The Basic Elements of Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Art - Chinese Taste

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

Run Yan Cha Shou
ink on Xuan paper, 2014

Pinyin: run yan cha shou; Chinese, 潤岩茶壽 紅

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 138×69cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

Unique Literary Graphic Arts - "Taste of Expressiveness in Freehand Brushwork" contained in the Integration of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting

As the saying goes, "Calligraphy is the painting in the heart" while "Painting is the calligraphy in the heart". In other words, "Calligraphy and painting are of the same origin" or "Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting are integrated into a whole".

Based on the literacy of Chinese characters and the lines of writing, the traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy art mainly expresses the author's subjective inner emotions. As a graphic art, it is the "Integration of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting" that features expressiveness in freehand brushwork, consistency of brush strokes, and vividness in form and spirit. In contrast, other graphic arts (excluding printmaking with texts, cartoons, advertisements, trademarks and patterns) are characterized by no text, emphasis on single or multiple points of sight, focus on light and shade contrast, center on image skill beauty and highlight on faithful reproduction or decomposition of overlapping or extremely simplified patterns.

Art can also be a "desirable taste" produced in the heart of the viewer after comparison of works.

As the saying goes, "Don't fear it won't be appreciated". The "Chinese taste" of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy is not like the copying taste of printed software fonts or photographs nor like the time-consuming craft taste of hand-made brocade embroidery. As you see, how to choose "comparative focus" is the key to determine the degree of satisfaction.

Another example is "being a silent victim." Even if the artist’s subjective emotional experience is turbulent, if he doesn’t want to express or can’t express clearly, he has to swallow his discomfort. It can be seen that "Subjective Purpose and Objective Skill" are the keys to comparing the degree of satisfaction with the Chinese taste of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. 

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

One has a Refreshing Breeze Feeling When He Drinks the Seventh Bowl of Tea
ink on Xuan paper, 2017

Pinyin: qi wan qing feng; Chinese, 七碗清風 紅 (Literary quotation: A Message of Thanks to Meng Jianyi for the Gift of New Tea made by Lu Tong in the Tang Dynasty)

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊 A Drop of Water Moistens the Universe; Chinese, 一滴潤乾坤

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 69×34cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

The Pin-pointing of the Unique Subjective Purpose - “People-oriented Personal Taste” Expressed in Poetic Words

In my childhood, I saw a cartoon named “A Famous Painting Created by Wagging Donkey Tail” and also heard the legend of “Understanding Friends”. They still linger in my mind today.

The “wagging trail” of the donkey tail can be described as a picture with visual commonality, and it can also be surely regarded as a beautiful painting in the eyes of a viewer; the Guqin sound of Boya can be described as a melody with auditory commonality or be a beautiful melody in the ears of a listener. Although such “pure skill beauty” directly affects the sense organs of the appreciator because of its visual and auditory commonality, the appreciator is purely satisfied by the artist's skill but ignores the artist's intent. In other words, the appreciator is merely satisfied by the artist's skill show-off.

Boya's vivid Guqin-playing skills are to express high mountains and flowing waters in his mind. As Boya's understanding friend who was familiar with traditional Chinese culture, Zhong Ziqi not only appreciated Boya's “pure skill beauty” but also took a fancy to Boya's vivid expression of “high mountains and flowing waters” with “pure skill beauty”. Under the effect of the Guqin sound, Zhong Ziqi's feelings at the scene resonated with Boya's inner world. No matter what Boya thought in his mind, Zhong Ziqi could express exactly what Boya thought.

Skills that carry no purpose are “purposeless skills.” On the contrary, purpose that cannot be vividly conveyed by skills is “unskillful purpose.” Only when the skills exactly express the purpose can the expressiveness integrated or transformed by purpose and skills be achieved. Only in this way can skills have true significance.

Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy can be a kind of "human-oriented" visual language with a clear purpose.

Different from other graphic arts, poems and sentences in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy are either created by authors themselves or quoted from others. Their conception determines the taste of the work. The "people-oriented taste" expressed in the conception of Chinese characters has the visual commonality of languages and the pictographic artistry and clear purpose of Chinese characters. As an inherent part of the soul of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, the conception of Chinese characters is the "decisive taste" when the viewer compares various "people-oriented tastes of China".

Vulgar, boring, ridiculous, weird, ignorant, funny, sluggish, decadent, vague, guessing, incoherent, drunk, cursing, wrongly tagged, deliberately misrepresenting, far-fetched and grandstanding conceptions should not belong to the attitude category of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. 

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

Tea is Beneficial to A Person of Good Conduct and the Virtues of Diligence and Thrift
ink on Xuan paper, 2017

Pinyin: jing xing jian de; Chinese, 精行儉德 紅 (Literary quotation: Tea Classic made by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty)

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊 A Drop of Water Moistens the Universe; Chinese, 一滴潤乾坤

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 69×34cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

Unique Black-and-White Contrast Technique - "Individualized Tastes of Integration or Transformation of Yin and Yang" that Pursues Scrupulosity and Succinctness in Painting and Leaves Blank Space

Compared with other graphic arts featuring "rich color contrast", traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy focus on "leaving blank space and employing black-and-white contrast".

"Rich color contrast" can mean "being realistic, colorful and rich in content" or "copy, vulgarity and depression" while "black-and-white contrast with blank space" can mean "being unrealistic, monotonous and simple in content" or "feeling, elegance and breathability".

Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy can be a people-oriented "image with blank space", which removes the interference of impurities through the appearance of objects, captures and expresses the essential feelings towards the objects, and exhibits the integration or transformation of yin and yang. At the same time, black ink and white paper originating in China are the main seasonings with Chinese characteristics. If the black-and-white contrast technique as the "main seasoning" is not applied in the painting, such a work should contain no "Chinese taste".

As far as the work plane is concerned, since the available space of the rectangular plane is larger than that of the square plane, the rectangular plane is easier to leave blank space. Square paper has been rarely used in traditional painting and calligraphy works, especially calligraphy works. Its presence is mainly related to the structure of the halls of ancient Chinese houses. Square works can be used as the plane limit to compare the "Tastes of Integration or Transformation of Yin and Yang".

Meanwhile, graphic works are visual objects in ordinary people's naked eyes. When the entire work is displayed within about one-sixth of the central field of vision, you can "look fixedly and scrutinize the overall vivid effect or move your eyes to appreciate local brush-wielding skills". Whether the work has the whole and local clarity in the field of vision is also an important standard used to compare the "Tastes of Integration or Transformation of Yin and Yang".

The blank plane centered on the black-and-white contrast can be the result of mutual coordination in quantity, size, gradation, wetness and dryness, density, convergence and divergence, uniformity and clutter, emptiness and fullness, isolation and coherence, and repulsion and fusion. The "Taste of Integration or Transformation of Yin and Yang" characterized by clear field of vision, clear priorities, unity as a whole, cleanness and breathability can be a focus for the viewer to compare the author’s ability to handle contradictions or show mental activities.

In traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, the clarity of the visual field in the naked eyes can reflect the clarity of the author’s inner image. It is neither the Great Wall of dictionaries paved with character bricks nor the visual chart arranged by small dots beyond the eyesight of ordinary people. Both the “Masterpieces” that cannot fully display the overall image of the work within the central visual field of the naked eyes and the “micro-works” that do not have both whole and local clarity have lost their image appreciation value as traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy works or have been reduced to shelved collectibles or just serve as references for confirming local techniques.

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

Rotten Stone Produce Good Tea Trees
ink on Xuan paper, 2017

Pinyin: lan shi jia mu; Chinese, 爛石佳木 紅 (Literary quotation: Tea Classic made by Lu Yu in the Tang Dynasty)

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊 A Drop of Water Moistens the Universe; Chinese, 一滴潤乾坤

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 69×34cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

Unique Modelling Technique - the "Taste of Individual Vitality of the Image" between Likeness and Unlikeness

Master Qi Baishi once said that "The wonderfulness lies between the likeness and unlikeness. Excessive likeness goes vulgar while unlikeness is to gain a reputation by deception". It fully explained the true meaning of the image-building in traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. I would like to quote this statement to encourage myself. 

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

The Fragrance of Tea Refreshes a Small Room Elegant
ink on Xuan paper, 2017

Pinyin: fang qing xian xuan; Chinese, 芳清閒軒 紅 (Literary quotation: Poetic Sentences about Drinking Tea on Moonlight Night made by Yan Zhenqing in the Tang Dynasty)

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊 A Drop of Water Moistens the Universe; Chinese, 一滴潤乾坤

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 69×34cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

Unique Technique to Write Chinese Characters - "Taste of the Personal Physical and Mental State" Contained in the Lines Drawn with One Stroke to the End

Unlike other graphic arts which are done by "making", traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy are produced by "writing". The writing lines that form Chinese characters such as seal scripts, clerical scripts and cursive scripts are based on modelling techniques that feature the richest variation, bear the most typical Chinese characteristics and best embody the artist's personal physical and mental state when writing. They are also key points for a viewer to compare the "tastes of physical and mental state of the authors".

How to record and reproduce "writing" is inseparable from the combination of water, writing brush and rice paper.

Water can clearly record and reproduce the state of "writing" including stillness and interval time (for details, see The Innate Excellent Carrier of Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Art - Water). The difference between rabbit hair, wolf hair and goat hair is the hardness. In terms of moisture content and expressiveness, long head goat hair brush is second to none. Rice paper can be divided into untreated rice paper, treated rice paper, bark paper and cotton paper according to its texture. In terms of clarity, Mianlian (cotton-continuous) paper has the best effect.

In the long history of traditional Chinese calligraphy, different authors have different pursuits and styles. When comparing the unrepeatable "writing" states, viewers can focus on the light ink calligraphy work, which is also written with long head goat hair brush on cotton-continuous paper, as a high-resolution state. (See My Writing Examples)

"Writing" can refer to "writing Chinese characters", that is, to depict for the purpose of "practical modelling", or it can refer to "youbi", a basic technique of traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, which aims to "practical modelling with aesthetic pursuit". Except for the new character-making masters who are self-taught and have talents of Cang Jie (the inventor of Chinese characters in legend), "youbi" is generally formed in the repeated process of copying, comparing and trying to express individuality.

The process of forming "youbi" can be like applying and washing facial masks to individuality. Is "youbi" a random stew of indeterminate preferences or a monk's robe of patches? Is it an embarrassment that cannot get away from the template or a copy of the inheritance of a notable sect? Is it a Thousand-Hand Guanyin with various themes such as Chinese calligraphy fonts, landscape paintings, bird-and-flower paintings and ruler paintings or an independent style that has unified mature personality regardless of the theme? It can be said that the styles of "youbi" can only be compared by viewers in the huge database at all times and in all countries. It is the focus of the "personality taste" composed of inheritance and innovation.

"Youbi" is a means of image modelling.

Affected by the immature modeling ability that highlights the part and ignores the whole, or interfered by the dominant idea that highlights local independent skills rather than the overall image continuity, if the entire graphic image created by authors is not vivid, even if each part of each word or object is permeated with "youbi" skills, such "youbi" works can only be a failure that features "youbi without vividness".

If the entire image of Chinese characters is composed of wrongly written or mispronounced characters that don’t belong to the structure of seal script, official script and cursive script and are not recognized by academic materials, or if the entire image of the object is one that can only be discerned by non-human eyes, even if the author has employed “youbi” skills, his or her work is merely to "hoodwink the public" as described by Master Qi Baishi.

Traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy aim to build freehand images which integrate poetry, calligraphy and painting. The "youbi" of writing lines refers to the use of consistent brushstrokes to run through the image of Chinese characters in the poem and the object image in the painting, thereby creating an integrated vein of calligraphy and painting.

The "extreme state of youbi" can be a unified state of "one stroke to the end" that has been maintained all the time from the first stroke to the final stroke without overlapping strokes. It can be said that the Chinese character image of the poem and the object image of the painting are not created by "writing in a depicting way" but are naturally "supported" by the consistent physical and mental state that features "one stroke to the end". Therefore, traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy can also be an image of "irreproducible extreme physical and mental state" that "conducts freehand brushwork with the form, maintains consistency in brush strokes, and creates vividness in form and spirit". "The taste of the author’s individual physical and mental state" is the characteristic focus for the viewers to compare "the authors' extreme states".

"Stroke consistency" is not only the unification of the physical and mental state of "one stroke to the end" but also the objective embodiment of writing techniques of the "one stroke to the end" as well as a clear visual sense in the central vision of the whole and part. The technique of "one stroke to the end" in Chinese calligraphy can be described as the common sense of the writing technique (see My Writing Examples); in addition to the combination of "fine brushwork" and "freehand brushwork" in traditional Chinese painting, the "one stroke to the end" characterized by writing large characters with a small brush or writing small characters with a large brush is also a writing technique (see My Writing Examples); the amount of information represented by "one stroke to the end" can be the focus on comparison of "stroke consistency" and the unity of time sequence of the author's physical and mental state. "Stroke consistency" refers to the inseparability and coherence of various parts that make up the entire image. The unity of time sequence of the author's physical and mental state refers to the overall image consistency and the vision clarity of the "integrated poetry, calligraphy and painting".

The state of writing one stroke in need of dipping the ink once, the state of dissatisfaction due to overlapping brushstrokes, the state of interruption featuring writing one brushstroke every other day or few days, the state of sketching an oil painting on an erecting drawing board with a brush, the state of playing with a small brush as a drumstick or the state of dancing with a large brush as a mop, and even the state of "doing" by using techniques other than "writing" should not be classified as the extreme physical and mental state of “writing”. 

The Example of Sai Koh (Qi Hong)’s Freehand Brushwork Traditional Chinese Painting and Calligraphy on Tea:
Chinese calligraphy (semi-seal script calligraphy), Chinese seal engraving (Chinese seal carving, Chinese seal cutting)

The Fragrance of Tea can Wash Away the Spirit Dust
ink on Xuan paper, 2018

Pinyin: mo xiang qing chen; Chinese, 沫香清塵 紅 (Literary quotation: Tea Drinking Song for Master Cui made by Jiao Ran in the Tang Dynasty)

Seal: Sai (Qi); Chinese, 齊 A Drop of Water Moistens the Universe; Chinese, 一滴潤乾坤

Xuan Paper: Mian Liao Mian Lian, 69×34cm

Brush: Goat Hair Long Head Brush, Meng Zhang Hua Bi · Jiang 

I sincerely hope that the traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy art will blossom and be permanently brilliant!



The above is my superficial view. Please favour me with your valuable opinions!



Written by Sai Koh (Qi Hong) in March 2017

My Writing Examples for your reference:
My humble opinions on “one stroke to the end” are as follows:
Writing at one stretch: the unity of the state of mind and body.
One writing style: It is strictly forbidden to use the brush repeatedly on the same painting; the writing style will not change greatly due to different objects; the writing style has a consistent and stable personality.
Using one brush: It is neither to shift to a small brush when drawing a thin line nor to shift to a large brush when drawing a thick line. It is not the alternate use of large and small brushes but is the completion of all the strokes, regardless of thickness or thinness, with only one brush of the same size.
Dipping in ink once: It refers to dipping in the ink once and exhausting it.
Vigour of strokes penetrates the back of the paper: the vigour of strokes can be fully released on the rice paper laid flat on the table in view of the fact that water flows downwards.