Catégories de la peinture chinoise et motifs dans la poésie de François Cheng

François Cheng’s poetry is steeped in traditional Chinese aesthetics, which is inseparable from the cosmology that gives it meaning. This article investigates the genesis of Chinese pictorial art in Cheng’s poetry by focusing on three sets of recurring motifs, linked to the major themes of nature and landscape in Chinese painting: trees and rocks; flowers and birds; mountains and water. Trees and rocks portray the outer form of nature and the inner impulses of the poet, and embody the dichotomy between heaven and earth. The symbolism of flowers gives praise to femininity and to yin, while birdsong evokes the eternal echoes that set nature in vibration. Mountains and water, with the clouds as an intermediary void, add contrast, rhythm, and musicality to the landscape and embody a universe in the making. In this way, the themes and motifs reflect the aesthetic beliefs of the poet-artist, who draws inspiration from Taoism and classical Chinese painting while embracing modernism. Cheng’s poetic art thus becomes ‘un art de vie, un art de vivre’.