r e l a t i o n -ship of the i n d i v i d u a l and society. The d e f i n i t i v e expe-rience of the Taoist way, of course, was the act, or, rather, the inac t i o n , of meditation. And a l l i n the Taoist way of l i f e i s seen to lead or somehow grow out of the knowledge gained through metaphysical enlightenment. As we have observed, the dominating experience of the Con-fucian way of l i f e was the p o l i t i c a l act, an involvement to which a l l other aspects of Confucian existence were seen to contribute i n preparation. C l e a r l y , a broad s i m i l a r i t y e x i s t s , along with a point of agreement, between Taoism and Confucianism i n t h i s respect; f o r , as Taoist medi-t a t i o n involves a devotional giving back of the s e l f , consciously, to the world, the Confucian p o l i t i c a l act involves a r i t u a l g i v i n g back of the s e l f to the society or c i v i l i z a t i o n . And, i n a strange way, a c e r t a i n very r e a l enhancement of i n d i v i d u a l i t y through s e l f l e s s n e s s may be p o s t u l a t e d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 p a r a d o x i c a l only within the aspect of 68 time. Given the p o s s i b i l i t y that the order of society might conform to the w i l l of Heaven (or u n i v e r s a l order), the p o s s i b i l i t y was always open to the Chinese that a complete agreement or r e s o l u t i o n might be reached i n which no c o n f l i c t could exist between the enlightened mystic's mind, the w i l l of Heaven, and the necessity of moral ac t i o n within society. The imp l i c a t i o n of such a r e s o l u t i o n should be cle a r , to a l l who have contemplated the coming of Heaven to earth. Unfortunately, i t i s only possible to have such knowledge on the l e v e l of d i r e c t experience i . e . as s e l f -evident s i t u a t i o n consciousness. For the r e a l i z a t i o n of the r e a l s e l f does not involve any idea of the s e l f , but, rather, the d i r e c t consciousness of being. Likewise, to know the world as i t s own idea i n our minds i t i s neces-sary to consciously become the world process, something from which we are separated only by the idea of separation. If e i t h e r l i f e - b r e a t h or the lodging of i n d i v i d u a l moral character i s to be r e a l i z e d i n any action, i t must be r e a l i z e d on the l e v e l of self-evident s i t u a t i o n response. When does one act most l i k e oneself? I r o n i c a l l y , i t i s when one \"forgets himself.\" Within an habitual 69 environment, surrounded by f a m i l i a r faces, and engaged i n an automatic or near-automatic a c t i v i t y , self-consciousness may dissolve and movements become spontaneous. Thus, the way i n which a man t i e s h is shoe may be more i n d i c a t i v e of h i s inner nature than the speech he prepares i n accor-dance with what he s e l f c o n s c i o u s l y thinks he i s (or should be) i n the eyes of others. It was a kind.of spontaneous a c t i o n i n painting--painting which \"accomplishes i t s e l f \" e f f o r t l e s s l y - - t h a t the Chinese f e l t to be the way to the q u a l i t y of spirit-resonance i n brush work, and which they subsequently c u l t i v a t e d . The problem i s to d i s t i n g u i s h between spontaneous ac t i o n which i s habitual, and that which involves not only complex conditioned-reflex action, but involves decision-making s i t u a t i o n s as well. Wielding the Chinese brush and tying a shoe are q u a n t i t a t i v e l y leagues apart, i n the amount of conditioned-reflex i n f o r -mation required; and, more important, tying the shoe i s an act without representational (external) reference or symbolic meaning. In a t h l e t i c s , the dance, and the musical performing arts we often witness the function of highly-involved conditioned-reflex complexes, as the master of the d i s c i p l i n e , 1 70 be i t tennis or b a l l e t , progresses through a sequence of actions which astound us as unimagineably d i f f i c u l t , and with the mindless grace of spontaneous action. It i s the old f a m i l i a r matter of \"How can we know the dancer from the dance?\" On the l e v e l of spontaneous or i n t u i t i v e action, the dancer, of course, becomes the dance i n an inseparable union. It i s a matter of \"negative c a p a b i l i t y \" i n reference to themedium i t s e l f , or media-language ( c o n t r o l l i n g information system) unity, something which i s obviously necessary for peak performance i n any action a r t . C l e a r l y , i t would be rather hard to reach the heights of poetic composition i n French, i f one could not d i r e c t l y \"think i n French,\" and were therefore forced to compose i n Eng l i s h and t r a n s l a t e consciously into French before e x t e r n a l i z i n g the verbal media o r a l l y or with the pen. This i s the most obvious example I can construct of a lack of \"media-language\" unity, leading i n e v i t a b l y to a s t i l t e d or mechanical e f f e c t . The proper media of French l i t e r a t u r e i s the French language, and every art has i t s own media-language or c o n t r o l l i n g information system. The point which i s hard to f u l l y digest and 7 1 remember i s that i t w i l l not be a verbal or l i t e r a l language (such as Eng l i s h or French) unless the art involved i s l i t e r a t u r e . The language-media system of Chinese painting i s not C l a s s i c a l Chinese, nor the vernacular, nor are these the language-media of c a l l i g r a p h y as a f i n e a r t , except i n a rather distant sense. The r e a l language of c a l l i -graphy and painting i s the language of the brush (or, rather, the idea of the p o t e n t i a l brush) i n mental time and space, j u s t as the r e a l language of fencing is the language of the f o i l within the r e l a t i v i s t i c time-space syndrome of the fencer's c o n t r o l l i n g mind. If one i s to reach any degree of freedom i n the use of either f o i l or brush, one must be able to think automatically\u00E2\u0080\u0094spontaneously and i n t u i t i v e l y - - i n the language of the brush or f o i l , and \"fence or paint one's mind\" i n the same sense that the charismatic orator \"speaks h i s mind.\" The kind of metaphysical change which i s involved i n \"becoming the media\" should be clear when the s i t u a t i o n i s viewed i n another way, or from a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n . Normal mind commitment i s n e c e s s a r i l y made to the i n d i v i d u a l ego (the s e l f ' s idea of i t s e l f ) , so that the mind's concern i n discriminating i s always with the s u r v i v a l and l i f e of the ego-mind establishment within society, the universe, and the i n t e r n a l world of the mind. As a r e s u l t , the processing of mental information i s nor-mally dominated or strongly influenced by a set of sub-j e c t i v e i n t e r e s t investments of the ego--polarized between what i s supportive and what i s detrimental to the ego's securi t y . Now, i f the a r t i s t is to mobilize h i s t o t a l c o n t r o l l i n g mental powers to t h e i r f u l l e s t p o t e n t i a l , within a given creative s i t u a t i o n , and i n solving problems which may or may not have anything to do with h i s ego's subjective s u r v i v a l commitment to i t s e l f - - w h i c h may i n fact threaten i t - - t h e disadvantages of normal mind posture become obvious. The masterpiece i s generally considered to have a u n i t y of i t s own, a being of i t s own. In i t s independent power to act, to survive within the minds of men throughout h i s t o r y , i t may also be said to have a kind of l i f e . If i t i s to have u n i v e r s a l meaning (not merely subjective meaning as an extension of the person who made i t ) , i t must have a l i f e o_f i t s own. It must have been set free. In order to free the work of a r t , the a r t i s t must achieve 73 undivided ego commitment to the work of art i t s e l f as i t grows, to i t s l i f e , which he nurtures and l i v e s as i f i t were h i s own. He gives himseilf to the work of a r t , and i n becoming i t makes i t . Otherwise, the energy-sapping needs of the: subjective ego w i l l v i o l a t e the u n i t y of the work of art and compromise i t s l i f e - i n t e g r i t y . Paradoxi-c a l l y and i r o n i c a l l y , i t i s only by giving up one's i n d i v i d u a l i t y to the work of art that one may lodge or imprint the deeper i n d i v i d u a l i t y of the \"'real s e l f \" w ithin the structure of i t s formal being. For the \" r e a l s e l f \" (being the p l a t o n i c or i d e a l form of the human i n t e l l e c t or s p i r i t ) i s u n i v e r s a l i n i t s authority f o r man no matter whenever, wherever, or whoever i t may be. It can appear concretely i n d i v i d u a l i z e d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a s i n the essen-t i a l moral character of a given man--only because of the formalizing e f f e c t s of time-space within the mind. This much could be true f o r both the f i n e arts of c a l l i g r a p h y and painting, although painting d i f f e r s even from c a l l i g r a p h y i n that i t has a representational reference within the measurable material world. Calligraphy, although i t e x i s t s i n models and sometimes r e f e r s a b s t r a c t l y to objects, i s e s s e n t i a l l y i d e a \u00E2\u0080\u0094 l i k e the i d e a l i z e d examples 74 of kings and consorts held up and transmitted by the moralizing Confucian painter as self-evident within h i s given society. But the h i l l s and mountains, streams and fo r e s t s \u00E2\u0080\u0094 o r whatever i s \"out there\" to make trees and water within a l l of our minds \u00E2\u0080\u0094 existed before the coming of man. Calligraphy i s the mirror of man, and thus, the most e s s e n t i a l l y Confucian of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l ' s p l a s t i c a r t s ; but, holding up the mirror to r e f l e c t both man and the universe, painting i s Taoist as w e l l \u00E2\u0080\u0094 y e t , Taoist without ceasing to be Confucian. In becoming h i s subject the Chinese sage-painter of landscape, such as L i Ch'eng, was able to lodge h i s i n d i v i d u a l moral charac-t e r i n the r e f l e c t i o n of the natural world at the same time that he a c t i v a t e d the conditioned r e f l e x movements of the c a l l i g r a p h i c mind. The kind of unity which may be r e a l i z e d somewhere between the needs of spirit-resonance and those of the lodging of moral character should not be so d i f f i c u l t f o r the Westerner to accept. As we have already seen i n considering the F i r s t P r i n c i p l e , spirit-resonance may be thought of as r e s u l t i n g from action painting which cooperates or somehow works through the laws, p r i n c i p l e s , 75 and processes of u n i v e r s a l f l u x i . e . without the deadening w i l l to r e s i s t the i n e v i t a b l e . The so - c a l l e d \" r e a l s e l f \" or e s s e n t i a l character of man--of i n d i v i d u a l men, when i n d i v i d u a l i z e d i n the aspect of time and space\u00E2\u0080\u0094must also be regarded as one with and dynamically energized through the w i l l of Heaven. When i t (the r e a l man) expresses i t s e l f i n a r t , spirit-resonance r e s u l t s auto-m a t i c a l l y within the record of the formal values of the paintin g (as an h i s t o r i c a l statement of the act i o n ) ; and t h i s w i l l take place spontaneously and e f f o r t l e s s l y i n the absence of the deadening defensive a n t i - f o r c e of the s e l f i s h subjective ego. When spirit-resonance i s lodged i n the formal values of the painting, moral character must simultaneously j o i n i t ; f o r the two are the same. According to the primary tenet of the Confucian way, the \" r e a l s e l f \" or e s s e n t i a l character of man i s good. The r o l e of meditation may thus be seen as contribu-t i n g to the art of painting i n a way which i s not at a l l contradictory to the Confucian value system; f o r , c e r t a i n l y , meditation i s one of the most d i r e c t and e f f e c t i v e avenues to r e a l i z a t i o n of the \" r e a l s e l f \" and i t s basic r e l a t i o n s h i p to the cosmic processes of the world i . e . to 76 r e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e . And, a l t h o u g h i t i s h a r d t o a c c e p t l a n d s c a p e p a i n t i n g as a f o r m of d i r e c t p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n , t h e p r o d u c t i o n of a m a s t e r p i e c e of m o r a l c h a r a c t e r l o d g i n g ( and s p i r i t r e s o n a n c e ) must be r e c o g n i z e d ( i f we a r e t o see m a t t e r s i n a C o n f u c i a n l i g h t ) as p o t e n t i a l l y c o n t r i b u -t i n g t o a s t a t e of mind o r s p i r i t u a l c o n d i t i o n p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r t h e s e l f l e s s o b j e c t i v e s o c i a l - p o l i t i c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n . The m a n u f a c t u r e of examples of m o r a l s t a t u r e and s t r e n g t h i s a l w a y s a s o c i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e h i g h e s t o r d e r . One may now r e a s o n a b l y c o n s i d e r t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p of t h e s e m a t t e r s ( e s s e n t i a l l y r e l i g i o u s ) t o t h e p r a c t i c e of \" T r a n s m i s s i o n by C o p y i n g , t h a t i s t o say, t h e c o p y i n g of models\" ( S u l l i v a n ) , o r , i n Soper's t r a n s l a t i o n , t h e \" t r a n s m i s s i o n ( o f t h e e x p e r i e n c e of t h e p a s t ) i n making c o p i e s \" i . e . t o t h e C o n f u c i a n a u t h o r i t y of H s i e h Ho's S i x t h P r i n c i p l e w i t h i t s e c l e c t i c - p e d a n t i c i m p l i c a t i o n s . Now as soon as we put o u r s e l v e s i n t o t h e C o n f u c i a n frame of mind, t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s h o u l d become s e l f - e v i d e n t ; f o r i t must be remembered t h a t t h e C o n f u c i a n d i d n o t s h a r e our h i s t o r i c a l s k e p t i c i s m and t a l e n t f o r d i s b e l i e f . The i d e a l forms o r models of c a l l i g r a p h y , t o g i v e one example, were b e l i e v e d t o have o r i g i n a t e d as a r e s u l t of d i r e c t t r a n s -77 mission from Heaven. And i n i t s long h i s t o r i c a l develop-ment the writ t e n language was not r e f i n e d and perfected by common pedants, but by the sages of h i s t o r y , poetry, and a r t . It should not be necessary to add at t h i s time that the sages ( i n China) were i n e v i t a b l y tuned i n to the w i l l of Heaven, and therefore functioned r o u t i n e l y as \"the r e a l man.\" Models or examples--whole paintings, or a p a r t i c u l a r method of representing natural objects or space, or even a type of brush stroke derived from i n d i v i d u a l s t y l e s of masters\u00E2\u0080\u0094were very l i k e l y viewed i n a r e l i g i o - m o r a l perspective, so that to conform was to obey the w i l l of Heaven as we l l as the customs of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l c l a s s . Through, meditation i n a r u s t i c or wilderness s e t t i n g the Confucian s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l , acting through the a l t e r -nate convention of Taoist mysticism, was able to sharpen h i s soul f o r tasks ahead. P a r t i c u l a r l y i n times when h i s services were not wanted,or could not be given i n good conscience t h i s was the accepted way; although the hope of a chance to serve at some time i n l i f e seldom died. And, yet, art i t s e l f could always serve as a way i n which a man might give himself back to society. Through the lodging of spirit-resonance and moral painter was, i r o n i c a l l y , also able to to himself, and to the T o t a l i t y . 78 character the scholar-give himself back BIBLIOGRAPHY Acker, William Reynolds Beal. Some T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts on Chinese Painting. Leyden, E. J . B r i l l , 1954. Bernbaum, Ernest. Anthology of Romanticism. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1948. Binyon, Laurence. Painting i n the Far East. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., rev. ed., 1959. Binyon, Laurence. The F l i g h t of the Dragon: An Essay on the Theory and P r a c t i c e of Art i n China and Japan, Based on O r i e n t a l Sources. London: Wisdom of the East Series, 1927. Bishop, John L., ed. Studies i n Chinese L i t e r a t u r e . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1965. Bushell, Stephen W. Chinese Art. London: The Board of Education, 1924. C a h i l l , James. Chinese Painting. Geneva: Albert Skira, 1960. C a h i l l , James F. \"Confucian Elements i n the Theory of Painting.\" Confucianism and Chinese C i v i l i z a t i o n . Edited by Arthur F. Wright. New York: Atheneum, 1964. Chan, Wing-tsit, ed. and trans. A Source Book i n Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1963. Cohn, William. Chinese Painting . 2nd rev. ed. London: Phaidon Press, 1950. 79 80 Contag, V i c t o r i a . \"The Unique C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Chinese Landscape Pictur e s . \" Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, VI. New York: 1952. Creel, H. G. Chinese Thought: From Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung. London: Un i v e r s i t y Paperbacks, 1954. Croce, Benedetto. Aesthetic. Translated by Douglas A i n s l i e . New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudany (The Noonday Press), 1922. DeBary, William Theodore, ed. Sources of Chinese Tra-d i t i o n . New York: Columbia U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1960. E l i o t , T. S. \" T r a d i t i o n and the Individual Talent.\" Selected Essays: 1917-1932. London: Harcourt, Brace and Company, Inc., 1932. E l i o t , T. S. The Complete Poems and Plays, 1909 to 1950. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1952. Fenollosa, Ernest F. Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1963. ( F i r s t published, 1912). Ferguson, John C. Chinese Painting. Chicago: The Un i v e r s i t y of Chicago Press, 1927. F i t z g e r a l d , C. P. China: A Short C u l t u r a l History. 3rd. e d i t i o n . New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1961. G i l e s , Herbert A. An Introduction to the History of Chinese P i c t o r i a l Art. Shanghai: Kelley and Walsh, Ltd., 1905\"; Grousset, Rene. The Rise and Splendour of the Chinese Empire. Berkeley: The Un i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1964. Hirt h , F r i e d r i c h . Scraps from a C o l l e c t o r 1 s Notebook. Leyden, 1905. 81 Kuo, Wei-ch'u. Sung Yuan Ming Ch'ing Shu Hua Chia Mien Piao. Peking: Chung-kuo ku t i e n i shu ch'u pnn she, 1958. Ming, L a i . A History of Chinese L i t e r a t u r e . New York: Capricorn Books, 1964. Lancman, E l i . Chinese Portraiture. Rutland, Vermont: The Charles E. T u t t l e Company, 1966. Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1964. Reischauer, Edwin 0. and Fairbank, John K. East Asia The Great T r a d i t i o n . Boston: Houghton M i f f l i n Company, 1958. Sakanishi, Shio. The S p i r i t of the Brush. London: Wisdom of the East Series, 1939. Schopenhauer, Arthur. The World as W i l l and Idea. Translated by R. B. Haldane and J . Kemp. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1961. Shih, Vince Y. C., trans. The L i t e r a r y Mind and the Carving of Dragons. New York: Columbia U n i v e r s i t y Press, 1959\" Sickman, Laurence, and Soper, Alexander. The Art and Architecture of China. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1956. Siren, Osvald. A History of Ea r l y Chinese Painting. London: The Medici Society, 1933. Siren, Osvald. The Chinese on the Art of Painting. New York: Schocken Books, 1963. Siren, Osvald. Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and P r i n c i p l e s . New York: The Ronald Press Company, l956\ 82 Soper, Alexander C. \"\"The F i r s t Two Laws of Hsieh Ho.\" The Far Eastern Quarterly; Review of Eastern Asia and the Adjacent P a c i f i c Islands. V o l . 8, 1948-49. T t h i c a , New York: Cor n e l l U n i v e r s i t y Press. S u l l i v a n , Michael. The B i r t h of Landscape Painting i n China. Berkeley: The U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1962. S u l l i v a n , Michael. An Introduction to Chinese A r t . Berkeley and Los Angeles: U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1961. Sze, Mai-mai. The Tao of Painting: A Study i n the R i t u a l D i s p o s i t i o n of Chinese Painting. New York: Pantheon Books, Inc., 1956. Van Briessen, F r i t z . The Way of the Brush. Rutland, Vermont: The Charles E. T u t t l e Company, 1962. Waley, Arthur. An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Painting. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1923. W i l l e t t s , William. Foundations of Chinese Art: From N e o l i t h i c Pottery to Modem Architecture. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1965. W i l l e t t s , William. Chinese Art. Harmondsworth, Middle-sex: Penguin Books, Ltd., 1958. Wilson, John A. The Culture of Ancient Egypt. Chicago: U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago Press, 1951. APPENDIX I Translations of 'The Six P r i n c i p l e s of Hsieh Ho. Spirit-Resonance. Bone Method. R e f l e c t i n g the Object. Appropriateness to Type. D i v i s i o n and Planning Transmission and Conveying. William Acker. Some T'ang and Pre-T'ang Texts on Chinese Painting, p. XLI. Rythmic V i t a l i t y , or S p i r i t u a l Rhythm expressed i n the movonent of l i f e . The art of rendering the bones or anatomical struc-ture by means of the brush. The drawing of forms, which answer the natural forms. Appropriate d i s t r i b u t i o n of the co l o r s . Composition and subordination, or grouping according to hierarchy of things. The transmission of c l a s s i c models. Laurence Binyon. The F l i g h t of the Dragon, p. 12. Rhythm and v i t a l i t y . S i g n i f i c a n t brushwork. R e a l i s t i c form. Right colour. Good composition. Study of good models. William Cohn. Chinese Painting, p. 35. Rhythmic v i t a l i t y . Anatomical structure. 83 84 Conformity with nature. S u i t a b i l i t y of colouring. A r t i s t i c composition. F i n i s h . Herbert A. G i l e s . Introduction to the History of Chinese P i c t o r i a l Art, p. 29. S p i r i t u a l Element, L i f e ' s Motion. Skeleton-drawing with the brush. Correctness of o u t l i n e s . Colouring to correspond to nature of object. The correct d i v i s i o n of space. Copying models. F r i e d r i c h H i r t h . Scraps from a C o l l e c t o r ' s Notebook, p. 58. Animation through s p i r i t consonance, sympathetic responsiveness of the v i t a l s p i r i t . S t r u c t u r a l method i n the use of the brush. F i d e l i t y to the object i n portraying forms. Conformity to kind i n applying co l o r s . Proper planning i n the placing of elements. Transmission of the experience of the past i n making copies. Sherman E. Lee, A History of Far Eastern Art, p. 253. A p i c t u r e should be i n s p i r e d and possess l i f e i t s e l f . The framework should be c a l l i g r a p h i c a l l y established. In drawing the forms of things one should conform to t h e i r natural proportions. Color should be applied i n accordance with the nature of the subject. In planning the composition one should observe con-sistency and propriety i n the r e a l i z a t i o n of things The drawing should be guided by former masters. Benjamin March, \"Linear Perspective i n Chinese P a i n t i n Eastern Art, 1931, p. 131. (Quoted by F r i t z Van 85 Briessen, The Way of the Brush, p. 110). That through a v i t a l i z i n g s p i r i t , a painting should possess the movement of l i f e . That by means of the brush, the s t r u c t u r a l basis should be established. That the representation should so conform with the objects as to give t h e i r likeness. That the co l o r i n g should be applied according to t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . That, through organization, place and p o s i t i o n should be determined. That by copying, the ancient models should be perpetuated. Shio Sakanishi, The S p i r i t of the Brush, p. 50. S p i r i t u a l Tone and Life-movement. Manner of brushwork i n drawing l i n e s . Form i n i t s r e l a t i o n to objects. Choice of color appropriate to the objects. Composition and grouping. The copying of c l a s s i c masterpieces. Taki S e i i c h i , Kokka; No. 244. (Quoted by F r i t z Van Briessen, The Way of the Brush, p. 110). Resonance of the s p i r i t ; movement of l i f e . Bone manner ( i . e . , s t r u c t u r a l ) use of the brush. Conform with the objects (to obtain) t h e i r likeness. According to the species, apply the colours. Plan and design; place and p o s i t i o n (composition). To transmit models by drawing. Osvald Siren, E a r l y Chinese Painting, V o l . 1, p. 32. The f i r s t i s \"animation through s p i r i t consonance.\" The second i s \" s t r u c t u r a l method i n use of the brush.\" The t h i r d i s \" f i d e l i t y to the object i n portraying forms. \" 86 The fourth i s \"conformity to kind i n applying c o l o r s . \" The f i f t h i s \"proper planning i n placing (of elements). The s i x t h i s \"transmission (of the experience of the past) i n making copies.\u00E2\u0084\u00A2 Alexander Soper, \"The F i r s t Two Laws of Hsieh Ho.\" The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 8, 1948-49, p. 412. F i r s t , S p i r i t Resonance, which means v i t a l i t y . Second, Bone Method, which i s (a way of) using the brush. Third, Correspondence to the Object, which means the depicting of forms. Fourth, S u i t a b i l i t y to Type, which has to do with the laying on of colours. F i f t h , D i v i s i o n and Planning, i . e . , placing and arrangement. Sixth, Transmission by Copying, that i s to say, the copying of models. Michael S u l l i v a n , The B i r t h of Landscape Painting i n China, 1962. S p i r i t Harmony--life's motion. Bone-means--use brush. According to the object, depict i t s shape. According to the species, apply color . Planning and disposing degrees and places. By handing on and copying, to transmit designs. Arthur Waley, An Introduction to the Study of Chinese Painting, p. 72. APPENDIX II Negative C a p a b i l i t y and Formal Values The c r i t i c a l question which remains i s t h i s : exactly what i s the physical difference, i n terms of formal values, between a painting which has l i f e - b r e a t h or moral-lodging and one which does not? And i f i t does exist on t h i s l e v e l , i . e . , i f i t i s perceivable through the senses at a l l , i s the p h y s i c a l evidence i n a painting of moral lodging of the a r t i s t ' s e s s e n t i a l being i d e n t i c a l to the evidence of l i f e - b r e a t h or spirit-resonance? From what has already been said, the case f o r moral-lodging should be c l e a r . The Confucian moral impera-t i v e i n s i s t s upon the p s y c h o l o g i c a l - i n t e l l e c t u a l n e u t r a l i t y of the s c h o l a r - o f f i c i a l ; a gentleman does not invent, he transmits. Ideally, he becomes the neutral v e h i c l e , as u n i v e r s a l or a - p r i o r i mind, i n order to pass on the wisdom of the sages uncontaminated and uncolored by i n d i v i d u a l p e r s o n a l i t y . To do so he must, obviously, leave himself out \u00E2\u0080\u0094 out of thought and out of action, i n l i t e r a r y trans-mission or i n painting. In other words, he must not l e t h i s own personal c o n d i t i o n i n g \u00E2\u0080\u0094 h i s i n d i v i d u a l p o s i t i v e h i s t o r y \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i n t e r f e r e with the c l a s s i c a l pattern of u n i v e r s a l 87 88 wisdom. But, as anyone who i s sharply aware of the presence of negative space w i l l be quick to admit, an omission can be as important as an i n c l u s i o n . Obviously\u00E2\u0080\u0094perhaps too obviously for the academic mind to r e a d i l y a c c e p t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 b y leaving himself out of a painting, out of i t s p o s i t i v e space, the Chinese painter i r o n i c a l l y (and i n an astonishingly straight-'forward way) was able to deposit or embody himself i n terms of anthropomorphic negative space (or spaces) within the painting. As soon as one can make the perceptual r e v e r s a l , from consciousness of p o s i t i v e space to the consciousness of negative space, the negative space i n the painting w i l l become v i s u a l l y active i n a formal way, and the anthropomorphic voids which I j u s t mentioned w i l l magically snap into focus. The painter takes o f f h i s clothes and s i t s cross-legged: no less i s required of the serious viewer. In order to a p p r e c i a t e -indeed, i n order to p e r c e i v e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e evidence of moral-lodging i n Chinese painting, which i s an art of negative c a p a b i l i t y , the viewer must ac t i v a t e h i s own negative c a p a b i l i t y \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a matter of meditation, of s e l f - d e n i a l , a supression of the c r i t i c i z i n g , l i t e r a l i z i n g , judging f a c i l i t i e s of the p o s i t i v e mind. For those who are un-tuned to the r e a l i t y 89 o f negative space, who deny negative c a p a b i l i t y , t h i s door w i l l remain t i g h t l y c l o s e d \u00E2\u0080\u0094 u n l e s s , of course, some purely t e c h n i c a l means i s employed to force the gap\u00E2\u0080\u0094some technological t r i c k or device, supplied by science. I am thinking here of the free-running stroboscopic inspec-t i o n l i g h t , which has been used for many years now i n modifying the perceptual c a p a c i t i e s of workers on inspection l i n e s i n f a c t o r i e s . Be that as i t may, what do these negative-space s e l f - p o r t r a i t s r e a l l y look l i k e to one who can see them? Obviously, the i n d i v i d u a l characteristics d i f f e r g r e a t l y according to the i n d i v i d u a l nature of the a r t i s t ' s mind, although the way i n which they appear i s remarkably con-stant. Even so, i t i s extremely d i f f i c u l t to put t h e i r nature into exact words. They appear i n a manner s i m i l a r to that of moral patterns, e i t h e r singly, or as a morie of f i g u r a t i v e representations, dynamically interpene-t r a t i n g p o s i t i v e form\u00E2\u0080\u0094be i t the representation of rock, tree, f o r e s t , mountain, water, mist, or bamboo. Unlike the pattern of p o s i t i v e brush work, they are very genera-l i z e d ; but, at the same t i m e \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i n evocative power \u00E2\u0080\u0094 t h e y are very concrete, and homogeneously r e l a t e d to the i n d i -v i d u a l character of the painter i n question. For example, 9 0 those of L i Ch'eng seem very erect and v i r i l e , v i t a l and energetic i n a pure super-human way, and t h e i r evocative e f f e c t i s one of pure 1ife-enhancement. Those i n Kung Hsien are paranoid\u00E2\u0080\u0094although nobly so \u00E2\u0080\u0094seeming crushed, trapped, confined, and suffocating under the pressure of his p o s i t i v e brush\u00E2\u0080\u0094but, nevertheless, holding t h e i r space. Such anthropomorphic forms i n Chinese painting are never s t a t i c or fix e d , but tend to breathe or pulsate (as experienced i n the viewer's mind) within the l i m i t s set upon them by the p o s i t i v e elements of the composition. Although they r e s u l t as the negative embodiment of what the painter has d i s c i p l i n e d himself to omit, the way i n which they appear i s c l e a r l y the r e s u l t of automatic and unconscious formative powers within the a - p r i o r i mind. As a moral-aesthetic c r i t e r i o n f o r judgment, I would suggest that anthropomorphic negative space which seems to expand i n an e f f o r t l e s s , a f f i r m a t i v e way\u00E2\u0080\u0094as i n L i Ch'eng\u00E2\u0080\u0094is superior to that which, as i n the case of Kung Hsien, labours to exist or appears to shrink defensively. I am sure the Chinese would agree. What, then, i s s p i r i t -resonance? This i s a term which the Chinese always seem to apply to the p o s i t i v e q u a l i t i e s of painting, the brush work i n p a r t i c u l a r . In general, i t may be described as a process q u a l i t y i n which every d e t a i l i n the whole ac t i o n seems to be caught up or supported by the same o v e r a l l force f i e l d . It i s , quite frankly, as i f every d e t a i l i n the complex ac t i o n of executing a painting had been rendered at exactly the same moment, the work of ten thousand brushes c o n t r o l l e d simultaneously by one mind. There i s no begin-ning and no end: every stroke and every image i s right (where every stroke i s at home, taking i t s place to support the others, the stroke neither d i f f i d e n t nor ostentatious, the common stroke exact without v u l g a r i t y , the formal stroke precise but not pedantic, the complete consort dancing together) every passage and image i s an end and a beginning, every painting an epitaph.\"*\" C l e a r l y , for t h i s to be, ordinary time-space control must give way to some constant a - h i s t o r i c a l control force. But what i s i t ? Again, the only reasonable answer l i e s with the a - p r i o r i mind, the primordial under-netting of h i s t o r i c a l time-space r e a l i t y . The creator of time and space, and of form, i t s e l f formless, i t must give form such as a mir-ror gives form by r e f l e c t i n g ; but, as we know, there are T. S. E l l i o t , The Complete Poems and Plays, (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and Company, 1952), p. 144. 92 many kinds of mirrors. Here, we must think i n terms of a cybernetic mirror. And, although we can have no idea of i t s r e a l i t y \u00E2\u0080\u0094 i t i s the very substance of the idea we would have--we may not discount i t s presence which we may experience but cannot know. The Chinese at t h i s point, might, I think, be i n c l i n e d to argue that t h i s presence i s part and parcel of a much grander mind system\u00E2\u0080\u0094indeed, the mind of Heaven. In any case, the most reasonable explanation for the formal q u a l i t y of spirit-resonance i n paintings, i s that they present some kind of resemblance between t h e i r own mode of being and the way i n which the primordial cybernetic mirror has i t s being--i.e., a painting with spirit-resonance represents and symbolizes the primordial mind process, i f only i n a l i m i t e d way. Consciousness i t s e l f , being the product of cybernetic action, must surely have a pe c u l i a r and t y p i c a l rhythm\u00E2\u0080\u0094a process-tone charac-t e r i s t i c of our species. And i n i t s a b i l i t y to support impression o b j e c t i v e l y within a transparent cybernetic medium\u00E2\u0080\u0094to nourishingly bathe impression with the trans-parent f l u i d of consciousness, or the pure vacuum of consciousness\u00E2\u0080\u0094the u n i v e r s a l mind must be said to have some i n t r i n s i c being of i t s own which might conceivably be represented or symbolized i n a painting, or a l l e g o r i z e d , 9 3 on the deepest i c o n o l o g i c a l l e v e l . Here, again, the c r i t e r i a of judgment which emerges i s e s s e n t i a l l y i c o n o l o g i c a l . The way i n which the ink exis t s i n r e l a t i o n to the paper must somehow adequately symbolize the way i n which impression ex i s t s i n r e l a t i o n to the u n i v e r s a l mind p o t e n t i a l which supports i t , i n the mind of the painter and of a l l men, f o r otherwise there can be no s p i r i t resonance when we are i n turn impressed by the pain t i n g . The representational surface must seem to r i d e upon a f l u i d p o t e n t i a l of l i g h t \u00E2\u0080\u0094 or pure s p i r i t u a l energy--which supports i t from beneath, once the painting i s recreated i n the viewer's mind. As i n the case of a l l of the greatest landscape paintings, anthropomorphic nega-tive-space forms must appear to emerge from a deeper and more intense formless p o t e n t i a l to support the f a b r i c of the world. In bamboo painting, the a - p r i o r i negative image of a man i s often lodged i n the pattern of l i g h t between the leaves and branches, i r o n i c a l l y set apart from the surrounding ether out of which the plant has c r y s t a l i z e d . The space has been l e f t empty, there i s room, i t has been transmitted so that the viewer too may l i v e within the painting as h i s own i d e a \u00E2\u0080\u0094 a s long as i t i s also the univer-s a l concept of man. Like the painter who takes off h i s 94 clothes and s i t s cross-legged, the viewer must take off h i s p e r s o n a l i t y and move into the painting. "@en . "Thesis/Dissertation"@en . "10.14288/1.0104549"@en . "eng"@en . "Fine Arts"@en . "Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library"@en . "University of British Columbia"@en . "For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use."@en . "Graduate"@en . "Tradition and individual talent in the theory of Chinese painting."@en . "Text"@en . "http://hdl.handle.net/2429/36612"@en .