Figure Paintings on Ideogram

Mi Li

In respect of freehand style， vividness is expressed by means of shape so that meaning which is separated from original image can be obtained. Moral Intelligence is composed of five thousand characters， vigor covers the whole book， all content seems quite confused and there is not an exact description； Nanhua Zhenjing， composed of about 100，000 characters， includes a few fables， steer clear of the crucial point， describe other aspects and there is no frank statement of views！ Xici Zhuan indicates： “Yi means shape and shape means image.” Kong Yingda explained： “The divination in Yi can show all images of everything， thus， Yi means shape.” The opinion is in mind and the mind contains thousands of words， which can not be summarized in a word. Therefore， in ancient time， the scholar always had various ideas， excelled in imagination， made a point not by means of logic， observed the images of objects， generated meaning from images and achieved the meaning to obtain reasonable prospect so that there are many benefits. Those such as Zhong Rong， Sikong Tu and Yan Yu deemed that “we should use narrow words to express broad views”， “there is not any word， but everything can be depicted incisively and vividly”， “It is untraceable just like antelope horn hanging”， which promoted freehand style deeply combined with literature and arts. As for painting， its origin is very simple， people just use ink to express their feeling and use a brush pen to depict posture and later various theories appear so that variation by means of claborate-style painting， freehand style painting and ink and color painting emerge. However， the nature is only to express peoples feeling.

64 divinatory symbols in The Book of Changes can be called the earliest freehand style paintings. The freehand painting style dropped in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In many years， the artists at that time always started painting in dignified style but never provided striking key points， which were really explained as the expression of vividness and meaning. Xie He summarized “six techniques” in artistic conception in his statement. The clothes are skintight as if they have just come out of water， the fluent going of garment drapes like the wind is blowing their clothes， there are only several simple strokes， but the image has stood vividly on the paper. Gu Kaizhi once said： “it is easy to wield the brush pen for a painting， while it is difficult to portray a figures mental activities”. The feeling expressed by the images is a miracle of thinking. Miracle is deeper than image. People can not obtain such miracle only by observation， but insight is required， so people say that something is ingenious beyond description. Returning swans fly in the sky， the observer expresses a feeling for them， and such feeling is also above the images， thus， it is difficult to describe this feeling by ink. The supremacy of painting is that painting is free from constraint by the form and free from restriction by the provisions， starts from ones mind and for the purpose of express the feeling. Also， Wu Daozis painting is characterized by elegant lines， calm mien， natural and graceful strokes and imposing manner to acquire a miracle of simple strokes but vivid images. Wang Mojie hardly portrayed the figure， but his works of Plantain in Snow presented a subtle prospect， therefore， the basic principles were followed regardless of unconventional images in comparison with figure painting. This is one side. In addition， both of them are known as the distinguished men of Tang Dynasty and famous people of freehand style painting and begin the literati painting. In Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty， meditation was popular and the figure painting particularly centers on expression feeling and views. The artists expressed their thoughts in an exaggerated description and pursued ample meaning regardless of images. In the painting， the artist strived for literal grace. Moreover， the painting technique of slash ink was applied in painting landscape， flowers and birds， graceful strokes were hasty to speak peoples mind directly. SplashInk Immortal Painting by Liang Kai acquires the essence of freehand style， the immortal status is depicted by several simple strokes， mind moves with the strokes， meaning is presented on the basis of images， and the best point is that an idea is expressed clearly in confusion. In Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty， Chen Hongshou， Wu Wei and Jin Nong inherited that style， especially paintings by Chen. His strokes were wonderful， depicted valiant figure in thick and broken lines， showed gentleness and beauty by means of mellow lines and presented remote and ancient state by very thin lines， the air was fully provided and evenly no one in later generations could surpass him.

The freehand style shall be analyzed in different respects.“Writing” refers to the action of a brush； “feeling” refers to the action of mind. “Feeling” for a painting is just like an idea for an article. A well-thorough idea occurs in mind before the article is written and the feeling has been in mind before a painting is started. According to the poem by Su Shi， “When Yuke draws bamboos， there are only bamboos but not anyone. There is not anyone， maybe the person is lost. Its body is hidden among bamboos so that a fresh atmosphere can be depicted vividly. You may think whether it is a dream of Zhuang Zhou and will have meditation.” The person disappears among the bamboos so that such artistic conception is endless. The artist who wanders in universe and has imposing manner can achieve natural， graceful and distant prospect and completely depicted by the brush. The prospect of “feeling” depends on the artists cultivation， while “writing” is related to temperament of calligraphy. When an artist draws a painting to express his feeling， he can not be confused in selecting images. The clear strokes can keep initiative in hands and describe everything freely. Just as Nan Tian said， “boundlessly take off your clothes and act as if there is no one else present”. To attain such prospect， molding by the brush and ink must be quite remarkable so that there is no wandering or thinking about images and mien to avoid lagging due to much vividness and cheating due to no resemblance in order to attain the supremacy between vivid state and no resemblance.

However， it is difficult to attain the supremacy！ Lets take a case， the poem of Jianjia and the Ode to the goddess of Luo River have subtle prospect and their vividness is not attached on the basis of your will but sourced from accumulative thoughts， the nature and spontaneous flow of feeling. Consequently， the artist of freehand style painting shall be subject to literature in style and on the basis of disposition. The painting appears with a new idea in mind， and the painting disappears with a dying idea. Expectation in mind is like running spring water， full of vigor and quite long， triggers tiny and fine aspects and involves in everything so that the nature of an image will vary and be full of vigor. “Just like a poet creates a poem， I draw a picture only for the purpose to express my feeling.” （Li Gonglin） “I am always here even if all strokes， ink and painting are beyond the basic principles.” （Shi Tao）

The brush is a bamboo fish trap and the feeling is a fish. When a fish is obtained， the fish trap can be abandoned， which means that constraint is useless when a feeling is fully expressed. The feeling includes real feeling and hypocrisy， and the real feeling can arouse higher prospect. In case of painting based on your ideas in mind and drawing from your feeling， this is real feeling. Only real feeling can attain the supremacy， which is pursued by the artist in ancient time. What is a real prospect？ It is beyond description. It is just like the origin of a life which is not polluted by the dust or restricted by the common customs； it is also like a person in the universe and this person only moves with his heart. To reach this prospect， it is necessary to thoroughly reform oneself， accumulate knowledge and keep improvement. Hence， the feeling in painting is just like a boat which can ship you to the bank of natural state.

In modern times， the introduction of western painting results in huge changes in freehand figure painting. The realistic technique brings the rapid development of ink painting， molding principle depends on complete analysis and the essence of freehand style undergoes difficulty and recovers so that a thriving age appears. The creation of freehand figure painting integrates ancient and modern techniques as well as western and Chinese skills， opens up a new path and presents a diversified situation. The artist who inherits ancient techniques still strives for vividness in a non-vivid state and emphasizes integrating images， mind and strokes. In the event of inclination， the artist may inherit the realistic style of Jiang Zhaohe and Xu Beihong， focuses on delicacy of images， explores peoples feeling， exerts thought， fully displays the mien and integrates both aspects of image and feeling to form modern ink figure painting. Otherwise， the focus is mind， all ideas are from mind， the description is on the basis of dimensions， various imaginations appear and every factor is subtle. Ink is taken as an abstract origin to make molding meet the need of observation. The said exploration and originality are quite significant. Different painting styles and various strokes are used to strive for the best point.

Nowadays， the artistic techniques are various， but only freehand style inherits the context. The images are beautiful and the mind is also rippling.

There are limited images but endless feeling. With the development in thousands of years， it is still difficult to perfectly express the feeling！ Therefore， the freehand figure painting has a real prospect， integrates the beauty of image and feeling， gets rid of vulgar world， eliminates the distance between ancient time and modern time， stands among various arts and appreciates the poem of spirit. Thus， it is no doubt that numerous followers will inherit and uphold the freehand style.