Some western scholars argue, based on the apparent formal differences between Chinese and Western landscape paintings, first that the Chinese have the idea of“heaven and man merging into one”( tian ren heyi 天人合一), man is not separated from nature and Chinese landscape thus represents pure nature with no human figures in the center"; second, "Western landscape tends to be more realistic than its Chinese counterpart". How do you agree with these two points? Do they seem reasonable to you? What do they see? What do they overlook?
I think Chinese landscape painting carries a poetic realm and is rich in the emotions of most people, while Western painting is closer to reality and focuses on specific descriptions of reality.
Western scholars criticize Chinese paintings using the "realistic" standards of the West, but they fail to recognize the essence of Chinese art, which is "impressionistic" - aiming for the spirit rather than mere resemblance, and expressing the mood rather than replicating nature.
Chinese landscape painting often integrates human figures into the scenery, reflecting the harmony between heaven and humanity rather than the absence of people. Western art emphasizes realism but also contains symbolic meaning.
Chinese paintings often use natural things to express the feelings of humans, some specific things have its referential meanings.But the Western cultures tend to describe the real landscapes of the world.
I disagree.The Chinese painting also includes people's imagination and great thinking.The western painting seems to be more realistic,but it also includes painter's imagination.
Western definitions of "reality" are confined to visual verisimilitude, whereas Chinese painting posits that brushwork itself constitutes reality—reflecting the artist's observation of nature and inner experience. Negative space (liubai) is an integral component of this reality.
Western scholars criticize Chinese paintings using the "realistic" standards of the West, but they fail to recognize the essence of Chinese art, which is "impressionistic" - aiming for the spirit rather than mere resemblance, and expressing the mood rather than replicating nature.
Western landscape painting, influenced by Renaissance humanism, often centers on human figures and idealized nature, reflecting humans views. Chinese landscapes embody "tian ren he yi" through spiritual harmony rather than literal absence of people—figures are small to emphasize nature's vastness. The comparison is because we are in different cultural philosophies and artistic purposes.
Chinese landscape painting is wrong not to focus on people because the admirers of the paintings are necessarily human beings, so the first point is wrong. Second.
Anthropocentrism started with Descartes, so there was no such tendency before the seventeenth century, so the second is wrong.
The two points raised by Western scholars are partially reasonable as they capture some surface characteristics of Chinese and Western landscape paintings, but they also overlook key nuances and exceptions due to overgeneralization.
Chinese painting depict the spiritual human ego, a kinda advanced expression of true spirit.
The Western one concentrates on the reality of world on real life, while the Chinese one pay more attention to the celestial harmony of a true spiritual world.
This view is too one-sided. Each country's culture has its own emphasis and it cannot be said which one is the best. It's just that the focus is different. Chinese landscape paintings also have realistic elements, but they are just less common.
It's wrong to say Chinese traditional painting don't focus human. Chinese traditional painting is good at integrating humanistic spirit into painting through abstract thinking.
No, chinese paintings portray not only the underlying meaning but also figures. Figures can appear both apparently and potentially. And figures are not the fake ones, but exist in the real world.
I disagree with both of these viewpoints. Chinese landscape painting depicts specific and authentic locations, and different painting techniques express the author's different thoughts, reflecting the spirituality of human beings.
There are people in Chinese landscape painting, but they are usually not the visual center; It is not "unreal" either, but pursuing "realistic imagery" rather than "realistic appearance".
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