Role of Philosophical Belief Systems in the development of Chinese Landscape Painting

Daoism and Buddhism both had great influences on the development of Chinese landscape painting, although they bore deep roots in the tradition of painting used for the purposes of proliferating imperial identities and Confucian and Buddhist virtues. Daoism and Buddhism lent specific themes, styles and imagery which were implemented in Chinese landscape painting to demonstrate ideas such as harmony with nature, sacred rituals and the importance of kindness. Through this influence, we can see and experience the Buddhist and Daoist beliefs simply by looking at the styles and themes used in Chinese landscape painting, which help reflect the spiritual and philosophical movements at the time.

Before the development of landscape painting, which arose largely as a result of its need as a medium for Daoism and Buddhism, painting already had a long history in ancient China and was widely used to propagate philosophical ideas and political ideology, including its role as a medium for Confucian and Buddhist virtues. Throughout the history of Chinese painting, the materials used and the general techniques remained relatively similar. One of the key materials used in Chinese painting was paper – invented in the Chinese Han dynasty, paper completely revolutionized Chinese painting due to the versatile options it provided as a medium. In addition to paper, monochrome Chinese paintings were largely made with a brush and ink, whilst those which involved many colors utilized mineral and vegetable dyes which could be made by crushing the vegetables or minerals and then placing them in a sticky solution, which allowed for their colors to be seen (a bit like mosaics, only that the fragments used were much smaller). The tradition of the use of painting as a medium for conveying specific ideas was essential in the development of Chinese painting, and one of the earliest examples of this artistic tradition is the painting of Lady Feng saving her husband by the artist Gu Kaizhi, painted between 344-406 C.E. In this painting, following the escape of a bear from a circus, Lady Feng (the wife of the emperor) stands between the bear and her husband in order to protect the emperor, thereby conveying a specific set of imperial and Confucian imagery. The fact that Lady Feng was essentially willing to give her life for the emperor acts to demonstrate his importance and his benevolence. Especially since the Chinese people only rarely saw their emperor, this handscroll indirectly showed them his benevolence and encouraged the people to follow his rule. Additionally, the painting of Lady Feng also furthers key facets of Confucian ideology, especially Confucius’ ideas of the Five Noble Relationships. The painting demonstrates the power relationship between emperor and subject, and that between husband and wife – in either case, Lady Feng would be considered the inferior person in the relationship, and her courageous act of saving the emperor (who was also her husband) demonstrates that she fitted into this inferior role as the subject (who should respect and be subservient to the emperor) and the inferior role of the wife (who would do anything for her husband). In demonstrating that even the empress of China followed the Confucian ideology of power hierarchies in relationships, the painting exemplifies their importance and allows them to be understood in a practical way. The use of this painting thereby demonstrates that the use of painting – specifically landscape painting – to convey certain philosophical systems had a long artistic tradition in China. Buddhist ideas were also conveyed through painting before the widespread use of landscape painting in China, as can clearly be seen from the Dunhuang cave 17 scroll of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. In the center of the scroll stands the Bodhisattva Guanyin, an extremely large figure who seem to point towards the Pure Land Paradise of the West behind and above him. His much larger body implies Guanyin’s superiority and importance in the Buddhist faith, and the wavy red lines which lead to where he is standing seem to imply that he has descended from paradise. The painting also conveys a very important theme in Buddhism (especially at the time) of the ability of humans to achieve salvation and thereby progress to the Pure Land Paradise of the West. By depicting this area in the painting in a large gold ellipse, the artist is able to demonstrate its beauty and its “paradise-like” nature, thereby encouraging onlookers to lead lives such that they can also progress to this paradise following their death. Conveying this message would have been much more difficult in writing – not only because of the length of the explanation, but also because many people were not literate, so painting provided an extremely convenient medium for the expression of Buddhist ideology. Together, the use of painting to convey imperial identities, Confucian ideology and Buddhist virtues and beliefs set a precedent for belief-shaped landscape paintings in the centuries to follow.

The development of landscape painting essentially occurred largely as a form of expression of the Daoist reverence and connection with nature, and the Chan Buddhist beliefs of compassion and of sacred rituals. Fan Kuan’s “Travelers among Mountains and Streams” is an excellent example of the Daoist belief in harmony with nature. Fan Kuan’s depiction of nature involves nature as a free, grand and beautiful force. Kuan’s landscape painting does not involve many human-made structures in order to exemplify the idea of a connection with an untamed nature – a nature which is free and wild. By demonstrating the beauty of nature without any human development, and its’ almost idyllic and paradise-like serenity and beauty, Kuan demonstrates the influence of the Daoist ideology of nature’s beauty and humanity’s connection and harmony with it on landscape painting. The central idea of meditation and rudimentary tasks as a form of spirituality are both key tenets of the school of Chan Buddhism, which influenced Chinese landscape painting heavily as well. In Liang Kai’s painting of Huineng chopping bamboo, the painting’s subject and portrayal of this subject both reflect the Chan Buddhist ideas which played a role in shaping this landscape painting. The painting of Huineng focuses on the spiritual ritual of chopping bamboo, and Huineng’s intense focus on the task emphasizes the importance of rudimentary tasks serving as a form of meditation in Chan Buddhist belief. However, the painting style itself was heavily influenced by Chan Buddhist belief as well – Liang brought in the idea of short and sketch-like lines, which gave the painting the sense of having been created quickly and almost effortlessly. The simple nature of the painting with a relatively large amount of space left plain shows us the influence of the ideas of living a simple life without ornamentation on landscape painting. The seemingly rudimentary and simplistic depiction of Huneng and the settings around him imply the simpleness of the world and allow the onlooker to experience a meditative and somewhat introspective experience. The simplicity of the Buddhist landscape in Liang’s painting to express simple spiritual and monotonous practices is in clear contrast with the Daoist landscape painting which emphasizes the intricate beauty of the landscape and humanity’s connection with it.

In many ways, just as the philosophical systems of Buddhism and Daoism exerted great influence on landscape paintings, the landscape paintings shed light on beliefs and values of both Buddhism and Daoism. Ma Yuan’s painting “On a Mountain Path in Spring” gives us clear indications about Daoist belief systems including those of the beauty of nature, and how humans should live in harmony with it. In this painting, nature is depicted – as in Fan Kuan’s paintings – as beautiful, serene and seemingly untamed. Trees in the painting grow freely in different directions, and the setting seems to be devoid of human development, again expressing the theme of an untamed and beautiful nature. The man who traverses through the painting is shown as being simple and calm – he is walking through nature peacefully, and not as a destroyer force. The transition from treating nature as something which could be exploited to something treated with respect can be clearly seen in this painting and portrays this central tenet of Daoist ideology. The man in the painting also seems to fit in with his surroundings, since his simple attire fits in such that he seems to be at one with nature, thereby helping onlookers to realize the Daoist values of harmony with nature. Finally, the man seems to be introspecting and meditating whilst he is in nature, which again shows the parallels between the serenity of the man and nature, and how the two entities can communicate through introspection and meditation from the man, which is an important part of Daoist belief and philosophy. We can also learn more about Buddhist beliefs from landscape painting, such as “Lohans Giving Alms to Beggars” by Zhou Jichang. In this painting, different spheres of nature have been used to emphasize different levels of Buddhist enlightenment and serenity, with the Lohans being enlightened and serene and their beggar counterparts struggling for their life and the very opposite of serene. The painter clearly distinguishes the two groups not only by the rendition of their features and attire, but also through the surrounding nature. The Lohans seem to move around in a heaven-like setting, where the ground which they seem to stand on seems to float like a cloud and they seem to interact without worldly cares or worries. This starkly contrasts the setting below them of the beggars – the beggars seem to be in a dry landscape with few trees and several skeletons (or almost skeletal humans). They each show worried and sad faces and contorted bodies as they try to rush to receive the alms being given to them by the Lohans. The landscape differences between the fertile and lively landscape in which the Lohans stand and the barren landscape of the beggars is used to imply the differences in their conditions, and to show key Buddhist themes to different audiences. Although the Lohans have achieved the highest levels of enlightenment and serenity and are surrounded in a paradise-like setting, their commitment to helping those who have not yet achieved salvation echoes a key Buddhist virtue – of helping the poor and needy. By demonstrating that even the Lohans (who were disciples of the Buddha) did these acts, the painting is able to emphasize that giving alms to the needy is something which can and should be done by anyone. The painting also gave hope to people who could not give to others due to their needy condition by showing them that they could reach salvation and thereby giving them hope. As such, the separation between the realms of the people who had achieved salvation and the beggars allowed onlookers to see the Buddhist value of connection between these two types of people: and the fact that it was the moral responsibility of those who had achieved salvation to help those who had not. Thereby, Chinese landscape painting sheds significant light on Daoist and Buddhist ideologies through its techniques, imagery and themes.

In conclusion, landscape painting in China was heavily influenced by Buddhist and Daoist ideologies, and the use of painting as a medium for the conveyance of belief systems bore deep roots in the artistic tradition of Confucianism and imperial messages contained in paintings. The techniques and materials used for painting remained largely the same in landscape painting and in the painting which had occurred before it, and the idea of proliferating ideas through painted media forms in the Daoist and Buddhist tradition was one heavily based on former traditions of this sort in paintings based on Confucian, Buddhist and imperial ideas. Due to their emphasis on the role of nature, either purely or as a way of achieving spiritual connection, Daoism and Buddhism both expressed great influences on the styles and themes of Chinese landscape paintings. In turn, the landscape paintings produced during the era in which the philosophical systems of Buddhism and Daoism took hold also show onlookers and people today the intricate ideologies and belief systems which shaped Buddhist and Daoist belief systems at the time.