China's all too familiar forms of fantasy—its apparitions of fear and calm, its life-giving dragons, its pagodas, the flaming red and gold of its sanctuaries—bring to us its aesthetics of paradox, its strange rhythms, as well as convey the mystery that runs in fragments through all things. The highly developed systematic forms of expression of Chinese art, combined with its strong theoretical basis in religion and philosophy, are indeed a force to reckon with.
The ancient Chinese, considered to be the most meditative people in history, believed that the universe was filled with a wondrous harmony and its laws were akin to music. In the quietness of the spirit, in meditative calm, these laws could be learned and experienced. Nature, the all pervading backdrop of Chinese art, architecture, gardening and government, all contained within itself the "energizing Tao"—the spirit-filled void.
Chinese art is not exclusively Taoist; but it cannot be denied that Taoism has been an underlying source of inspiration in the formulation of the Chinese artistic ideal. Of the several forms of painting, landscape has been regarded as the crowning art of China. The Taoist glorification of nature imbued the artists with a new sense of freedom. The harmony of the human spirit and the spirit of nature became the ultimate goal of Chinese art. The painters believed that their creation must represent not only the outward form of nature, but also capture and embody the inner spirit, which binds man to the world of mountains and streams in mystical harmony. |
