Chan Painting

Chan painting is a style of painting that originated in China and reached its apex during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. While challenging to define in terms of method or artistic philosophy, it is associated with the Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist tradition from which its name is derived. In general, Chan painting emphasizes the use of monochromatic ink drawings in an extemporaneous style that is more suggestive of sudden, intuitive inspiration than of careful, deliberate planning of artistic expression. Chan painting was practiced by monks in Zen Buddhist monasteries, and while there is general consensus that the style did not enjoy widespread popularity outside of this context, some of its forms have been imitated by others. Some of the most striking examples of Chan painting are composed of such a small number of forms and techniques that it has been said that they can be taught and "performed" like a kind of artistic meditation.

Brief History

Chan painting is consistent with some aspects of traditional Chinese attitudes towards art, yet also differs in significant ways. Most Chinese painting has two paired goals rather than a single purpose. Not only does Chinese painting see to represent the physical appearance of its subject matter, but it also attempts to capture something of the essential nature of the subject, whether or not that essential nature is visible to the naked eye. A technique that is often used to achieve this is to work in monochrome, so that elaborate or flashy displays of different colors do not have the overall effect of distracting from the central focus of the piece. Instead, Chan painting is generally done in a single color and tries to use simple, striking brush strokes.

Chan painting was most famously practiced by Zen monks, who favored its simplicity and direct connection to transcendent inspiration. Outside of this context, Chan painting never received widespread critical or popular acclaim in China, and after the fourteenth century it became less and less common. Before it began to decline, however, examples of it were exported to Japan, where its popularity far exceeded—and long outlived—that which it had enjoyed in China. This enthusiasm for the Chan style of painting, and its geographic transportability, are all the more impressive considering Chan’s reputation for springing out of the artist’s ineffable font of inspiration and intuition, rather than from a formal style capable of being explained and taught in straightforward sequences of steps. Chan painting became one of many Chinese influences to profoundly affect the culture and aesthetics of Japan, along with Buddhism, Confucianism, a bureaucratic organization of government, and styles of music and clothing. Chan / Zen painting and philosophy are thought by many to be the origin of such quintessentially Japanese practices as ikebana (flower arranging) and haiku poetry. Some of the better known painters in the Chan style include Liang Kai and Muqi Fachang, both of whom were active in the twelfth century. Also of note, working in the tenth century, were Shi Ke and Guan Xiu.

Overview

Chan painting is distinctive yet difficult to define. It emphasizes spontaneity and the elucidation of the fundamental essence of the subject it portrays. It does not aspire to create a literal reproduction of its subject, but to capture the ineffable qualities that make the subject unique. While other schools and traditions in Chinese art focused on familiar subject matter such as landscapes, Chan painting tended to occupy itself with either representations of important personages in the Chan movement or with depictions of simple things such as tree branches, flower blossoms, or arrangements of fruit. In one sense, Chan art prefigures some of the philosophy of the impressionists, in that it seeks to convey a sense of the subject rather than a photographic imitation of it.

The preoccupation with essential nature is an element derived from Zen Buddhism, to which Chan painting is closely related. "Zen" means meditation, and Zen Buddhists believe that it is through meditating that a person can eventually attain full understanding of the fact that he or she is already enlightened—no additional work is needed. In Zen tradition, some people attain this realization after a long period of study and reflection, while others can make an intuitive leap and suddenly understand their own enlightened nature. Chan painting is meant to be representative of this type of intuitive leap, as if the painter glanced at a subject such as a solitary pine tree, and immediately leapt up, grabbed a brush, and sketched out a few lines that somehow capture the essential nature of what a pine tree is. Chan painting also has been deeply influenced by the Zen concepts of wabi and sabi. While these are notoriously difficult to define, they include the idea that the natural world is purer and more real than the world of finely crafted things. They also emphasize the importance of understanding and embracing the fact that all things in life are temporary and will one day end, passing into memory forever.

Just as the path an individual takes to enlightenment in the Zen tradition is unique for each individual, so too is the mode of expression used in Chan painting. This explains why art historians have often struggled to define the elements common to Chan painting—Chan painting is based on the value of each unique individual’s ability to see past the veils of circumstance and penetrate to the deeper level of essences, and to express these with simplicity and an absence of artistic pretence or overly stylized technique. Looking for a single style of Chan painting is as quixotic a task as would be asking a hundred different people to describe the taste of an apple, and expecting consistent responses. Each person’s description will be bound up with his or her own personal preferences, memories, and so forth. So, too with Chan painting: If every one of the hundred people followed the Chan tradition when painting an apple, there would be a hundred different styles produced, but each would be true and accurate in a deep and undeniable way.

Bibliography

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