董其昌的書畫論與明季詩文評

Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's Theory on Art and Literary Criticism of the Ming

劉晞儀(Shi-yee Liu Fiedler)

《中國文化研究所學報》 22卷 (1991/01) Pp. 291-321

https://doi.org/10.29708/JCS.CUHK.199101_22.0019

並列摘要

There was substantial revival of the ancient styles in both art and literature during the Ming, with Tung Ch'i-ch'ang and the Former and Latter Seven Masters as the leading figures in each field. The Former and Latter Seven Masters maintained the orthodox values in poetry as handed down by Ssu-k'ung T'u and Yen Yü who put Tu Fu at the top of the poetic hierarchy. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang championed the Southern School Painting as represented by Wang Wei, Tung Yüan and the Yülan masters etc. As art and literature were closely associated ever since Su Shih's initiation of Literati Painting, a comparative study of Tung Ch'i ch'ang's art theory and literary criticism of the Ming Revivalists helps us to understand what is in common Chinese literary theories and pictorial aesthetics. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang regarded tan as the ultimate standard of quality in art, and defined it simply as ＂unpretentiousness＂. Delicacy is tan, but even more so when sublimity is attained unpretentiously. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang quoted Su Shih's description of his own creativity and concluded that tan is not static grace but the utmost manifestation of spirited splendor, and its opposite, ornamental artificiality as characteristic of the literature of the Six Dynasties. The masters of the Southern School Painting, though remarkably different in style, all share the spirit of the sublime. And in poetry, Tu Fu is no doubt the ideal embodiment of spirited splendor. On the other hand, the gold-and-green landscape of the Li's and the Chao's is ornamental in nature, while the misty monochrome landscape of Ma Yüan and Hsia Kuei appeals with artificial sweetness. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang put both into the Northern School Painting though stylistically they had nothing in common. The Chiang-hu School of poetry which thrived simultaneously as the Ma-Hsia School of painting, exhibited an analogous flavour of contrived subtlely in a narrow vision. Thus, it is only natural that both suffered harsh judgment from Chinese critics. Shih (momentum) is another important concept in Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's art theory Composed of opposing yet complementary forces such as rising and falling, opening and closing, shih vitalizes the structure of any composition. Discussed in a much more systematic way in literary theory than in calligraphy, the concept of shih was adapted to painting by Tung Ch'i-ch'ang, an expert in contemporary prose familiar with its methodology of beginning with the overall idea, and then proceeding to organization of subdivisions, and arrangement of sentences, diction, etc. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's method of building up the momentum in a painting is, likewise, first to put down the contour, and then to divide the composition into passages and finally to elaborate on details. The concept of shih later developed into Wang Yüan-ch'i's ＂dragon vein＂ theory. While there always are dragons underlying the paintings of the masters of the Southern School as Wang pointed out, Tu Fu's unique style in poetry, characterized by structural twists and turns; best embodies the momentum that intrigued Chinese literati. Central to Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's Revivalist theory is imitation and transformation. Like the Former and Latter Seven Masters in literature, Tung Ch'i-ch'ang emphasized imitation as the indispensable discipline in art. But unlike the Seven Masters, Tung Ch'i-ch'ang did not aim to appear exactly the same as the masters he imitated. It is not difficult to tell whom Tung Ch'i-ch'ang imitated in his work, for he always captured the essentials of his models. But there is not the slightest intent to delude the viewer: the style was clearly late Ming, and the brushwork uniquely Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's. What enabled him to emerge distinctly as himself out of his sophisticated immersion in the past may be his acquaintance with the Yüan brothers of the Kung-an School of poetry, whose primary concern was truthfulness to oneself regardless of conventional values and discipline. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang combined the best of the theories of the two Schools to form his own, i.e., to attain spiritual affinity with the ancient through imitation so that, by way of transformation, øne may articulate better in one's own voice. In poetry, Tu Fu is the one that realised this ideal to the full. The ＂Great Synthesis＂ that Tu Fu achieved in poetry is also Tung Ch'i-ch'ang's ultimate goal im art. It is worth noting that the models Tung Ch'i-ch'ang prescribed included those from the Northern School Painting as well, which in a way corresponds to the modified Revivalist theory of the Latter Seven Masters who acknowledged the merits of the literature of the Six Dynasties besides those of Ch'in, Han and High T'ang. Tung Ch'i-ch'ang regarded Tung Yüan as exemplary of the ＂Great Synthesis＂ for the same reasons as literary critics singled out Tu Fu. Besides unsurpassed accomplishment in their personal creativity, both Tu Fu and Tung Yüan continue and transform the existing heritage their arts, and open up a vast horizon for generations to come. Their historical significance as well as the wide range of personal styles justifies the image of them as the sages of poetry and painting respectively. Then where does Wang Wei stand in relation to Tu Fu and Tung Yüan? In poetry, Wang Wei's limpid refinement lacks the grandeur of vision and of spirit as typified by Tu Fu and Li Po. In painting, though Tung Ch'i-ch'ang made him the first patriarch of the Southern School Painting, he criticized his meticulous delicacy on several occasions. In both poetry and painting, the delicate, though definitely a virtue in itself, compares unfavourably with the sublime. That Wu Tao-tzu appeared a craftsman to Su Shih when juxtaposed with Wang Wei is not due to his vigorous style but because the Chinese, and the literati in particular, regard landscape painting as a higher form of art than figure painting.