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Essence for Chinese Painting
Tools for Chinese Painting
The artistic expression of Chinese painting differs from that of western painting because of its tools for painting. To draw a Chinese painting, the writing brush, ink stick, rice paper, and ink-stone are necessary. Especially for the rice paper ( Xuan paper), it is the best tool for Chinese painting because it has a nice texture to allow the writing brush, wet with Chinese ink and held in a well-trained hand to move freely on it, making strokes varying from shade to light, from real to imaginative.
Materials for Chinese painting
Generally, Chinese painting is drawn on the rice paper. But in the fans, porcelain, bowls and dishes you also find the beautiful Chinese pictures when you shopping in the tourist shopping streets or eating in some special restaurants. Besides, the Chinese pictures are also drawn on the silk, screens, even on many ancient tombs' walls.
Shapes of Chinese painting
Chinese painting is diverse in its shapes. Except the mural, there are traverse, vertical, square, round, and flat in shapes, it also differs in size and length.
Combination of poem, calligraphy, painting and signet
Chinese painting shows the perfect union of poem, calligraphy, painting and signet. Generally, Many a Chinese painter is a poet as well as a calligrapher. He often adds a poem on it personally and stamps his various signets on the painting after he finishes it. The combination of the four makes the painting look more integrated, perfect and beautiful, which can bring the appreciator an aesthetic pleasure.
Mounting
Mounting a Chinese picture is for keeping and housing for a long time because many a Chinese picture is drawn on the breakable rice paper or painting silk. The traditional Chinese mounting technique is diverse in forms but commonly the picture is backed a piece of paper up, and then purfles it with the ninon, silk or paper. Compared with a not-mounted picture, the mounted picture is more substantial, beautiful, and convenient for collection and appreciation.
Themes
As to the subject, the most popular ones have been landscapes, human figures, animals, fishes, birds and flowers. Hence, there are 'figure painting','flower and bird painting' and 'mountain and river painting'. The interesting thing is the symbolism used in the painting that often puzzles the westerners' eye. Mountains, rivers, plants, animals, birds, flowers, etc, can all be chosen for their traditional association as much as for their inherent beauty. For example, the pine trees represent the uprightness and immortality. Together with the bamboo and prunes, they are known as the three friends of winter'. The orchid, a modest flower, is often used to describe the virtuous artists and scholars. Anther much depicted group of flowers are the flowers of the four seasons'. They are the peony, standing for the riches and honors; the lotus, coming out of the mire without being smeared, for purity; the chrysanthemum, for elegance, righteousness and longevity; and the prunes, for bravery and the messenger of spring.
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