End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 1:13:23 PDT
Some paintings have been found on pottery or culinary items dating back to these times, indicating that the Chinese were appreciators of art from the onset of their existence itself. Like paintings found at the ruins of many prehistoric civilizations. Murals can be seen depicted on walls at the forts and premises of the Hand and Tang dynasties.
The Tang and Song dynasties are said to be the golden period of Chinese art- be it on canvas, culinary items or enamel and other surfaces. Chinese art flourished, rather burgeoned by leaps and bounds during this period. Two of the most famous artists of this era have been Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi. While the former was known as a painter of historic facts and depictions, the latter was known as a painter who excelled in depicting philosophies of life through his figure and landscaping art forms.
Li Sixun and Li Zhaodao have been accredited as the first to use minerals in their pigments to describe art and landscapes. They have been known to be the first painters to experiment with pigment. Chinese paintings, like most other art and craft forms has descended from generations and has been passed on since then to younger generations.
Generally, a painter excels in only one kind of object. Some excel in making landscapes, while others excel in making animals and showing the relationship of every creature of this universe with each other. Because the style, pigment compositions and background materials have been passed on, almost untouched, for ages, one can still find such ‘expert on only a few objects’ painters in China. Dragon paintings have been an example of such proliferation over generations, as a result of which, one might find paintings of particular objects like the dragon in abundance. Probably, all the painters who initiated the design belonged to one particular family, which has divided into smaller nuclear families over the centuries, but the design and the main theme has flowed down ages, untouched and unparalleled.
The present art and painting industry in China is very active, which is evident from the amount of exhibitions they hold each year, and have been holding them over the past many years in China and at different places in the world, like Korea, Japan, Singapore and the US. Although, Chinese paintings are very different from the oil paintings found in the West, some new modern Chinese artists have added more commercial values to their paintings by painting in oil and water colors, the design being traditionally Chinese and strictly Eastern. By doing this, they have combined the elegance of Chinese designs with the appeal of Oil and water colors, creating a whole new niche for themselves in the western markets, which were active mostly to the antique Chinese paintings, and not so much to the modern art forms.
Chinese paintings, even today are a combination of calligraphic letters and the drawings and depictions. For the corporate of the modern era, where ever he may be, a good Chinese design, with the fine lines and the contrasting colors it has to offer, brings about a positive ambience at the work place. Not only this, a painting, combined with the aesthetics of Feng Shui can really help to energize your office space or your home, to strike that perfect match between the soul and the surroundings. This can go a long way in maximizing your potential in every sphere of your daily affairs, no matter how minute or large it may be.
Chinese paintings are not only depictions, they, more often than not symbolize something. Chinese paintings symbolize hopes, aspirations, good health and good fortune in their paintings through the use of certain positive signs. Most common symbols and themes in Chinese paintings include dragons, tigers, horses, bamboos and birds. They not only confine to the meanings of the objects depicted in the picture, but also extend to some hidden meanings, stretching beyond what is there in the picture apparently. This element of mystery behind the artists’ purpose of using a certain object as the base object and the hidden symbolism associated with it makes the mind race ahead of the world, flying in the vivid imagination of what is apparent, and what might be hidden. Bamboo, for instance depicts long lasting friendship. Bamboo is one plant that never fades away. It is evergreen, even during the extreme cold condition, and therefore symbolizes long lasting friendship, which is ‘evergreen’. Bamboo is lovingly called ‘the friend of China’, because of these very reasons. The dragon is termed as the ruler of the beasts in the sky, and the tiger in known to be the ruler of the beasts on Earth. Both these symbolize extreme courage, valor and other fierce characteristics, specially inclined towards the male actions. The horse is a symbol of speed and determination and the lotus signifies the art of beauty in dirt. These objects, alone or in combination with other aspects can be used to depict many hidden thoughts and psychologies, as is apparent.
Who ever you are, where ever you are and whatever you do, you will be mesmerized towards the utter beauty Chinese art has to offer, be it in the pure excellence of the art, or in the symbolism that extends beyond it. Chinese artists give you enough food for thought, so much so that you can feed for generations, and yet have that insatiable urge for more.