Feeling Free in the World of Chinese Painting

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The sun peers through tinted windows, as the melody of birds chirping stirs you awake. No, this is not Snow White, it’s a scene from a Chinese painting. Atop this misty mountain lies your small cabin, endless streams, fairy waterfalls, blooming petals, and sky-tall trees. The moss-covered rocks shimmer under the sun’s glow. Overflowing streams of purity exist only for attainable peace. I used to live through that world, every weekend. For the past five years, I took Chinese painting classes every week, immersing myself in the world of water and paint.

Olivia Li in class

Chinese painting has various forms and types and is also closely tied in with Chinese calligraphy. When it comes to types of art, it is split into 工笔 gōngbǐ and 写意 xiěyì. Gongbi paintings tend to be highly detailed and meticulous, often with long, smooth lines of flowers or birds. Xieyi, on the other hand, is much more abstract. Instead of going through every line and color, the painting will have broader shapes, and certain aspects of objects, such as mountains, will be exaggerated to a recognizable degree. There are two main forms for Chinese painting: 山水 shānshuǐ and 花鸟画 yuāniǎo huà. Shanshui paintings mainly involve drawing landscape sceneries. They will usually always contain mountains, trees, and a form of water. More advanced paintings also have misty clouds, giant waterfalls, villages, and one or two people. On the other hand, Huaniao hua focuses on animals and flora. Paintings of a specific flower will sometimes be accompanied by a cute bird or two, and it’s much more zoomed in on the main focus than landscape shanshui. While it is still up to debate, I consider 人物 rénwù as part of huaniao. Renwu paintings mainly portray humans often in dynamic poses. They will be accompanied by decorations such as small animals or flora, and thus is considered as a part of huaniao by some people. They can also stand alone as a new category because of the many characters to explore.

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By Olivia Li

I initially approached Chinese painting as a kind of project to complete. My good friends had been painting for four years ahead of me, and their products looked amazing, thus compelling me to try it out too. Admittedly, the base level techniques and paintings were rather ugly and boorish, but it was those fundamental skills of how to draw the simple shapes and strokes that allowed me to evolve my art into what it is today. What’s more is that the message behind Chinese painting has inspired me to become more creative, and less hung up on perfection. Although the ideals may vary for Western art depending on the medium, the art form that I liked the most, realism, heavily emphasize having every detail down to touch and recreating the world we inhabit. On the other hand, Chinese painting focuses on understanding the spiritual meaning behind the painting and creating that same energy. I used to be hyper-fixated on making every detail perfect, blindly recreating what my teacher had drawn. Although I thought they looked pretty, I learned that the paintings felt lifeless because I could not understand the bigger concept behind it. It took some time to finally grasp how the twist of a tree could seem free, how a few dabs of water could let clouds float, and how to make a painting that had meaning in it. Soon, I was able to improvise more than before. An accidental drop on the canvas could be changed into some pine thorns. An additional stroke made the painting more vibrant. The small things that once bothered me, and drove me to desperate perfection, became more ways to improve myself.

Chinese painting used to make me feel small and imperfect, like the mistakes I made. However, after I took more time to understand the greater aesthetic behind it, that close link of acceptance of oneself and the natural world, I was able to obtain a better mindset not only when it comes to art, but also life. Some day I would love to travel into one of my paintings, living free, feeling good.

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Images: Courtesy of Olivia Li

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