How to Read Chinese Painting
- 1). Learn at least basic Chinese to practice the art of "du hua.. The Chinese language has no alphabet. The writing is made up of simple drawings called characters. Each character is pronounced as a one-syllable word. Each syllable contains at least a vowel. In the Chinese writing system, the 12 basic strokes used. Today, there are about 40,000 different characters in the written Chinese language, but only about 10,000 characters are used.
- 2). Understand that painting in China, like calligraphy, is the language of the brush, but non-calligraphic elements in painting, such as a modeling of form, light, shade, colour and perspective, have been relegated to second place. About 213 B.C., the Chinese started using several characters together to stand for objects as well as ideas. One character stood for the meaning of the word, another stood for the sound of the word. Early characters looked like the objects for which they stood.
- 3). Know the basics of Chinese philosophy for Chinese philosophy is above all things rational and maintains a fine sense of relative values. Human figures are always given their rightful place by Chinese artists in the grand scheme of nature. Never do they assume proportions that would suggest man is considered the most important thing in the universe.
- 4). Familiarize yourself with the concept of " Shan Shui," literary "mountains and water." It would be hard to find a more appropriate phrase to describe the typical landscape of the Chinese painters. Often there will be found a diminutive human figure or two, but always the dominant theme will be the mountains, the water, the mists and various inanimate objects in nature.
- 5). Finally, study the concept of "Shih-erh Chang," or " Twelve Ancient Ornaments" of the Chinese (rocks, hills, clouds, flames, waves). From very early times, the Chinese have had their Five Scared Mountains known as the Wu Yueh. They are represented by special symbols. The group of these five sacred peaks forms one of the "Twelve Ancient Ornaments."
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