When foreigners come to learn Chinese in China, they are often attracted by many famous Chinese paintings because most of them are fantastic and valuable. If foreign learners are interested in Chinese culture, they probably know that the Wei and Jin Dynasties in ancient China is a very important historical period in Chinese painting history. This period lasted from 420AD to 581AD and the most important painter in that period was Gu Kaizhi.
In Wei and Jin Dynasties, many wars happed frequently and the dynasties changed and replaced by another very often. But those who study Chinese in China may know that the culture and thoughts were well-developed in that period. More importantly, it promoted the development of arts. The cave fresco, the fresco in tomb chamber and the stone inscription were reached a very high level. Accordingly, many professional painters and calligraphers set up their own styles and schools. Gu Kaizhi was one of those famous ones.
In painting field, Gu Kaizhi was regarded as the “fathers of painting” and his scroll painting was the most representative. I will give a brief introduction about Gu Kaizhi to those who study Mandarin in China. He was born in the Eastern Jin Dynasty which lasted from 317AD to 420AD. He born in the year of 344AD in Jinling (today’s Wuxi in Jiangsu province) and died in 405AD. His original name was “Chang Kang”.
When foreigners learn Chinese in China, they may learn that he was born in a bureaucratic family and has ever been an official in his young ages. That’s why he had enough time to travel around and enjoy the beautiful scenery. At the same time, he enriched his experience and became knowledgeable. He was also proficient in writing articles and poems. There are many stories about Gu Kaizhi was recorded in the historical books.
Here is an interesting story about him for students who study Chinese in China. One year, Jiankang, the capital of that time was planning to construct a temple. However, the host monk was troubled because there were no enough funds. At this time, a poor young man came and intended to donate all the money for the construction. Of course, the monk didn’t believe him. Then the young man proposed to draw a picture of Vimalakirti on the wall and collected money from those who came to watch.
In the following three days, there was a sea of people came to watch. The temple site was crowded with people. At the moment when the young man drew the eyes, the picture just liked the lively person. And much praise, applause and cheer came from the audience. As a matter of fact, the donated money was more than what they need. Some learners who study Mandarin in China may have known that this young man was Gu Kaizhi.
From this story, foreigners who learn Chinese in China can see that Gu Kaizhi’s paintings were characterized by the portrayal of the expression in the eyes. Before the paintings are finished, you may fail to realize the beauty of his paintings. However, when he finished drawing the eyes, you may be amazed that it is greatly different.
When you study Chinese in China, the teachers of Chinese culture may also tell you that his paintings are also famous for the obvious person characteristics. There was a man named Peikai has three fine hairs on his cheek. The other painters failed to draw them but Gu Kaizhi drew these three fine hairs obviously, thus emphasizing people’s individual characteristics.
We can see that Gu Kaizhi was good at displaying the individuality by some obvious features. His paintings are very famous, but those who study Mandarin in China should know that he is also famous for his painting theories in his books like “On Painting” and “Painting Memory for Yuntaishan Mountain”.
One of his most important theories in painting is the unity of form and spirit. The theory of expressive painting what foreigners hear when they learn Chinese in China was put forward by him and has become one of the basic theories in Chinese painting.
It is recorded that Gu Kaizhi has painted more than seventy in total in his lifetime, during which some are legends, some are immortal and Buddha, some are figures, some are animas and some are natural landscapes. However, students who study Chinese in China feel pity that only three remains now.
Gu Kaizhi was famous for his paintings which characterized by portraying people’s features. If you are interested, you can learn more about him at the same time of learning Chinese.