APPRECIATION OF QI BAISHI'S "FROG AND TARO": THE MEANING OF LIFE

ABSTRACT

Qi Baishi’s works are popularized, popularized, and adapted to daily life, and this type of agricultural theme has been fully expressed and passionately praised. His paintings are full of the emotions of the working people and the public, depicting familiar and beloved scenery for millions of people, conveying the resonance of millions of people’s artistic appreciation, and recording the heartfelt thoughts of millions of people who have been deeply rooted in their hearts for a long time. It brings joy to people, beautifies their lives, enriches their artistic enjoyment, and embodies the connotations of truth, goodness, and beauty. Appreciation of ‘Frog and Taro’ reveals the Taoist philosophy of the old man Baishi, namely the Zen realm, through his ink practice. In this work, one realizes the roundness and vitality of the painting lines. Taking this work as an example, it opens the basic ability to appreciate Chinese ink painting.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Работы Ци Байши популяризируются и адаптируются к повседневной жизни, и этот тип сельскохозяйственной тематики получил полное выражение и признание. Его картины полны эмоций трудящихся, на них изображены знакомые и любимые миллионами людей пейзажи, передают отклик миллионов людей на художественную оценку и отражают искренние мысли, которые уже давно глубоко укоренились в их сердцах. Картина приносит радость людям, украшает их жизнь, обогащает их художественное наслаждение и воплощает в себе смысл истины, добра и красоты. Картина "Лягушка и Таро" раскрывает даосскую философию старика Байши, а именно царство Дзен, через его практику рисования тушью. В этой работе мы видим легкость и жизненную силу линий живописи. Если взять эту работу в качестве примера, то она демонстрирует базовую способность ценить китайскую живопись тушью.

Keywords: Frog and taro, Leave blank, The meaning of life.

Ключевые слова: Лягушка и таро, Пустота, Смысл жизни.

Figure 1. Frog and Taro

Frog and Taro ‘is a black and white ink painting. Ink is divided into five colors,’ which refers to the use of the dry and wet shades of ink to depict the myriad changes in natural colors [7]. Pen, ink, paper, and inkstone are known as the Four Treasures of the Study and are also the most used materials and tools in Chinese painting. The old man Baishi once wrote in his painting: ‘When I was young, I lived in an old house in Xingtang, adjacent to frogs. Today, I am able to paint frogs.’ The color selection of Chinese literati painting is very special. China chooses ‘ink wash,’ which has remained unchanged since the Tang Dynasty. This reflects a social consensus that although each painter uses ink in different ways, they always cannot do without this ‘black’ boundary. The most frequently used terms in Laozi, such as emptiness, nothingness, stillness, and silence, are all semantically and philosophically related to black and white. The spirit of ‘great form Is beyond shape,’ ‘formless’ and ‘thing without substance’ is harmonious. These remarks imply the boundless and infinite expressiveness of black and white. Black and white, who have nothing, possess everything and are all encompassing. The use of black and white to create images is a distinctive feature of color in Chinese painting.

From the perspective of painting theory, the opposition between white and black lies in the form of black. Without white, black cannot exist. The so-called 'black comes from white' is precisely this principle. Chinese painters use black and white colors to depict the process of ‘understanding ink.’ The so-called ‘understanding ink’ is the process of ‘understanding the Tao,’ that is, the realization of life, to coexist with heaven and earth, and coexist with all things for the purpose of ‘obtaining the Tao.’[9].

Ⅰ Frog and Taro

1. Taro

The three taro leaves in the picture are dripping with ink, like three natural sunshades, covering each other and interweaving and stacking branches. The taro leaves and stalks are splashed with ink, quickly drawn with a large amount of saturated ink. The pen is full of ink, whether tapped or brushed, the ink is dripping, and the momentum is magnificent. In dry and light ink, the ink color of the stem of taro leaves is more prominent than that of taro stems and leaves, making the entire taro full of energy and the picture layered, enhancing the rhythm of dry wet contrast. The elderly man Baishi lived in extreme poverty in his early years, and ‘taro’ symbolized the source of life, the staple food in the family, and the energy that supported his survival. The upright posture of ‘taro’ reflects ‘hope.’ The painting of taro not only reflects the gratitude of the old man Baishi for this crop, but also embodies his pure and simple childhood, warm and plain, and the farmer’s heart of ordinary people who only seek to survive.

The class decoration, due to its profound connotation and symbolism, contains important genetic information of the Yangshao ancestors and is also the expression of the initial religious concepts. Frog patterns have been regarded as one of the totems of humans since the Neolithic period and are the most primitive and fundamental material that transformed into all things. Therefore, the frog in the picture is not only the true origin of life, but also symbolizes the mother of life continuation.

The frog depicted by Mr. Qi Baishi is lively and vivid, even though he talks a few strokes. The frog hopes to soar like a carp. The pen lines and dots that fall on paper become living life. ‘Burnt out’ is the great freedom - the freedom obtained through cultivation and the peak reached through climbing [4]. The frog back has the thickest ink color, which is achieved through a burnt ink style blending of the ink, resulting in a deep and profound brushwork. The painting of this frog by the old man Baishi seems to be a metaphor for his childhood life in the countryside. The frog's gaze tilted upwards at a 45-degree angle, focused and focused. Gu Changkang painted Pei Shuze, with three hairs on his cheeks. When asked about the reason, Gu said, ‘Pei Kai is handsome and has a tool of recognition, and this is precisely his tool of recognition.’ Those who look at paintings search for it, and they realize that the three hairs of the mind are like gods, surpassing even the restless times. Gu Changkang is a painter, but he may not have been skilled in painting for several years. When asked about the reason, Gu said, ‘The Four Body Yan Chi is not originally about beauty; the vivid portrayal is during Adu.’ Gu Changkang said, ‘Painting ‘waving the five strings’ is easy, but ‘watching the returning red’ is difficult [8]. This statement aims to illustrate that the beauty of the eyes is an important part of the entire painting, and the vividness of the eyes lies in the gaze. Therefore, for the frog’s gaze, it seems to be personified, which is the beauty of the white stone old man's dragon painting finishing touch.

As if shielding the sun, as if gazing into the clouds. Implies one’s childhood yearning and ignorance towards the outside world. It embodies the truth, goodness, and beauty of childhood, like the authentic children of a farmer’s family.

2. Leave blank space

Blank space is an important artistic feature in Chinese painting, which expresses the aesthetic pursuit of imagery and showcases the unique aesthetic artistic realm of Chinese painting through a state of virtual and real relationship, creating something out of nothing, and appearing as if there were nothing. White ‘refers to the texture and color of the drawing paper, while ‘leaving white’ is to empty the white paper, creating a contrast between the black ink and the white paper. It is the manifestation of a blank pen without ink in the picture, achieving an intangible and tangible form, and becoming an important component of the picture.

In the creation of artistic beauty, emphasis is placed on the use of blanks, pauses, and silence, with the aim of expressing the rhythm and melody of beauty, while also showing respect to the viewer. ‘Blank space’ is the most important expression technique of formal beauty in Chinese painting, and it is also a major characteristic of Chinese painting. ‘Blank space’ has become an important content of ‘imagery,’ a space transformed into ‘imagery,’ and a means of creating artistic conception beauty. In the artwork ‘Frog and Taro,’ the blank space accounts for nearly half, indicating that Qi Baishi’s feelings about life are very rich, but the ability to capture the entire canvas is limited. Most of the blank space is like clear pool water, highlighting the liveliness of the picture.

Chinese painting does not directly depict the environment in its expression, but rather highlights the background through the description of the charm of objects, the background is a technique of expressing reality and virtuality in artistic skills. Blank emphasizes virtuality, while thinking leads to reality. It is a processing technique that replaces reality with virtuality. The so-called ‘momentum’ refers to the emotional tendency and vivid changes in the overall image of the painting. Qi ‘often refers to the manifestation of the external shape, curvature, inclination, and elevation of an object. Qi and Shi can be considered as two relatively independent concepts. Chinese painting also refers to the ‘management position’ of the painting as ‘placement and layout,’ placing ‘momentum’ in a very important position. Wang Chuanshan, a scholar from the Qing Dynasty, wrote in his poem ‘Jiang Zhai Shi Hua:’ ‘When it comes to painting, it is said that’ there is a momentum of ten thousand miles within a short distance.’ The word ‘momentum’ should be focused on. If we ignore the momentum, we can shrink ten thousand miles within a short distance, just like the picture years of the day before Guangyu Ji. ‘This sentence illustrates that as art, painting should attract the audience and inspire their imagination by highlighting the creation of artistic images. The image that can attract the audience and trigger imagination is based on ‘momentum.’ Only by starting from the ‘potential’ and always highlighting the requirements of ‘potential’ to create images, can paintings touch people’s emotions and guide the audience to gain breadth and depth of spatial and temporal imagination.

The ‘momentum’ in traditional Chinese painting gives people an intuitive impression that it is a large outline of an object presented in space and a tendency towards a certain emotion presented by the large outline. The absorption and creation of ‘momentum’ is to consciously make the tendency of this state of mind clearer, more complete, and stronger, and to unify the entire composition process under the guidance of ‘momentum,’ promoting the development of the surface towards the realm of intention. The successful creation of a painting, that is, the combination of objectivity and subjectivity, the development from resemblance to divinity, and the sublimation from natural scenery to artistic realm, ‘momentum’ plays a role as a medium and bridge, which is a problem that must be paid attention to in traditional Chinese painting creation. The ‘appearance’ and ‘blank’ complement each other in the visual hype. The method of using ink and brush to capture images is different from relying on natural lighting to depict three-dimensional space, but rather relies on the interweaving and changing of lines, as well as the changes and virtuality (including the brightness, dryness, and wetness of ink) to create a picture that is in harmony with the ‘blank space.’ Once this ‘blank’ becomes a part of the picture, it is no longer an empty white paper. In Chinese painting, it is called ‘void white,’ indicating that ‘white’ and ‘void’ are closely related. Void ‘refers to the concealment of things, while ‘reality’ refers to the appearance of things. The blank space on the painting can be interpreted as a virtual image evolved from ‘reality,’ and can also be called an ‘image outside the image,’ meaning where the pen touches. Therefore, regardless of content or form, ‘appearance’ and ‘blank space’ are interrelated, and the expression of rhythm changes is a prominent feature of Chinese painting.

Ⅱ The Life Meaning of ‘Frog and Taro.’

The poem by Qi Baishi goes: ‘The bitter flow of light is replaced by the painting of Zen, and the depth of martial arts gradually becomes natural.’ The artistic conception usually indicates the internal direction of art, referring to a life scene where emotions and scenery blend together, and the object and the self are integrated. That is, in ‘Frog and Taro’ and other paintings and works by Qi Baishi, there can be another cave that makes people yearn for it, which is very satisfying. In this work, the artistic conception has a holistic feature, and the image is filled with rich poetic life scenes. This scene is an image system, a world where frogs, grass, and taro blend together. The so-called realm of life refers to a realm that goes beyond concrete description and embodies the essence of life. Painters can use their works to clarify their thoughts and observe the way, from eating, dressing, sleeping, and walking, to realizing the wonderful fragrance of distant sounds, the chirping of birds and the falling of flowers in the Zen realm. Qi Baishi has gone through hardships and witnessed the beauty of the world. Get close to nature, contemplate prosperity and decline, and be born naturally.

The Tao Te Ching: Dao can be Dao, not Dao; Name can be named, but not very named. The beginning of the unknown world, the mother of all things. Therefore, there is often no desire; Always have desires to observe them. Both have different names due to their beauty, and they are called mysterious. Mysterious yet mysterious, the gateway to all wonders [6]. In the form of speculation, the relationship between regulation and negation, finite and infinite is expressed. There is no textual explanation in this work, but it reflects the recognition of the universe’s essence (Dao) and the reality of life. In this artwork, a ‘solitary frog’ is poised to take off under the taro leaves. From Qi Baishi’s ‘Frog and Taro’ series of works, there are two frogs and multiple frogs. Metaphorically representing his entire life, from being alone, to meeting his partner, and then to having a family of children and grandchildren. Or, metaphorically referring to the reproduction and endless growth of life, as well as the strength of vitality. The frog here symbolizes his pursuit of a beautiful life and his positive attitude towards the future, which is the artistic conception created by this work. When it comes to solitary frogs, the meaning of ‘Zen’ allows people to experience the depths of their own soul, also known as the spiritual realm, thus rising to a philosophical level [2]. Subhuti, what about Yi Yun? Can we see the Tathagata in person?’ ‘No, Your Holiness. We cannot see the Tathagata in person. Why? What the Tathagata says about the body is not the body. ‘The Buddha told Subhuti,’ All forms are illusory. If we see the non-forms of all forms, we see the Tathagata [3]. The Buddha's body form is nothing but a false form of kana and harmony. Therefore, the body form that Buddha refers to, namely the ‘Four Great,’ ‘Five aggregates,’ and the false form of harmony and continuity, is the reality that does not have a body form. All phenomena in the world are false and ever-changing. Separation means indifference, and detachment means indifference; If there is attachment to each other, various obstacles will arise. The image of the old man Baishi has been fixed in people’s minds, an old man with a black hat and white beard. In traditional Chinese culture, ‘Taoists’ generally grow beards, not only as a symbol of morality, but also to comply with natural laws and express filial piety.

The life characteristics reflected in ‘Frog and Taro:’ life is not only alive, but also has different forms, qualities, movements, environmental relationships, and personality traits. Li Keran said, ‘The grass and insects painted by the old man Baishi have two sharp tentacles that feel like they can move at a touch. The bees he painted have wings that fly, as if they want you to hear a buzzing sound.’ Yu Feiyan said that the old man Baishi ‘used light ink to paint the large catfish that dives forward, except for its eyes and two whiskers, with gills and only five strokes from head to tail, to shape a two pound, oily, smooth, fat and round catfish, and show the habit of catfish wagging its tail and moving forward.’ This is all because Qi Baishi captured the life characteristics of the object [5].

The beauty of the lines in Qi Baishi’s paintings is extracted and summarized from natural life, and it is also created by him to reflect life and express objects. Although his paintings originate from natural life, they are higher than nature, more typical and profound than real life. Qi Baishi’s paintings not only refer to his skill, but more importantly, they serve as the foundation of all things. The laws of nature run through the trajectory of life between nature, life, and art. His paintings are infused with vitality using meticulous brushwork, creating a symphony of endless life and vitality. His paintings contain the entirety of his artistic life. Not only does it reflect one’s own ideological values, but it also conforms to the artistic laws of beauty [1].

Summary

Qi Baishi’s artistic works, with their inherent artistic and cultural value, contain the essence of traditional Chinese culture, such as Zen. Every character painting by Qi Baishi is like a mirror, reflecting his inner world and true emotions. Pablo Picasso once praised Qi Baishi as ‘a remarkable painter in China,’ and his international reputation and artistic level are above new heights.

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