Abstract:

In this paper, the “rock” （modeling element） in the traditional flower and bird paintings is aesthetically divided into two categories, that is, “implication in rock paintings” and “rock worship and pleasure” regarded as an instrumental symbol to mark the distinction between “scholars′ paintings” and “literati′s paintings”. This is significant in three aspects. First, from SU Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty to DONG Qi-chang of the Ming Dynasty, the paintings of men of letters that express their feelings and interests are known as “scholars′ paintings” and “literati′s paintings”. However, in the painting world after DONG Qi-chang, the title of “literati′s paintings” vaguely “cover” “scholars′ paintings”. The “implication in rock paintings” refined in this paper is to prove that “scholars′ paintings” are different from “literati′s paintings” because the former pays more attention to the artist′s moral feelings than the interest in brush and ink skills. Second, from the perspective of “implication in rock paintings”, the history of Chinese paintings from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty can be divided into “scholars′ paintings” and “literati′s paintings”: the former from SU Shi to ZHENG Ban-qiao, and the latter from MI Fu to CHEN Hong-shou. This is the life roles of the ancient sages represented by rock paintings. Third, from the “Dongpo′s grotesque rock” and “Banqiao′s bamboo, orchid and rock” in the “implication in rock paintings”, we can not only know the ancient inheritance of exemplary persons′ poetry and philosophy, but also learn that the “rock” in the eyes of the worthy has not been a cold object in nature since ancient times, but a symbol of the spiritual foundation of the worthy when they deal with the turbid world.

Key words: scholars′ paintings, implication in rock paintings, SU Shi, ZHENG Ban-qiao