My inclination to this research publication has grown out of my preoccupation with ink brush painting. Primarily, to me, it was ardently artistic to understand Shuimo or ink painting on suanzhi or absorbent paper made typically for ink painting and instigating subtlety, the economy of means, spatial diligence and for the converging nature of calligraphic brush strokes and painting. Incidentally my first visit to China under a government scholarship in 1993-94 played a key role in my interest. Chinese ink painting in general is like an exploration. The objective facts revealed through orchids, bamboo, mountain, water is somewhat extended in the larger concerns of the very visual language. What I feel is that the metaphorical footnotes on the vision and execution of paintings provide certain signals which simultaneously endorse understanding of poetic and visual imageries to perceive the language of painting. It is like asking how to translate nature, for example, and after such translation, what is the imperative- the nature or its translated form (that is the language through which such translation has taken place). Benode Behari Mukhopadhaya often uses the word "tension" in his writings. He speaks of a tension between the subjective interpretations of nature as contrasted with the objective facts of nature. He speaks of this in the context of defining art, if I may say so. Art is somewhere between these two, for him. Some how Chinese ink painting seems to address this issue in very profound way by revealing the very subjective element on the one hand and also by focusing on the essential aspects of natural facts on the other. Simply speaking, instead of a broader art historical and usual academic interest, my queries rested on the problems between the ways of seeing and the presentational system which resulted from the advent of so called Western Academic Realism and its imposition or codification in both of our Asian art colleges. By visiting many art institutes in China and interacting with many painters, I intended to enter in this particular discourse and research initiative.
In 1993-94, during my first visit for study, I travelled extensively in North China and visited many art centers of the region. That was the time of most fascinating socio-cultural transition in mainland. The tragic aftermath of student movement in 1989, unprecedented growth of 'Kaifeng' or open door economic policy, rapid urban expansion and certainly the rampant international exposure of new Chinese art. On the flip side, there was inevitable demand of freedom for pluralistic artistic practices among the artists in many peripheral realms and in various parts of the mainland outside the official segment. Since the end of 1980s most of the major cities evidenced many private galleries and various activities related to Chinese modern art. To a young Indian student whose entire exposure to China was through the mystic, lofty and vast nature painting was initially bit awkward like a strange traveller it encountering different situations without knowing the language of that time and the experience the rich and varied offshoots in Chinese art.
Then it comes to me with sadness that, as human beings, we have no common language through which we can come close to one another. This perhaps has its advantages; for it makes us pay the price of knowing each other; we begin as strangers and have to win each others love by strenuous endeavour.
Gradually, during a year's stint I got ample opportunities to view a good collection of post dynastic Chinese art in the early twentieth century and its impact in modern painting and artistic polemics. Certainly, it was a special opportunity to come across original Chinese painting, breathing within the objective and subjective condition of Chinese society and nature. This situation gave me additional privilege to read linguistic aspects in Chinese painting apart from the trend we perceive through western portals and printed plates in our curriculum of 'Far Eastern art'.
Relatively in a more open China, I spent several times in a most controversial Yuan Ming Yuan artist's village (Artist's colony in Beijing suburb existed from 1991 to 96) near the ruins of Jesuits in Ming period in Beijing. Yuang Ming Yuan the former summer palace which was burnt by the British in 1860 during the period of king Qianlong.
The historical importance of the place, appealing environment and the life style of its inhabitants stimulated my interest in Chinese art and culture. However, the artists' colony was almost unrecognized by the official artistic regime. But, their collective movement made a vital thrust became a later Avant-Garde art movement in China.
To me Yuan Ming Yuan artist's colony was a most accessible gateway to read the artistic psyche and emotional components of new generation in post Cultural Revolution and post Mao society in mainland. I received pleasing warmth and support from the artists and other cultural activists in the colony. Since my first stint and later my second visit for seven months as a visiting fellow in Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing under Asia Fellow programme, my concern was to furnish relevant texts and other materials on modern Chinese art.
Gradually I became more interested in exploring the feasibility of a comprehensive publication on focusing on the scenario and some core debates addressing tradition, realism, East-West integration and nascent radicalism in post dynastic society. Secondly, my intention was to enquire the mode of interaction between Indian and Chinese proponents in early 20th century within the broader framework of Asian artistic modernity. I need not mention, that epoch which witnessed artistic and aesthetic quest to comprehend East Asia (or what we called it as Far East) among the Indian artists and scholars based in Bengal.
India and China have had age old cultural, religious and philosophical ties. Specifically, classical Chinese art in its foundation showed clear evidence of Indian contacts. Since the first and second century AD through the advent of Buddhism, the stream of Indian artistic and aesthetic distinction had extended to China through Afghanistan, Balk and Central Asia. Before the fourth century AD the growing Buddhist culture in Asia caused various eclectic nuances in art incorporating indigenous components. From the East Jin to Tang dynasty in China there was incessant artistic contact with India.
Murals in Mogao Grottoes of Dung Huang called the epitome of cross-cultural fertilizations show the clear influence of Gandhara art and later murals of Ajanta. Even art in East Jin to Tang dynasty shows clear evidences of Indian contacts.
The Buddhist paintings of the most famous Chinese painters like Wang Wei and Wu Dao Zu show the influence of Indian artistic and stylistic components. As we know, in sixth century China in the process of the development of canons in painting, Shie Hos 'Liufa or six principles (formulated about 500 AD, recorded in Shie Ho's 'Gu Hua Pin Lun or Records of Classification of Paintings) shows clear shadow of six limbs of Indian painting.
In the tradition of Chinese art, India was a major source The eminent scholar Liang Qi Chao has mentioned Ches in his discussion of the principles of Chinese art. " for instance; in the biography of Tuan Chuang, besides his observations on the classics there was a list of articles in which were included all kinds of works of art. Lastly, we learnt from the translated classics not only of India's wisdom but also of its art. In Chinese painting Zhan Buddhism. Dhayana, the Indian forerunner of Zhan, developed as a part of Mahayana school of Buddhism, based on the Prajnaparamita and Lankavatara Sutra through the teaching of a line of 27 Indian Patriarchs.
Apart from all age old art historical discourses and related publications on Sino-Indian artistic context we need to review our cross cultural dialogue on modernity within the broader area of the Asian artistic milieu. Since the early part of the 20th century both the countries countenanced Western modernism as their cardinal intellectual and artistic influence. In pedagogical formation and curriculum we followed Western style realism (Xifeng Xiangxi Zhuyi) in the preparatory stages and in the foundation of a rigorous training (as in Govt college of art in Calcutta, Madras and even in China's art academies). We extended our countenance of western style realism over our artistic value structure and many aspects of our vision. As a consequence, we faced common problems involving rhythmic vitality, verisimilitude and observation. China, since the advent of western realism after 1911 (although it had a long history since 16th Century) witnessed lateral polemics on uncomfortable mixture of western style realism and traditional ink painting towards a synthesis. My intention is to hold that the growth of new Chinese art after dynastic fall in 1911 enriched our cross cultural understanding, and opinion at a time when our notion of Intra-Asian exchange was being shaped by Rabindra Nath and Okakura Tenshin (1863-1913). Okakura had visited India in 1902 to propagate his idea as; 'Asia is one'. Okakura had visited China for around five months in 1893.
Eventually the situation geared up a new framework of Pan-Asianism in Indian art. And a new generation of artists became more responsive to Okakura's new book 'Ideals of the East' and 'The Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art' written by E.Fenollasa, an American orientalist, a Professor in philosophy in Tokyo Imperial University.
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