"Animating the Spiritual Consonance: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art," Parol (December 2014): 43-58.

parrlQrderni d'arte

e di epistemologia

Gennaio/giugno 2ot4n"zs

mfiF

lrurr1[ul.r

''lltLrn;lhl

Antonio BisacciaRepe(r)tita iuvant. Recensione in lorma di call for papers

Ir"l{lrl;:.tr

Mario Costall sublime tecnologico, trent'anni dopo

.r r;ura di Pietro Giordan

rrristina HanAnimating the Spiritual Consonance:Ihe Discourso of 0iyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chiness Art

l)ong LiuLa brutaliti della percezione: L'accumulazione psicologica n0ll'era del terr0re

l';rola VociI lre lrgff out ol the Tunnel: Re-thinking Chinese Cinema's War Film Reatism

',r rrrgning Xiaot)hinese Written Character and Eisenstein's Montage Theory

i lJiuce ElderKr:nneth Rexroth: Turning Eastward to Renew the West

rr,'liang WangtIstoire/Discours: [e labuleux destin d'une distinction noti0nflelle.t sa rencontre avec la litt6rature chinoise

lrr lro Giordanll r:ammino tortuoso del teatro:, ursiderazioni preliminari sull'opera drammaturgica di Zhang Guangtian

l5

21

41

43

59

8l

103

125

147

l59

Animating the Spiritual Consonance:The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

0hristina Han

what is a good painting? The answer to this question could vary signifi., ,,nrly depending on one's cultural and artistic tradition as well as,,ne'i p"r-',.nirl artistic taste. In the history of art, we find that the answer tn ihi.,1rrt'stion had an immense imptrct on the kind of art that was produced andrlr,'rnanner in which it was appreciared in a given historicai and cultural( rrr)text. In the case of Western art,imago can be singlecl out as the philo-'', 'lrliical and artistic category of foremost importance.lt has influe nced and, , rr r t inues to influence .the development c'rf art and art theory in the west byI'l;rt ing the problem of representation at the centre of debate.

A number of ideas have shaped the clevelopmenr of art in china, but therrr, rsr influential of them all is qiyun shengdong (animation through spiritualr,rrst)narrce). The idea was first proposed by sixth-century art tleoiist Xiellt, who identified it as the first condition of good painting in his trearise, ,lr ;rr.t, the Gz hua pin lu (classified Record c'f lainters of Former Times).',rrt t' then, it has been regarded as the supreme ideal that all good painters'1,,

'r rltl aspire to realise in their work. The idea of qiyun shengiong was espe-

, r,rlly ir.rfluential in the.making of the literati tradliibn of chinese painting,rr, r'lrich the spiritual vitality expressed in art takes precedence o,rer, , rrrrrnilitude,

lrr rrrodern scholarship, chinese literati art (the majority of which arer r rl

; r11i111i11g5 clf landscape, plants, and birds) has not been viewed as an ex-

,rrr;'lt'11f psplicularly engaging and innovative art. Art historianJohn clark's, I r', , il ication of chinese literati art theory as a "closed discor.,rse, one which,r l', ,r11'11 not necessarily univocal, is fundamentally antipathetic to free mul-rrr,,, rrlity"lclearly demonstrates this widespread view A closer look at the'l, t,l,rPment of art and art criticism in contemporary China, however, re.', rl', rlurt such a characterisation might be a simplification of a much more, ,,1111'11'1 reality.

I lris paper ir-rvestigates the dynamic discourse of qiyun shengdong in thelr' l,l ,,1 eontemporary chinese art. The meaning ctf qiywtshengdonghas been.r r',r'|r\,rf intense discussion for a bng time. Many English iranJations ofrl, r( rr have been proposed, including "animation through spiritual con-;r ,r,. il rr t"! (soper), "rhythmic vitality" (Giles), "spirit resonance, life motion"(',rr, rr), rrnd "a vital tone and atmosphere" (Lin), to name a few.2 As these

Christina Han

The Discursive Development of Qdryun Shengdong:

From Pre'modern to Modern

Animating the Spiritual Consonance: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengd0ng ln C0ntemp6rary Chinese Art

dong then manifested in a particular work of art? For Xie, it meant a successfulportrayal of the dynamic spiritual consonance or simply the spiritual tempera-rnent of the object of representation.a All things rn the world possess qi thatis specific to their nature. The qi of the summer mountain

".td th"t of th.

winter mountain, for instance, would differ. A painting with the quality ofqiyun shengdong brings the subject marrer to life by successfully capiuring itstrnique temperament.

Jn the subsequent periods, Xie's theory was reworked and expanded, even-tually growing into an elaborate body of ideas and texts. During the Tang dy-nasty (618-907), the issues of artist, techniques, and aestheiic evaluationwere absorbed into the discussion of qiyun shengdong.

To begin, qiyunwas reinterpreted to represent not only the spiritual tem-l)crament of the subject but also, and more importantly, that of the artist.Qiyan was seen as an embodiment of the artist's intent and an expression oflris level of moral and aesthetic cultivation. This understanding was accom-1'lnied by a new ideal of the artist as a great person and a man of culture. Tolrroduce a painting that embodies qiyun shengdong, the artist was, rherefore,t'xpected to first cultivate himself morally and culturally.

Next, the discussion turned technical, as it came to be believed that the(luality

9f qiyun shengdong is displayed only in a particular manner of usingtlre brush and ink-that is, in the calligraphic manner. The literati, the pro-illoters of the new elitist vision of the artist, wanted art to be an extension oflitc.rary culture and painting to be a derivative of calligraphy. They revered, rrlligraphy as_the most important art form as it was..g".ded'"r a visual rep-l('scntation of one's personal qi, which was reflective of years of learning and

't'l{,cultivation. Thus, to be a great painter, one first had to be a great callig-r ,r1,[rer since the calligraphic strokes used in the painting became ihe basis forr l('rcrmining whether or not the work succeeded in realisin g qiyrut shengdong.

Lastly, these inrerpretive changes led to the moralisation of ""rth.t[;rrtlgrnent. A painting with the quality of qiyun shengdong came to be seen,r. l "true" art in the sense that it was deemed a genuine representation oftlrt'artist's person. This meant that the work of art that failed to achievetr\wr shengdong was not only visually unattractive but also "untrue" in therrr, rnrl sense.

l)uring the song dynasty (960-1279), the development of artistic dis-r rlrrrse centering on qiyw't shengdong continued. Qiyun became increasinglyr('('n as the.possession of the privileged few as it was reinterpreted as one'srrrlrorn quality-something that cannot be acquired through learning.'fl-ris trend of thought continued into the succeeding Yuan (1221-1368),Nlrrrg (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1917) dynasties. The famous Ming dy-n;rsry artist and art theorist Dong Qichang's explanation succinctly sum-rrr;rr iscs the understandingof qiyun shengdang, which would become prevalentrl' t( ) the end of the pre.modern era.

various translations suggest' qiywt shengdong is an elusive idea that' invites

all kinds of interpretarioir. f i ii .,ot ,urp.1ring, then, that some even declared

that the expression d.f*;;i;;"",'-"ltt iit e the German term Geist.l--il;;;',"e

,i,,; "i"ri;; and multifarious nature of the term, in this paper

I will refer to it in ,r"",li;;;;" t"tht' than proposing yet another translated

definition. rndeed, ".;;;;fi;t;i;; ;; a. iu'tice io the complexitv of

;;'ffid;;;ilh h;;;;;;;;Jmanv lav'i' or meaning over its 1'500-

year history. Th"r"to,", tlti;i til calling it a concept' it would be more

appropriate to treat " ^ "

Ji*cl"rse' This faper will investigate the contin'

,o.s cxDansion and ;;"*.rph"tis of jiyln shengdong discourie in the

H:il]flil:;J;. !u"-;rils.e th. di,.uirio., of qiyunshengdanglies at the

i-,."riiir"-e of the r.v irr*, and themes in conremporary chinese art, in'

cludine idenrity ""a "rln",iu.iry ""a

,n.ir relation ro tradition, culture, the

;r;.", the individual, and the world'

Before we can examine qiyw't shengdong as a contemporary discourse' it is

necessarv to firsr ".,a"roi..-',

luick o'iervi"ew of its discursive evolution from

iiffir.-ft"d;;;';,1-'";;;il;;;.-So*. of rhe early discourses will have a

i:::til;ffi;.''"",i'. r"'il;;G;;r of qivm shengdong' as thev will be

il;;?;;;iJ, .*pand"d, contested' and refuted'

Th".,hilosoohi.d f;;;;;"" Jq'v- shengdong is the Chinese.theory of

,,. Th.',il*,"jh,ilil;iln iiv "r,iuri'ned

bf.the f*sr.century AD explains

?l tlf'"",i]l;;;;;,;';s;;;;;"'lJl 'i'ur force'1) as the fundamental element

that constitutes lite u.,iit'"-*o'td' In the *otli to*posed of qi' th.,e phYsical

and spiritual domains art-lt'ttin'ically connected as qi penetrates and mediates

both domains. eiwas i;;;;;*dlnio rh" aesthetic'discourse earlv on' The

earlv third-ce.,,ury *.ii"i uid li,"rury critic cao Pi (187-226) identified qi as

;;" tilil;.i.'i" fir"*rure and the expression of individual writers' titerary

:ffi:l"t#lTffffi;i.;ru-. ri*", the practitioners of Neo'Daoism' also

called xuanxu, (tutyrt"rio"urJ""*i"gl, b"gu" promoting the. cultivation of

;"rr"";i;;;;p"ri.i rr-,"i,."-G urt-"ir"li.uliirration and self'preservation'

"'';;;i.,;;il".f Xi. H" i" the sixth cenrury, qi had already become an in'

dispensable .o*oot"t"'iibrtr""* pt'ilo'ophv and culture' ln his theory of

qilun shengdong, Xie co*Ui""t qi*ittt yn ("rhythm"' "harmony"' "conso'

nance," and "resonan;;;t;Jtt;"tqt tbt concept of qiyun'which represents

qualities of spiritual .;;;;;; or rhythmic vitalitv in works of art' He then

melds qiyun *ith shrnicli;;, *h'J;; "*ry";d 1f1"g,1":]l::j;":'":l::il:fi :'1'# l';i'. ;.*.1 ;;.j a,";i;' ;; t.""i')' ros' th "''

qi1,un shenedons su''

gests a lively movem"",t:itnvitt"tit "it"titv' Ho*lt the quality of qlun sheng'

4544

Parcl anno XXIX - n' lurrrr,nr / giugno 2014

Christtna Han

[Qiyun shengdong] is endowed by heaven and cannot be acquired

through hum^,, tifoti that an artist can do is "read thousands of books'

travel thousa"a,'ii .n'ittj; ;;;;";; ln.doit'g so he will, "transcend the

dusty and pottrr,.i'*or[.'H,il, ""a valleys will naturally emerge in his

mind and i"rronity'io"tt t""-'tiful scenery like those of Juan and E'

Freely expre.ri.r;thir";i;h;ilh, his work will be able to transmir

,t. ,piri, "f "atu'rat landscaPe"'5

The Ming-Qing period saw a growing emphasis on the quality,of move-

menr in q\un shengd-*,'lra"t.r"J ""Jw.tu hrushwork came ro be highly

valued. The technicri';:;;;r;, "tro furrit"r developed, and.qiun sheng'

dong s relatio.rt lp ,o ,J"t'frc u"' of brush and ink was explored' By the end

of the Qing dynasty' iil'^ tieisd"ng evolved into a discourse with accumu-

lated layers .,r*.u^i',1gi.-i;iliil".i.;n the developmenr of art in pre'mod'

ern China *u, p'oi3ut'd and far-reaching' The discourse ,also had a

significant impact "" tnpitJ *t'' A' K"'*i?k commented in her study of

the chinese literati g"rii"r, q;l1n shengdong"nroved to he such a suggestive

and usefulty u-uier#r"pffiJ;"h;;i; i."ri n! almosr endlesslv adapted to

suit develoPing theories"'According to the'iviiely shared understanding of qiyun shengdong that

waspassedd."*,,tothemodernera,rheactofpaintingisseenaS.aprocess;ii,n#;;;;'t;;h'il;;;;"i q;of narure an,l the culrivared qi of the

artistontothepaintingsurface.Artisticcreationisareleasingofqiaidedbythe perfect .o.rnn^.i: il;;;;" the arrist's hand and the heart-mind (xin),

and its outcome (";;;iit-" "it"tr manifestation and embodiment of

the rhythmi. -or,.#^i""i'qi<A:"" 'hengd'one)' which connects and res'

onares through *,";;,';h. ;rl'irrl ""a th* uit. Jiiis literati ideal of arr makes

an artist.,o, " ,".t"-'i'tt;;;;;;;;iit-u" U"'an enlightened human being

and a man or.utr,rr" Jil;;;;;i;" demands lifelong moral and aesthetic

Animating the Spiritual Consonance: The Drscourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

artists through extensive reading and travel for the realisation of qiyrmsheng-dong in their artwork-an idea first proposed in the early r.rr".tt...tih cenruryby Dong Qichang-became particularly important for the early modernisiartists of china, who saw it as an expression of globalism, broadening one'sworldview and connecting with the world of art outside china.T eiyui sheng-dong also came to represent expressive quality in art. Xu Beihong, for in-stance' understood qiyun as "the expressive dimension of pictorialrepresentation" and tried to capture it in his famous horse paintings by com-bining both Chinese and Western techniques.8

These early-modern developmenrs are a prelude to the complex and ex-citing discursive changes we see in the contemporary Chinese art scene.what is the relevance o( qiyun shengdong in the twenty-first century? whattloes qiyun shengdong look hke in traditionally non-chinese art forms, suchrrs oil paintingt ls qiyun shengdonga culture-specific aesthetic category? canit also be explored as a universal aesthetic category? The following sections.f the paper will examine the diverse approaches and answers to these ques-tions presented by contemporary chinese artists, critics, and theorists.

Competing Discourses of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

Qiyun shengdong is known to most, if not all, artists in China whetherthcy are trained in traditional or modern genres of painting. It remains a, lrallenging question, an ambitious goal, and a lofty ideal that concerns thel)irst, present, and future of Chinese art. \7hi1e each discussion of the topicis unique and nuanced in its own way, some shared themes and recurrentrtlurs can also be seen. At the risk of generalising, below I identifi, the fourrrrrrjor types of qiyun shengdong discourse found in the discussion oi cont.*-lxrrary Chinese art.

Qiy un Shengdong es a Mor aI Discour se

Frequently appearing in the writings about traditional chinese genres of,rrt (i.e. landscape painting), the moral discourse points out the perceivedl,r, k .f qiyan shengdongin contemporary Chinese art and the needio restorerlr('traditional literati principles of art practice. Those who hold this view,rv1r'ec that conremporary Chinese paintings fail to capture and communicaterlre scnse of spiritual consonance found in ancient works of art. These criticsIrt rrtc the source of the problem in the contemporary artists' insufficientrrrr rllrl and cultural cultivation and their preoccupation with fame and suc-, ,'.s, and they call for the revival of the spirit of traditional art that focuses,rrr rlre transmission of spirit (chwnshen)e and the personal moral reform oft I rr' :rrtist.l0 Some have even suggested a fundamental change in art educationrr r rlrrt its emphasis will be on the cultivation of the artist's qiyun.ll

l'hc moral discourse has also found its way into the domain of non-literati

*t1r"*:i;n expecr, this elitist vision of art did not satisfy everyone. The

divide between tir",^'iu"a'p^tof""iot'ul art' which had dominated Chinese

art rheory since its inception' became a source of much criticism in the mod'

il'.;;;:;;;;J;holurc b.g"., ro embrace modern ideas of liberalism

and equality. Br.rt i.rrt""J of ^b".,ionlrl

g qiym shengdongtogether with other

undesirable legacies .i;;d;;;l "t' ih"otv' t"o'I th*" to reinterpret the

idea, and more surpris;;l;: ;;il i"u"d, inspiration for new modern forms

of arr in qfiun shengd# ii;;; ;e see. the ooen t"'-t'formation of the dis-

course ro reflect diff"r"i; ;;i;; .;ltural contexrs, conrradicting Clark's

.il;;;i;;;;oichilr; rir"r",t arr theory as a "closed discourse."

Emerging*"d".";;;;;;;;;iin";*ryt;*'":1"'1,'^":i:*.liil#)ltrmergulg r.rtuuctlrrof PFqii""rr-rr,

""pr.*i the principle .of

qiyun shengdongBeihong, Liu Haisu, ant

in their art and writingJ A" V" Hottgit study has shown' the idea of training

46Parcl anno XXIX - n" 25

lorrnnr / giugno 2014 47

Christina Han

art forms, such as folk art. For instance, the instillin g of qiyunhas been iden-

tified as a measufe ,o ."""ro ,lt. o""tl' decorative ti".td itt the recent works

;i y;;;; D""p C.f."r-p"- ting (Zhaigcaihua) .In these discussions, the an-

;i;;;;e""a.a "' i;;;;;';, u'-'d ;jvun shengdongis. seen as a goal that

;';;T; ;i" "f

rr. J rf-,r.,rgh .o.rii.,uo,rr- i.,norr"tion and experiment. l 2

Qiy m Shengdong as a Technical Discour s e

The moral approach stands in contrast to the technical approach' Al',hJ;ir;;;; p.i""r""i "rih"

.t-,r". other discourses, the technical discourse

"liri ii;sd"ng is an imporrant one as ir"conrinues the tradition of prag-

matic interpretation' i"."i"g on the art of brush and ink' While few take

the entirely prog*",i."up;t;;h-, ;u"y do incorporate.certain aspects of it'

especially when ir.n*., io the discussion of certain stylistic features that in'

,rolve brush and ink.In the modern era, rhe technical approach rc qiyun,shengdong found its

s, rnnorr in the Commu"iri ia"ot"gy. Foiltwing the establishment of rhe Peo'

:'i:,|t"ffii'. ;ichi;;,,'rai".'i'jt Chi nese "ph

i losophv and cu I ture unde r-

il"*';H;;;i ;Ji;;ft in,"rpr",urinns. The confuc ian literari cu I ture was

labelled as the quinte;;;;f'ffi!"oir-.ul,.t.., which had to be eradicated

il;h; ;;;:".--p"f irt*f ; J;.. Th; utilitarian and materialistic worldview

;iC;;"i.*.iiprf"i.a that art must reflect socialist realism and serve spe-

cific social ^nd

p.'titil"i p";;";' Bu"'l on this premise' any dlscussion of

rhe sniritual narure of *,'*ri identified and rejecied as a form of idealism'"''i:';;'r; rn.l.a"rri",-rding of qiyun shengdong was concerned, this com-

,"";i;;ir;;.work meanr the refutation of the elitist and spirituat interpreta-

;;;. w;t;i"g throughout the Maoist era' Shen Shuyang' a well'known

scholar of Chinese ";:-;; aesthetics, denounced the spiritual.and mystical

;";i;;st".f oor" tft."ga'"g, "tptti'rfv Dong Qichalf't ''-T tl:-'.describes

qilun as an innate q"iiitv"ift'i cannot be.acquircd through effort' lnstead'

Shen defines q,yrn orlt''^i'i-t-'"iit qu"ti'y of the human mind and qiyun slwng

;;;;;;tiil.rvr" rhar concerns parricular techniques of brush and ink.13

ln the post'Moo "iu

of t"pld econtmic growth' thqtechnical discourse of

qilun shengdong *ur".:,*[ii.J ,itt the iis.o,r.se of cultural commodity.

b;;;;;;". toE. r""" "' "" unl"*" qualitv with the

P.:i:lt"^.Tllve and in-

.nire neonle. To the ..n.,tinrc such as Liu Yongxia' this affective quality of qilun

iilH'"J. ;f.;;i-.;.;;;J appeal. Liu invesiigares qiyun as.a visual :*d1::?li;;;l"i;g particular fo.mt,

-olottrs, and patterns and what it can do to lnvlg-

;;;il;"ilig" -a"ri"'i"."",.^p.raiy China. To Liu, the visual ffadition

;;;;;;;, " "ir""ur"

."i;;i,d;;;i.. .,,itu.ul commodities with great public

appeal.ra

Qiy un Shengdong as a Cul'au al Discow se

Tti;ild"":h r;;;qDt; shengdongas the essence and spirit of Chinese

Animating the Spiritual Consonance: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Cgntemp0rary Chinese Art

culture. Those who share this view characterise qiyun shengdang as the defin-ing and most prized trait of all chinese art formi; it is wl-rat bhinese art isand what chinese artmustbe. This kind of rhetoric is most commonly founclin the discussion of chinese oil paintings, often accompanied by the polar-ising discussion of the chinese spirit and-\Testern techniques, thedich,r,ornythat dates back to the late Qing reform agenda crystalized in the motto ,,chi-nese learning as the foundation, and weitern learning for practical applica-tion (xhongxue wei ti, xixue wei )ong)."

Asserting that the chinese and Eastern emphasis on spirituality stanclsin contrast to the Western preoccupation with materialism, scholars such asHu Linhui have stressed that, while working with the "foreign" medium of.il painting, chinese artists should .ememb.. the aesthetil principles oft1.iy-un shengdong and explore ways to communicate the "chinese spirit" viaWestern artistic techniques.l5 As the ',soul of [Chinese] painting,,, qiyunshengdong is viewed as what differentiates chinese oil paintlngs fim iireirl7estern counterparts.16 These scholars argue that some of the mist successfulcontemporary chinese oil painters, such as Sun Zongwei and Ren chuan-wen, made their artistic mark because of their creativi blending of the chi.rrese spirir with the \Testern medium.l?

.Many would agree that the polarisation of the "spiritual" East anci "tech-rr.logical" we.st is a problematic one. Such , di.hotomy is a legacy of thecarly-twentieth-century nationalist and anti.colonial understaniing of therelationship between the East and the west, in which the technoligically,,,lvanced west became the aggressor against the innocent and p.u..-iorrir-rglr:rst. vThile most scholars in the west have rejected such a poiarising con.srruct as a_gross simplification of a complex development, it still remains anirrfluential discourse among academici in china and other parts of Asia,where strong nationalism anld the history of the colonial past .."u* ,h. .nrr-,lition for the continued assertion of cuitural distinctiveness.

Qiyun Shengdong as a,lJniuersal Aesthetic DiscourseThe final approach, which has been gaining popularity in recenr years,

l\ to interpret qiywt shengdong as a universal aesthetic category and experi-, rrce. ln this approach, the cultural reference is downplayel as qiyun sieng-,l,nrg emerges as a bridge berween the chinese and \Testern aft t;;ditions ass,..'ll as a common aspiration of all great art.

zhangQingyu, an early adv.cate of this view, boldly repudiates rhe elitistr isirrn when he says, "All things in this world have qiyun', from an apple to,r t hair." He also negates the East-west dichotomy t-t.ta uy the proponents, 'l the cultural approach and writes rhat "In art, there is no Easi and west.

. Frcm the perspective of qiyun shengdong, both eastern and western artlr,rvc the same o-rigin. -.. Qiyunshengdongt.f.rr to the power to move anclrrrslrils people".18 To Zhang, qiyun sheng&tng is a univerr"ibut highly personal

Panl anno XXIX - n' 25tlrrrrro / giugno 2014 49

Christina Han

phenomenon. Each piece of artwork. by different artists embodies a distinct

il;;iq;t" shengding,and Zhang illustrates his.point by using the examples

of W.rt"in expressionist painters, Matisse and de Kooning'1e

Another piopon".rt ni thit view, Zhang Hong, takes qiyun shengdong be'

VoJli, l,,itroricul and cultural domain while still recognising its Chinese

;;tgi". H. defines the term as "a lingering charm of life and spirit's free move-

ment which are created in the process olthe artist's transformation of artistic

-"i"ri"f. i"ro artistic l"rrgrrag.;'a, well as "a hidden essence of creativity that

;;;b" transmitted or-rd ,J"t-tihrough the surface of art".20 He claims that the

"rp..rrio" of spontaneous and f.ei Innrr"ment captured in the idea of qiyun

,fr"Aiif ls evident in the works of Western abstract painters, such as

i:;;ei;rty ;nd pollock, as well as in the vivacious and penetrating spirit of

Rembrandt's portraits, Lucian Freud's paintings of the human body, and

i"r.*"Jit stililife. Thus, just like zhang Qingyu, by moving awayfrom the

classical association of qi,yun shengdong-lth th" art of brush and ink, Zhang

ti;|fil;J, th" hn.iron of discussLn to include both figurative and ab'

stra.i p"i.rtings in the \Testern tradition'At the same time, scholars such as Yu Renchun and Zhang Hongliang

hu* .*plo."d how qiun shengdong as_a universal aesthetic category manifests

itself as'an a.rth.nti. "*p."rri"i,ot

of th. i.tdinldual in various genres of con'

,"*pnru.y Chinese art' including expressive oil painting' figurative painting'

and abstract painting.zr

Understand ing Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

\7e have examined the four competing discourses o{ qiyrut shengdong in

the context of contemporary Chinese ait. Several key factors that have

,h"p"d the contempo.ory u.td".rtanding o( qiyun sflnsdoS,s can be.identified:

ii"ilrior-r"tlrm, liberalism, nationalism,-"ttd gl"Uutlsm. The four ideological

ilt.", ut. intricately intertwined-at times supporting and at times opposing

each other*to weave this complex discursive pattern of qiyun,shengdong;

In the case of moral disco.,.r", traditionalism has the upper hand. Seeking

to revive the great tradition that suffered at the hands of Western cultural

iil;;i"G "|d Mo,rtrt cultural policies,.critics such as Wu Caiping and

W;;g Hrl"" preach elite liberalism and call out to individual artists and in',"lf#""f, to ieclaim their moral and social responsibilities and strengthen

their national culture.-. ilt; technical discourse is built on cultural nationalism and globalism'

tt t irirr"" by the desire to identify traits of national culture for the purpose

.f lr"",i"g and promoting the visual identity of China, which is a task that

has become increasingly important in the era of the global economy'*fn" cultural .{ir.o,-,i.. is also fueled by the desire to discover and create

" airiir-r., national cultural identity. Chinese art is set apart from the other

Animating the Spirttual Consonance: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

(particularly, the western) art, and in the dichotomy of the spiritual chinese,rrt and technical \Testcrn art, the superiority of the formerls asserted.

In contrast, the universal discourse seeks to break free from and transcendthe boundaries of cultural nationalism by placing Chinese art and aesthericsin the_ context of global art and aesthetics. From the standpoint of culturalliberalism, qiyun shengdong is explored as a rransnational and transculturalnesthetic category that can be used to evaluate all art. It becomes an openrrnd shared interpretive.ground for cultivating mutual understanding and ap-preciation, leaving aside political and economic implications.

Nonetheless, despite their seeming disparities, the four approaches havein common their desire to revitalise chinese art in the contemporary con.text. Artists and scholars of art in China are dealing with two preising issues.l.wardly, they seek to invigorate art in China whether by reccinnecting withthe past tradition or by fashioning something completely new. outw:ardly,they seek to reach out to and participate in the global community of ari.Ir^cing this dilemma, arrists and scholars with divergent backgrounds andl)crspectives have explored the idea <tf qiyun shengdong for solution and in.spiration.

\Uhy have these artists and scholars turned to qiyun shengdang, aside fromthc fact that it was the hlghest ideal of painting inlraditional Chlna? what,ltres qiyunshengdongoffer that other concepts cannot? what does it.ppose,rnd what does it promote?

No matter how it is translated, in essence, qilun shengdong in the con-rclnporary Chinese art discourse contests art that is formalistii, unoriginal,,,rrd clverly ideological. In contrast, it promotes art that is intuitive,.*-p..r-sivc, experimental, and individualistic. The ideas of vitality, movemenr,r lrythm, spirit, and consonance that it inspires have been used to resist andt 'itique the so-called "dead" art characterised by the uncritical imitation of

wcstern art and the propagandisric treatment of art. Qiyun shengdang, in thislight, is a useful and fertile ground where various western ideas such as cul-trrr.l liheralism, personal expression, and art for art's sake can be explored.

ln fact, some of the key art movements in contemporary China, such astlrc '85 Art Movement, have focused on moving from ihe dead to the living,rt'srrrrecting Chinese art that was raped and murdered in the repressive po-I r t ical environment of the recent past Expressing the sense of lois, ruin, andl',rirr, and searching for ways to mourn, recover, feel, and heal have been an' rvcrarching-theme in contemporary chinese art. In this context, what qiyun

'/r,'rrgdong offers is the hope of regeneration, wherher it is moral, technital,, rrllrrral, or universal . Qiyun shengdong represents great optimism that, rilr.t'llcs.rut ()f deep despair.

. It is not surprising then that we see much discussion about qiytnt sheng-,l,,rrt's connection to Western expressionism. Expressionism in the West alsol','rl:rn as a reaction to "devolution in society," "degeneration in the culture,"

5150

Parcl anno XXIX - n' 25ir,rrrr;rro / giugno 2014

Christina Han

and "nihilism in morality".z2 lts goal was the creation of spiritual art that can

heal the modern man made sick by science, materialism' and positivism, so

that he can live life as it should be lived. Expressionist art aims to "express

ih" ,i.h.r"r, and 1oy of living" by creating art that "stress[es] on sheer vitality

in painting".2l ln"a different-Lristorical and cultural context' the discourse of

qi;ur, ,henfuong seeks ro accomplish what expressionism in the early 1900s

tri.d to n.".o*ihrh-that is, thqrevitalisation of humanity, art, and culture.

Moreover, jusias expressionism united art forms of different content and

.tyl. fo. the pursuit of *'tlr shared goal, qilun shengdong also brings togethef

disparate art forms and perspectives. ,'A11 in all, the dir.orrrr.

'of qiyun shengdong is essential to the self-under'

standing and self-envisioning of contemporary Chinese.art as it presents

p"lhr ," ,fr. discovery of .re,i lt-tdirridual, national, and global identities of

Chinese art.

Qiy*r Shengdong: A Mediating Discourse

However, the question of necessity still remains. If qilun.shengdong in the

contemporary Chinese conrext signifies the_ spirit and hope of regeneration,

rvt v.oi replace it with an equivalent modern concept that can-.appeal-to

th.'*"t"*porary Chines. as -e11 as non-Chinese audience? \yhat is the

purpose ofkeeping and reinterpreting the ancient concept?' bn" thlng is clear: Qiyun shengdongis so deeply ingrained in the.discourse

of art in Chiia that repiaclng it seems almost impossible. To a similar extent

it-rui ,n" discussion of art in th. W.st cannot seem to escape the issue of rep'

."r"rri"tior-r, the discussion of art in China is intrinsically bound to the idea

if qiyun sheingdong. As we have seen, ir is more than a ghost from the past;

rather, it ls aiife firce that continues to push Chinese art beyond-its current

ii-irr. Through qiyun shengdong, artists and scholars in China have chal'

i."g"a the existing ,tat" of"Chl.tese art to reach for moral reform, technical

,rruJ,".y, cultural rejuvenation' and intercultural dialogue'

F.r.riu11"ntally, the reason qilun shengdong is and will remain vital in the

discussion of Chinese art lies ln ihe fact ihat lt mediates contemporary Chi'nese art and makes it meaningful to the Chinese and non-Chinese artists

and audience. Just as reality is experienced through mediation by language,

art is also experienced through mediation by language. Qiym shengdong_ as

iir.o,,,.." *"ii"r", art produced and appreciated in the contemporary Chi-

nese context. In other iordr, the quesilon of qiyun shengdong is essentially a

hermeneutic question. As a hermeneutic discourse' qiyun shengdong articu'

iui.r, ,hu."r, ,ir"p"r, and expands our experiences with contemporary Chi-nese art. It also ..""r", "., "."rr"

ln whiih the past, present, and future of

Animating the Spiritual C0ns0nance: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

chinese art can engage in meaningful dialogue. As a discourse of chineseart, it allows it to speak and to interrogate its own self-understanding.

The Case of Le Guo

The mediating role of qiyun shengdong is made evident in the discussion.f London-based Chinese painter Le Guo's art. Abstract expressionist instyle his paintings show playful interactions of colours, forms, and shapes. Inhis artist statement, Guo describes his work as an expression of "an iniernal,intuitive shifting reality attempting to respond to a physical world".z4 Con-cerning his idea of painting, Guo wrires:

I regard painting as a particular mode of thinking or action inwhich interplay berween [slc] physiobgical ancl psychological, con.scious and unconscious, intention and failure. The work's form ischarged by the dynamics of the process ln which something that[sic]spontaneously forms and continues forming. ... The paintings arein a srate of shifting, oscillating between abstraction and figuration;intention and process; de-formation and re-formation; conflicts andbalance.25

To actualise this artistic idea, Guo joins painting with acrion and capturest he vision of reality that is in constant flux. Using the brush and parts of his.wn body, Guo makes the colours and forms come alive in free motions ont lrc painting's surface.

In their appearance, Guo's paintings are not readily recognisable as "chi-rrrse" as they contain no visual reference to cultural signifiers. Indeed, <lnew,rnders if the viewers would be able to sense any marked difference in spiritl)ctweencuo's paintings and other 's?estern abstract expressionist paintingsrvithout having knowledge of the artist and his culturil background. Guo,likc rnany contemporary Chinese artists, does not strive to create "Chinese":rrt. In his artistic pursuir, he is certainly more interested in dealing with his( )wn questions about art and life that are personal and universal in nature,r:rther than making a statement about contemporary Chinese society. More-( )\'cl like many contemporary chinese artists, Guo has been living and work-rrrg in the \West-in his case, for over twenty years-making the cultural.sscntialist labelhng of the artist and his work difficult. In fact, when askedrl hc feels comfortable being labelled as a "chinese arrisr," Guo replied thatlrt' sees himself simply as an artist and believes that labels are creared by thern,rss media and ga11eries.26

This raises an importanr question: What makes art by artists such as Guo"( lhinese" other than the artist's ethnic background? critics have com.rn,'nted on the influence of Russian and European abstract paintings and the

Parcl anno XXIX - n' 25t,r'rrrraio / giugno 2014 53

Christina Han

New York School abstract expressionist paintings on Cuo's art' but their'

;;;G;^;il i".r"a","i;.;;; ;; cl'i".." philoslphy of art and particularlv

the idea of qiyunth."g;;;;;' ih; quuliti"tof dv"ami'*','p:nt:l:ltv' fluid'

irv, an.l performance i""ia itt-hi''"'t are descriheg"bf bc'll Chinese and

V;;;'.;i,ics as rhe cxpressions of qilun sirengdongrd Cu..himselt does not

make a direct link b"i*"",' his artisiic vision'and"qilun shen*dong' but he

also does not object to *ah a characterisation bv tbre critics' Guo says' "l

never do works on p,,,po'", but it turns out thai some Chinese elements

;;;;;", ""**riv, *t".n I'm quite willing to keep"'2e

What would ,fr.r-, il. ittt ;'proper" *"y'-to appieciate hrs artl Wrc know

that it is the critics' :ot to 'h*t ihti' expert knbwledge of art history and

;ffi;;;"h ,h;'p;Uii. t" "rJ.. ," l.t th. art speak *o." por-..fully and

.**i.rgf.,11y. lt ii ,-rot r.t prising, therefore' to find that critics like to inter-

;;'d"",;;;.ii*tu. "r,ir,li. ,iri"n and practice as a reflecrion and contin-

uation of the ancien, ".tift"tlt tatul' Tht insight of qtyun shengdong' which

irr-rotr""dllyavailabletotheviewersofGuo'sart'isthusmadeKnown'Neverthelesr, ,h" [u"ttiott of whether or not this approach is a fair rep'

resentation of th" "nirl

unJhi' "" is a delicate one to answer' It could appear

;;;h;Gh the critics u." t'""tittg qilun shengdong as a pinch of exotic spice

thar turns an otherwise blancl diJhintn ,n*.thl.,"g more exciting' One could

argue whether these ;;;p*i'_;".rd.u,rou^ resullt in the assigning of a cul'

,r?"itJ."r"v to the artwork that it does not innatelv Polttil. - ,. ^""' H;;;;;;, i, *."fJ"f* f" p.obl"-utic to suggest,that qiyun shengdong is

."*pl"r"fv irrelevant to Cuo's artistic creation' On the one hand' rhe artist

o""riii" .""rent wirh plr."rl"g his work as it is-that is, without.placing it

1,1'H';;;il;J;;';;[;;;r i;"': o' the othcr hand' he acknowlerges the

natural exuding nr ,,ro*" ct ir-r.r. "I"*..,ts" in his art and recognises the

imoacr that the Ch#;";;;"J1,1." f-t"t t-tad on his conceptualisation and

ilLl;;":i il.'i; ;i;;; J,,- ii,,^,ii aong is me aningful to him al thou gh

i're might not have intended it'This then ,ulr", ""i" ."o." q,r.rtiotr, If qiyun shengdong is embodied in

an arrwork, does it h;;;;;;#ih.ough a ionscious processl Can it also

come througn,',.o*ioJy? V'hat tetniinology best represents the authen'

ticity of Guo,s arr? l. it "bri."ct expressionism]' qiyun siengdon'g-' or both? If

abstracr."p."srioni# ir;il;;l"t" d.r.riptton of hls arr, what does the

addition of qiyun shengdong achieve I .

Wha t i s pe rhaps ;T; i**;; "1

th"'.' :f : p"u i:u:t v'",lll llid cul tu ral

id""iifi.^tion is tire fact that what the addition of qryun s.hengdgng accom-

plishes in this.rr" i, it"" i."p""-g and broadening t.rf Cuo's art' By bringing

his art into dialogue ;l,h i''i; .;l;re and history,.it introduces layers of his-

i..i."i i.prt ;i h.;;;;; i"r" ,r," discussion oi hir ^rt.

Mediating the art,

"tiiri "".iirt. ^"ai"".", q' ytm s,hengdonggenerates a mutually enhancing re-

;;;;:;i;i;;];rd [;;;en the aitr,t "nd

the interpreter, rhereby expand'

Animating the Spiritual Consonance, The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

ing the experiential domain of his art.Lately, a growing number of artists, scholars, and curators in China have

been exploring the potential of using this mediating discourse of qiyun sheng-dongto discuss and evaluate non-chinese art. As in example, in-the exhi.bition of European abstract expressionist paintings, titled Search , RhythmicVitality , Emotion: Abstrart Art Trio, held in China rn Z0l3 , contemporaryFrench,painter cyrille Borgnet's abstract paintings of urban landscape werethemed as qiyun, rhythmic vitality.r0 The employment of this discursive lensis meaningful because it mediates the French painter and the chinese audi-cnce as well as the Western and Chinese art traditions, allowing an inrer-cultural dialogue to take place.

The Quest for Identity and Authenticity

These new developments in chinese art reveal convoluted ideas of iden-tity and authenticity. Many are srruggling to comprehend what it means tol'c Chinese, contemporary, and cclntemporary Chinese. Moreoveq as we saw,tlre evolving discussion of qiyun shengdong aptly illustrates the complexrneanings and relationships that are involved in this struggle.lVhile contemporary Chinese art displays great diveriity in style, form,

'rnd message, many Chinese artists have repeatedly voiced a.shared concern

,g^inst the conceptual approach to china and chinese identity. "'china'tlr.uld not be just a term".,l "How do we make others understand that chinars n()t aconcept?".i2 Statements and questions such as these express the wide-r;'rcad frustration over the treatment of China and Chinese.r.s u, conceptsr lurt can be defined and explained in a systematic and analytical fashion.

Against this background, many artists and critics are calling for an inclu-"rvc and,elusive approach to the issue of Chinese identity and authenticity.( llrina, they argue, should not be reduced only to a geopolitical entity or ar rvilisation. Instead, recognising that concepts

".e ne,uer sufficient in cap-

rr r i.g rhe complexities of reality, we should think beyond pcllitical and c.rl-trrrrrl ideologies that rigidly define and delimit what China and being( il r i.ese _signify. china should be regarded as a body of realities as rhey arel r'ctl and experienced by individuals. Both china and chineseness are huid,r r(l cvolving categories with great multiplicity.-fhese

new visions of china and chineseness are clearly manifested intlr. c.ntemporary explorations of qiyzn shengdang. Qiyun shengdang is not a, l,,tt'tl discourse or a theory. Tiue, there have been numerous attempts to de-Itrr,' lnd utilise it in the manner of a theory. But, as we have ,..., th"r".r".-t,rrs interpretive approaches only represent pieces of a larger puzzle. It isru'lrt'rr they are examined together in relation to each other that we begin ron.r' tlre ir power and impact. It would be more appropriate, then, to see-qiyunrl,'rrllrlrng as a discursive arena in which we can witness the pushing and

54Parcl anno XXIX - n" 25

turrrurrr / grugno 2014 ECJJ

Christina Han

oullins and the crashing and dancing of tradition, culture, the nation, the

ilt;iil;i, ""d

arr. The"recent discuisive developmenrc o{ q-iyun shengdong

J"piilh; t'iu".i,y of conremporary Chinese art. They t€stify that Chinese

#i-" ;h" -ukirrg by continuously reinventing and rediscovering itself.

Conclusion

we have examined the history of qiyun shengdongdiscourse from its be-

pinnings to the present, with a particular focus on the drastic discursive trans-

F;;;;;, ,i"J. ih" modern'era. Modern and contemporary artists and

,.t-roiu.t of China have tried to reimagine qiyun shengdgnc- by carefully loos'

;;i;i;t-;t" io itt" ti,"turi art traditio"n, *hich controlled the discourse for

."".? itr""rand years. This modern discursive shift has been interpreted by

,..* ur the rise of a new form of cultural elitism-that is' instead of being

lib.r"t"d from elitism , qiJun shengdongwas claimed by a new modern group

oi.,rlt.r.ul eliter. Crrrat#"rd art JritiJHuang Zhuan, for instance, identified

;il;ir6; { qr*, shengdnngas a form of eliie liberalism comparable to the'Silestern avani'garde theory of art'33

\yhil. this ;y be rrue to a certain degree, it is difficult to generalise the

*"1riiu'.t"d discourse of qiyun shengdong in such a manner. Elitism is cer'

;il;ileci of it, b,rt ii ia.,not b*e characterised solely as such. As a dis-

;;'.,;;fi ,i"edo"eis open and unfixed; rherefore, we can only talk about

*ft"i"'iitt"r b""Juni*here it is now. It has helped contemporary Chinese

"r, i" tir q.,"rt fo, identity and authenticity and in its effort to revitalise and

remake itielf as an active member of the global art community.^-^ il;;;-g ,"h"t th" futwe of qtlun shengdongdiscourse will look like, no

d"fi"i; predlction can be -"d.. ttit is because qiyun shengdnng wlll always

U" fr*if*r and foreign. Just when we think we have tamed it, it will hounce

off ir, "

new directi|tt. %r, one thing we can be sure of is this-animated

,frr."gft tpititual consonance, the music of Chinese art will go on'

Animating the Spjritual Consonance

Endnotes

IJohn Clark, "Open and closed discourses ofrnodemity in Asian art (1993)," inContempo-rory Art in Asia: A Critical Realz1 edited by Chiulnd Genocchio (London: The MIT press,

z01t),28-29.r Lin Yutang, The Chinese Theory of Art: Trans-Iations from the Mosters of Chinese Arr (London:l'anther Arts, 1969), 49.50.' Suncrates and James \0y. Kidd, "Chinese phi-losophy.as world philosophy? An eighdold char-rrcterization of Creativism." Conference paperIrrcsented at The 9,h International Congress in(.'hinese Philosophy (1995), 4.'I This is Zhong Yueying's explanation of XieI lc's understanding. Zhong's study of 4lyrznslrcngdong is perhaps the best critical scholaishiporr the topic. Zhong Yueying, Qiyun lun (The'l'heory of Qiyan) (Shanghai: Shanghai renminrrrcishu chubanshe, 20OO), 56.' Wu Hong, Making Hisrory: Wu Hong on Con-,rntpora,ry Arr (Hong Kong: Timezone B, Z00B),05.

" Maggie Keswick, TheChineseGmden: History,,,\rt and Architectrzre (Cambridge, Mass., HarvaidI Jniversity Press, 2003), 106.iSce note 5.

" Wcn Fong, Between Two Cuhures: Late-nine-r L Lnth' and. Twentieth-century Chinese PaintingsI r , m the Robert H . Ellsworth Collection in the Mit.t,1nlirmMwewn o/Arr (New York: Metropoli-t,rrr Museum of Art, 2001), 99.'' Wrr Caiping, "Chuantong yishu dui xiandaiyr'lru chuangzuo de qishi (Enlightenment ofTia-,lrtional Art in the Creation of Modern Art),\t o tl ning xueJuan xueb an, 23.3 (Sep., 2006 ) : I ZO-l,r J.

" Wlng Hujun, "Dangdai Zhongguo shuimoyrslrrr yu chuantong de wenhua chayi (The Dif-h rt nces between Contemporary Chinese Inkf ',rrrrting and Tiaditional Culture), Shidni wenxue\t \ t., 2009): 7zz.'r I i Zhiqin, "Cong meishu jiaoyu shijiao kan,l,rrrgilli Zhongguo hua de qiyun queshi ji duice(l'rolring Contemporary Chinese Paintings'Lr, L of Qilzn from the Perspective of Art Edu-

' .rrrorr irnd Some Countermeasures)," Zhonggn

Junli jitoyu,145 (Sep., 2009): 99-100.'',1rrrng Yinghui and Su Hanyu, "Chuyi dangdai,lr,,rrgr'lihua de qiyun he yijing (Opinions on,ltvrrrr rrnd lijing in contemporary Deep Colourf',rtnt irrgs)," Tianjin daxue xuebao (Shehui kexuel,rrr) I t.4 (jul., 2009): 375-378.

Ironrrrro / giugno 2014

: The Discourse of Qiyun Shengdong in Contemporary Chinese Art

rr.Shen Shuyang, Du Zhonguo haa (ReadingChinese Art) (Beijing: Renmin meishu chuban-she, 1980),39-40.la Liu Yongxia, "Zhongguo chuantong meishuzhong qiyun chuantong yu xiandai sheji linianguanxi chutan (An Initial Investigation of theQlyun Tiadition in Chinese Tiaditional Art andIts Connection to Contemporary Design Ideas),Zuojia TaThi 9 (201 1 ): 239 -240.15 Hu Linhui, "You qiyun shengdong jiedu dang-dai Zhongguo fengjing youhua zhong de shanshuijingshen (lnterpreting the Landscape Spirit ofContemporary Chinese Landscape Oil Paintingthrough Qilzn Shengdong), Guangdong gongyedaxue ntebao (Shehui kexue ban) 10.2 (Apr.,7010):73-76.16 Zhang Jianhua, "Cong qiyun shengdong daoZhongguo youhua shenmei jiazhi de dangdaigoujian (From Qiyun shengd"ongto the Contem-porary Making of the Aesthetic Values of Chi-nese Oil Paintin g), Jilin yishu xueluon xuebao 108(7017):25-77.r? Wu Changjiang, "Sun Zongwei de shenyun yufenggu (Sun Zongwei's Spiritual Consonanceand Vigorous Style), J;nghua shibao (Aug. 8,2012), D03.r8 Zhang Qingyu, "Zai tan qiyun shengdong (Re-discussing Qiyun shengdong)," Beifang meishu(Sep., 2003): 29-31.rs lbid.za Zhang Hong, "Lun dangdai huihua de qiyun(Discussion of Contemporary Paintings' Qlyr.rn),Meishu xiangdno (Sep., 2012): 67-68.2r Yu Renchun and Zhang Hongliang, "QianxiZhongguo dangdai youhua de qiyun mei (AnAnalysis of the Aesthetics of ContemporaryChinese Oil Painting), Meishujie (Dec., 201 2):79.22 Donald E. Gordon, Expressionis m: Art anLldea(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987), 1-15.23lbid., 2.24 Artist's websitehttp://www. leguo.co.uk/LeGuo/lnfo.html25 lbid.26ARTouch Dialogue with Guo Le by Ye Fei.ARTouch website http://www.artouch.orgI | 4 I postl 20 1l | 1 | /artouch-dialogue-with- guo-le-artouch.html27 Stephen Baycroft, "Le Guo: Momentary Sus-pensions of Forms in Space," Momentary Supen-sioru [Exhibition Catalogue], Hua Gallery -Contemporary Chinese Art, London, 2013.28 Le Guo's artist information on the Hua

5756Parcl anno XXIX - n"

Christina Han

Gallerv web site http: //www' hua-gallery' com

l"riir, l"nuo.h,tl. lnformation on the exhibi-

,i". Itl"Ai^g it Srill at Aria Art Gallery (Sent' 20'

Nou. 1?, 2013) Aria Gallery website

h ttn,//www.ariaartgal Iery.cony'err/exhibitions/sh

"*i&tiJ= ]5 (acce.sed Mar. 6, 2014)' Hu Ying'iBu ou.ding de zhizhuo - Yishujia Cuo Lu'r

,hrrn'fung (Uncertain Crip: Exclusive interuiew

*i*r u.,it", buo Luo), China Art Space website

n"p/fi.""A*t .."^l Xl +'k p-tl YL+ - - -L+,+4F.&+in/2e See note 27.ta Zhongguo meishujta (Chinese Artists) website

htto://www.meishuiia.cn/?act=usite&usid=8 J J

&inuiew=appid-267-mid-5484&said=552rr Simon Gioom, et al',The ReaLThing: Contem'

p*il An fromChim (Liverpool: Thte' 2007)'

z5-/7.rz Ibid.

" Huans Zhuan, "Abstract: An expression con'

cemineiihenv." His preface to the exhihition QiV^t f t , IntenlationatTraueling Exhibition of Chi-

nese Absrarr Arr (Sept. 29' 2OO?-Oct' 17' 2007)

at Artist Commune, Beiiing'hiip//tt"*.o.",.org.cn/detail'aspx ?op= 297*ttoO

eID=377&cid=880

La brutalitd della percezione:L'accumulazione psicologica nell'era del terrore

Dong Liu (Traduzione di Pietro Giordan)

l.Le due parole "accumulazione psicologica" nel sottotitolo sono una mo-

difica di cib che il mio maestro Li Zehour chiama "sedimentazione psicolo.gica". Queste nostre espressioni cosi simili stanno ad indicare il processotramite il quale la cognizione razionale, ovvero altro contenuto psiCologico,f iltra e forma la percezione. Da cid si pud dire che entrambi ad-ottiamo unittteggiamento storicistico rispetto alla natura innata delle emozioni e che,('ntrambi, riteniamo possibile che la capacith senso-percettiva e la reazionectnozionale, che l'umanitd prova rispetto al mondo,'t..tgutto generate e tra-stcrite nel corso del processo temporale.

Ma bisogna subito rilevare che tra le nostre due generazioni di pensatorisrrssistono ancora differenze fondamentali. L'espressione "sedimentazione psi-,.,rlogica", usata dal professor Li, descrive priniipalmente il processo di ele.vlrzione della "costruzione psicologica", vale a dire, descrive Jinamicamentet iir che egli comprende per accadimento e sviluppo della struttura della psi-t.logia estetica in Kant e che casualmente coincide con il finalismo hege-lirrno. In questo senso,la caratteristica del suo pensiero d abbastanzar'llrssicista, la "reazione percettiva" del genere umano viene fatta coinciderenr toto con I'euforia suscitata dal "bello" ovvero con il "sentimento di pla-t t'l'ct'.

lnoltre, quando ancora si poteva scambiare liberamente un'opinione, dissiIr r rnirniera. franca al professor Li che se un filosofo dawero crede di potere ac-r ('nilre nell'insieme la descrizione che Kant fa della qualitd estetica

" di .ottr"-

l:u('nza ritiene che il lavoro da compiere sia soltanto quello di conciliare Marx,l'tlrgct e Jung, e poi, con tono da scienza esatta, qualcuno direbbe tono empirico,lilrcrpretare storicamente la qualitd comune al genere umano secondo Kant,, lrt' tlopo tutto E il risultato del processo evolutivo "dal primate all'uomo", alloralirlt'hhe del lavoro del filosofo tutt'uno con quello dellb scienziato.

l)irto il contesro di sapere specialistico di cui sopra, d chiaro che ho usatol't'slrrc5siona "accumulazione" al posto di "sedimentazione" per "defamilia-rl.'::rrrc" leggermente la scelta dei termini e mostrare le affinitd e le differenzeIlr rrrc ed il professore. ln concreto, spero che il mio termine tecnico "accu-trrrrlrrzione"non.sia in futuro messo in relazione a "progresso" e che, di con-{'Hil('t)za, possa tanto preservare e contenere f influenza cumulativa che lartr rrirr csercita sul sentimento popolare, quanto fare tabula rasa di ogni con-

58Panl anno XXIX - n" llnrrto / giugno 2014 59