Sun Xun 孫壎: A Comparison between Western and Chinese Painting Techniques 中西畫法之比較

When I lay my eyes on nature, I either rejoice or despair. That is because I already possess the ability to sense the invisible beauty. Everyone in this world has what Wang Yang Ming called “intuitive knowledge, intuitive ability” (liangzhi liangneng 良知良能) and what Hao Zhier called “the desire for beauty”, which enables them to discern natural phenomena.[1]

天地自然之現象，吾人一觸眼帘，即感快與不快者，實吾人心理，先已具無形之美情;因能鑒別自然現象，陽明所謂“良知良能，”郝智爾所謂“美的慾望”此世界生人所同具。

Only in this case is “intuitive knowledge, intuitive ability” the “the desire for beauty”. “The desire for beauty” originates from the foundation of morals. Therefore, contemporary scholars refer to aesthetic education as moral education. If aesthetic education is deserted, then there is no point for moral education.

惟此“良知良能，’，是即“美的慾望”。“美的慾望，”是卽發見道德之基礎·故近世學者，指美育而為德育。謂舍美育而言德育，徒勞而無功是也。

Aesthetic education has a very wide range. The one that attracts the most sense of beauty is nothing else but paintings, in which there is considerable diversity in the styles of Chinese and Western. The context of peoples’ lives and the customs they are used to are different. As a result, the sense of beauty that is stimulated is different as well. A sense of beauty is intertwined with customs. Therefore, customs equal the sense of beauty, and the judgement is distorted. I hereby present A Comparison of Chinese and Western Painting Techniques.

然美育之範圍甚廣，其最易引起美感入勝者，則莫如圖畫，惟是圓畫中畫異趣，分類繁多。生人之境況習尙不同，而美感所受刺激，因各有強弱之分，美感既被習尚之羈絆，則習尚漸其真正？美之觀念，而為畸輕畸重之判斷；此吾所以有中西畫法之比較也。

Chinese and Western paintings are both born to pictographs. They are both derived from realism. If the characters are simple, then they cannot satisfy the desire for beauty. And so, the paintings strayed from characters and became independent. That is the reason why Chinese and Western paintings focus on figure painting.

知中西繪畫，同胚胎於像形文字;是中西畫理，儼然同一源流寫實派也。厥後文字簡單，不足以饜美感之慾望;邃異趨殊途，脫離文字而獨立·馮之中西繪畫，均以人物為題材。

Hence, before the Middle Ages, Western painting developed in conjunction with religion, while Chinese painting became more prosperous with the vigorous development of Buddhism – the so-called religious painting. But what these depict are mostly mysterious Buddhist statues. The idea of righteousness is progressing, but it runs counter to the intention of ancient painting.

故西洋中古以前之繪畫思想，多與宗教思想為混合之發達，而吾國繪事，亦隨佛教勃興而益盛。所謂宗教畫是也。但所繪多神秘佛像。理想進步，則反去古畫旨愈遠。

This is the pattern in the development of Chinese and Western painting. It seems to be the same conceptualism just like the same freehand brushwork. From then on, the appreciation and admiration for the beauty of religion were not enough to satisfy the demand for beauty. Thus, aesthetic thought broke the category of religion, and the new school finally came out independently.

此中西畫派進化之公例，又儼然同一寫意派也。由是以降，贊仰宗教之美情，又不足以償美感之要求，於是審美思想，打破宗範圍;而畫派遂別開新面而獨立。

This represents the birth of real art – realism from the rise. In the beginning, I tried landscape painting a little, which is the common basis of the development of Chinese and Western painting schools. Therefore, this practice departs from classical methods and tends towards realism.

至是真正之美術誕生，而寫實派以興。始稍稍從事風景畫焉，此中西畫派進化之公例;所以一反古道，同一趨於寫實派也。

In China, after the Eastern Jin dynasty, the landscapes of Nanzhong were often used as the basis for painting.[2]

蓋吾國至東晉以後，繪畫之士，多以南中山水為天然粉本。

In the West, Brother Francke (1380-1440) and his students were the first to advocate natural description.[3] After several generations of development, realism made great progress. At that time, the idealistic painting still occupied a place, but after several generations of changing trends, the Chinese and Western painting schools are far from each other.

西洋則至甫盎歐伊(1380-1440)與其弟，首倡自然描寫；厥後殆經幾許之陶冶孕育，於是大進，惟是時之理想派，尚佔一席之位置，更經幾代之潮流，於是中西畫派，乃分道而馳。

Chinese painting emphasized copying more and more, and it went from bad to worse, while Western painting paid more attention to natural phenomena, becoming increasingly sophisticated. The distinction between good and bad is growing now.

中畫則日趨於理想臨摹，而每況愈下。西畫則益重自然現象，而每趨進化，時迄今日，而優劣益別。

It is not the case that Chinese painting is worse than Western painting. In reality, later generations copied from these ideal painters, passing skills from master to apprentice, increasingly destroying interest in natural representation. As a result, the painting got worse and worse.

非果中畫之劣於西畫也，時後代臨摹理想家，師弟相承，其去自然興趣愈達；而所繪愈卑下矣。

So, I say now, if we want to protect the quintessence of China (guocui 國粹), is it not imperative to reform the school of painting?

故吾謂今日欲保存國粹，則改良畫派，其為當務之急乎？

To reform Chinese painting, it is necessary to compare Chinese and Western painting methods. This is the main idea of this article. For details, please refer to the following:

雖然，欲改革中畫，非先從事比較中西畫法入手不可；此吾篇研究之主旨也，今請略述管見於後。

Chinese and Western painting techniques both started with using contours to express the material. As they progressed, they mutually influenced each other.

夫中西畫法，其始同以輪廓描線，表現畫材；後乃進步，加以渲染。

As Western painting techniques progressed, they started paying attention to perspective. Colors were used to present the changes in natural phenomena. The strokes applied were quite stiff and rusty. How the brush was held depended on the object that was being painted. It was as if the absence of rules was the rule.

西畫再進，則注重透視投影。而全取色彩以表現自然現象之變化。其用筆尚硬禿。連筆則視物體之種類而定。似無法而有法。

The pen stroke must be swift and rich; simple and short strokes require movement of the wrist. Simple strokes are used to present complicated cases for the integration of the entire painting.

然必求敏活渾厚，而稍現筆勢。其連腕多在簡短之筆法。而以簡單之筆法，表現複雜之現象，以求畫幅之統一。

So, the three important elements in Western painting are shapes, colors and the energy they produce. When it comes to shapes, perspective and projection method must be studied. When it comes to color, the energy the paintings produce and the toning are essential. When it comes to energy, pen strokes, color, balance, rhythm, consistency and contrast are known to hold the key to success.

故西畫三大要件：曰形狀，色彩，氣勢；言形狀，則透視與投影法須研究也。言色彩，則氣勢與調色法必講求也。言氣勢，則筆法，色彩，均衡，節律，調和，反襯，皆所宜知也。

Chinese painting only scatters perspective. If you look closely at the details of the painting, there is not one apparent horizon.[4]

中畫惟有理想之透視。細查畫幅各部，無一定之視平線。

Throughout the painting, you will notice that every apparent horizon appears to be on the upper part of the painting. The painting is mainly based on ink and wash, focusing on shapes, contour structure, applying colors to a drawing and color harmony. The rest is not important.

統觀全幅，覺每幅視平線多在畫幅之上部。繪法以墨色為主，而注重輪廓結構，渲染，色彩，則其餘事也。

Most of the light and air effects do not truly restore natural phenomena, but outstanding works, sometimes from the school of sketching, have a quiet, elegant and noble theme unmatched by Western painting.

其他光線空氣，亦多未合自然現象，然其傑作，間有出自寫生者。別有一種靜雅高尚之旨趣，為西畫之不逮。

Chinese painters like the long blade best when they use a pen. Continuous strokes seem to have some patterns but in the end do not belong to any set rule.

至用筆多喜長鋒，連筆似有法而終歸於無法。

然必須渾活勁秀，而見筆勢之所在。其運腕運肘，多在長曲之筆法。時或以簡單之筆，表現景物。

This is similar to Western painting, which requires painting to be harmonious but is also a study of some details key to the art of composition. Therefore, there are “six methods” (liu fa 六法) in Chinese painting:[5] The portrait has a vivid bearing charm, appearing full of vitality. The painter’s description must be like the object. Composition requires effort and planning. The colors must be similar to the painted images and copy work.

則固與西畫之理相同，至求畫幅之貫徹，則又在章法之研究矣。故中畫之六法日：骨法用筆，氣運生動，應物寫形，經營位置，隨類傳彩，傳模移寫。

The “six requirements” (liu yao 六要)[6] and “six virtues” (liu chang 六長),[7] if subdivided, share many similarities to the Western painting method. However, in the eyes of modern observers, the wide gap between good and bad does not mean that the person who put forward these methods is wrong, but rather that later generations did not study the methods carefully enough to reveal its strengths and compensate for its weaknesses.

其他六要六長，若細按之，則又與西畫之理法多相似。然在近人觀之，而優劣覺懸殊者，非言法者之不善，特後人用法者，未精研求以揭長補短。

Generations of idealistic painters passed on, advocating the depiction of ancient painting, leading to the decline of Chinese painting.

Overall, in terms of natural realism, Western painting is better than Chinese painting. In terms of the use of brush strokes, Chinese painting is superior. If one speaks of the ultimate purpose of painting, simply and honestly, the pursuit of painting is to express individual characteristics, which is again what Chinese painting and Western painting have in common.

總之，言自然之學理，則西畫優於中畫，言筆法之運用，則中畫高於西畫。若講渾厚活潑，與畫之終極，而欲表現個人之特性者，則又中西畫旨所同矣。

That is my humble opinion. I hope that experts of the world are able to ask questions and help answer them.

管見如此，尚希海內大家，有以教之。