Images of Life: Merging into Landscape

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article deals with Chinese ink painting and some aesthetic notions, in particular those of xiang 象 (literally, “image/phenomenon”) and shanshui 山水 (literally: “mountains-waters”, i.e. landscape). Any dichotomy or tension arising from the opposition of the physical and the intelligible world, the domain of appearance and that of essence is avoided, so a new understanding of the role and meaning of the art of painting can be developed. Focusing on Shitao’s Treatise on Painting (early 18th century), as a clear example and apex of the Chinese rumination on painting and calligraphy in early modernity, the implications and the relationship between landscape, art, and the ethical dimension of human experience are investigated and analyzed.