2021 International Conference on Education, Humanity and Language, Art (EHLA 2021) ISBN: 978-1-60595-137-9

"Soil" of Modern Chinese —Analysis of Race, Environment and the Times Yi-fan DU1,a,* 1Department of Photography and Animation, Modern College of Northwest University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, [email protected] *Corresponding author

Keywords: Modern Chinese landscape painting, Taoist culture, Western art, Rationalism and science, Theme of the times.

Abstract. As we all know, material civilization and spiritual civilization depend on three factors: race, environment, and times. [1] As a kind of culture, modern Chinese landscape painting has undergone new changes, mainly because the "soil" and "climate" on which it depends for survival have changed. In order to clarify how the changes of modern Chinese landscape painting in recent years are affected by three factors, this article will take the modern Chinese landscape painting as the research object, and study its influence on modern Chinese landscape painting from three aspects: race, environment, and times. The author hopes that this article can provide a reference for the future development of Chinese landscape painting.

1. Introduction In the context of the increasingly frequent cultural exchanges between China and the West in modern times, modern Chinese landscape painting not only inherits the paradigm of traditional Chinese landscape painting, but also actively draws on Western art. Some painters drew inspiration from other painting types, some insisted on the evolution logic of Chinese landscape paintings [2], and others tried to implement "the integration of Chinese and Western cultures" in painting [3]...Through the efforts of contemporary painters, these modern Chinese landscape paintings showed a new schema [4] that is significantly different from traditional Chinese landscape painting in terms of perspective, ink-wash usage, inscriptions, composition and style. Although the artist has tried many methods but most of these are borrowings from some painting techniques or the study of a specific method. Using planting flowers as an example, it is the "soil" and "climate" that determine the growth of flowers, not the method of planting flowers. Modern Chinese landscape paintings are like "flowers". When the growth of "flowers" changes, we have to trace back to whether there have been some changes in "soil" and "climate". The author draws on the theoretical framework that Danner wrote in "Philosophy of Art": "material civilization and spiritual civilization depend on three factors: race, environment, and times,"[1] and studies its influence on modern Chinese landscape painting from three aspects: race, environment, and times. This article uses the case study method and literature study method, takes modern Chinese landscape painting as the research object, and studies its influence on modern Chinese landscape painting from three aspects: race, environment, and times. On the basis of close contact with society and the times, extensive and in-depth theoretical exploration of the changes and development of modern Chinese landscape paintings is aimed at providing references for the future development of modern Chinese landscape paintings.

2. Races The "race" mentioned here refers to people having a common culture, emphasizing a sense of psychological identity. Chinese landscape painting originated in China, not other countries and

191 regions. In Chinese culture, Taoism has the deepest influence on Chinese landscape painting. So we have to study the influence of Taoism on Chinese landscape painting. In addition, in the context of globalization, China has also adopted a large number of Western cultures. The main influence on the development of Chinese landscape painting is the art part of Western culture. So we have to study the influence of western art. 2.1. The Influence of the Taoism “Although Confucianism [5] is very profound in politics, it should be Taoist [6] thought that promotes the development of and nurtured the spirit of Chinese art. Literati [7] advocating nature is the reason for the development of Chinese landscape painting, and it is also the result of the development of Taoism.” [8] The aesthetic theory of traditional Chinese landscape painting originated from Lao Tzu's aesthetics thought [9] and developed from the aesthetics in Wei and Jin Dynasties [10]. Lao Tzu believes that “Tao” [11] is the origin of the world. The Tao Te Ching [12] says: There is such a thing that appeared before the appearance of heaven and earth, all over the void. It is the mother of all things in the world. We don't know how to call her, let's call her “Tao (the most fundamental law of the universe)” for the time being. (CT-1) [13] “Tao” produces two Qi [14] (energy of life), called Yin (feminine principle in nature) and Yang [15] (masculine principle in nature). The Yin and Yang two Qi flow and transforms into the world, and they appear as “Xu [16] (the internal situation is empty), Shi [17] (internal situation strong), You (concrete existence), and Wu[18] (invisible nothingness)”. The Tao Te Ching says: “Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things.”(CT-2) [19] When Tao begets one, there is no difference between all things. When one begets two, separation begins to appear. This difference becomes more and more obvious when three begets all things. Since one begets two, this appearance of separation began to bring pain. Taoists believe that separation produces pain [20], so the way to eliminate the pain is to eliminate separation and return to the original state of “Tian Ren He Yi”[21] (the unity of heaven, earth and man). In ancient times Chinese landscape painters agree with Lao Tzu's aesthetics very much, believing that the origin of the universe is “Tao” and “Qi”, which has no definite shape and volume. It can spread freely, and the form of expression is “Xu” and “Shi”. From the traditional landscape paintings of Dong Yuan[22](934-ca.962), Ju Ran[23], Ma Yuan[24](1140-1225), Xia Gui[25], Dong Qichang[26](1555-1636), etc., we can find that the elements in the picture, such as mountains, water, trees, clouds and air, are not just an objective description of nature but also the depiction of its spirit. These scenes are either lively or dejected, as if they have human emotions. Taoists believe that Tao is the origin of the world. Tao learns from nature which is the state of “Tian Ren He Yi”. In this state, human beings are both heaven and earth, and heaven and earth are also human beings. The scenes in landscape paintings are not the reproduction of objective scenery but “Yi Jing[27] (The unity of thought, emotion and real scene)” which is a unity of spirit and objective scenery and which is closely related to the painter's life and emotions. When the painter paints, as the painter's emotions change at this time, mountains and water gradually appear on the paper. The scenes in the picture are sometimes clear and sometimes fuzzy, as if there is “Qi” flowing in a certain rhythm. 2.2. The Influence of the Western Art In form of expression modern Chinese landscape painters' works has been largely different from traditional Chinese landscape paintings. They have learned a lot of Western Academic art or Modern art, such as perspective, sketching, and color, and use Chinese traditional Multipoint perspective [28] less and less. For example, they follow Cézanne (ca.1886–1906), focusing on simplifying the scenery into geometric forms, or learn from Gauguin (ca.1886–1903), using flat coating method and clear outlines, or study Monet (ca.1872–1926), focusing on the expression of light, shadow and color.

3. Environment The environment here mainly refers to the whole world, regardless of race or region, all affected by

192 it. What satisfies this condition is rationalism and science. Starting from Descartes, rationalism and science have been influencing the world for centuries, and through compulsory education, they are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. 3.1. The Influence of the Rationalism and Science Compared with the elegance of traditional Chinese landscape painting, modern Chinese landscape painting is more secular. The reason is that Taoists believe that heaven, earth and people are a whole. Traditional Chinese Landscape painting not only depicts scenes, but also expresses emotions. These pictures often show the artist's personal emotions and style, such as elegance and vigor. However, modern Chinese landscape painting is influenced by rationalism and science, which separates human from nature [29]. The landscape painter is just a faithful copy of the objective world, and the emotional factor of the painter as the subject is greatly weakened in the creation process. In traditional Chinese landscape paintings, there is a relationship of “Xiang (orientation)”, “Bei (deviation)”, “Chuan Cha (insertion)”, and “Hu Ying(echo)” between the sceneries, which seem to be integrated. However, since modern Chinese landscape painting focuses on the accurate expression of sceneries, this method of incorporating the painter's self-consciousness into Chinese landscape painting is easy to be ignored. The whole picture seems to be just a truthful response to the objective world, lacking the artist's subjective creation and imagination. Obviously, these modern Chinese landscape paintings are influenced by modern Western science and are based on objective facts and rational logical reasoning [30].

4. Times The times here refers to all objective environments that affect people's conscious activities. In the early Qing Dynasty, the Chinese landscape painter Shi Tao proposed that "brush and ink should be with the times" refer to that lets the painter describe the objective environment of the era in which he lives. 4.1. The Influence of the Theme of the Times Analyzing the schema of modern Chinese landscape painting, we find that it emphasizes realism. With the development of urbanization and the popularization of commercial society, urban landscape paintings [31] and courtyard landscape paintings [32] have also formed, which are new types of Chinese landscape painting with characteristics of the times and depicting urban life. This just reflects that artistic creation should keep pace with the times and have traces of the times, which is advocated by contemporary people. [33]

5. Conclusion This paper is summarized as follows: (1) Influenced by both Chinese and Western cultures, modern Chinese landscape painting not only inherits traditional Chinese landscape painting which pays attention to spiritual and emotional expression, and expresses " Tian Ren He Yi", but also learns Western art which focus on the realism and the expression of painting forms. Modern Chinese landscape painting pays attention to the subtle expression of spirit and emotion when it inherits traditional Chinese landscape painting. For example, Zheng Banqiao 140 (circa 1764–1766) once said: "In the fresh autumn of autumn, living by the river, I woke up in the morning and looked at the bamboo, and the sun was shining in the bamboo forest. Paint slowly formed in my heart. In fact, the bamboo I want to paint is not the bamboo I see in my eyes. When I opened the paper and picked up the paintbrush, the bamboo changed. This is because the bamboo I painted is not the bamboo in my heart. "((CT-3) [34] "The intention to paint it slowly appeared in my heart." Only when there is "the bamboo I want to paint in my heart", there is "painted bamboo". First, the painter has the desire to paint. Then he starts Painting. Finally, there is an image on paper. There must be an intention before painting. If there is no desire to paint, he will not be able to paint. This shows the importance of his inner desire to paint.

193 When learning from Western art, modern Chinese landscape painting pays attention to sketching real scenes, first seeing with eyes, then rationally analyzing with brain, and finally drawing by hand. Modern Chinese landscape painting pays attention to the rational analysis, processing and precise expression of the landscape. It can be seen that the effects of the paintings under the influence of Chinese and Western cultures are quite different. Under globalization, both Chinese and Western cultures will definitely affect the artist's creation at the same time. The most important thing is to pay attention to the intensity of the influence of the two factors. (2) Because of the popularization of education, rationalism and science are deeply rooted in people's hearts. Modern landscape painters believe in science and worship reason. Taoism, as an idealistic ideology, has become the opposite of science. The two contradictory ideologies in the minds of modern landscape painters will inevitably lead to changes of the image when they are creating. (3) The influence of the times on modern Chinese landscape painting is mainly manifested in the choice of the theme. The choice of the theme should reflect the lives of contemporary people and the collective memory of people of an era, rather than blindly imitating the ancients.

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Glossary Tao 道 the most fundamental law of the universe Qi 气 energy of life Yin 阴 feminine principle in nature

195 Yang 阳 masculine principle in nature Xu 虚 the internal situation is empty Shi 实 internal situation strong You 有 concrete existence Wu 无 invisible nothingness Tian Ren He Yi 天人合一 the unity of heaven, earth and man Yi Jing 意境 The unity of thought, emotion and real scene Xiang 向 orientation Bei 背 deviation Chuan Cha 穿插 insertion Hu Ying 呼应 echo

Chinese Text(CT) CT-1 有物混成，先天地生。寂兮寥兮，独立而不改，周行而不殆，可以为天下母。吾不知其名， 强字之曰道，强为之名曰大。 CT-2 道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。 CT-3 江馆清秋，晨起看竹，烟光日影露气，皆浮动于疏枝密叶之间。胸中勃勃遂有画意。其实胸 中之竹，并不是眼中之竹也。因而磨墨展纸，落笔倏作变相，手中之竹又不是胸中之竹也。

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