Zhen 眞 as the Ideal of Landscape Painting in Bifaji 筆法記

Abstract:Bifaji 筆法記 by Jing Hao 荊浩 (ca. 855–915) is one of the most critical writings on painting in the Chinese art tradition. It reflects the shifting artistic trends of the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods from portraits to landscapes and from color to ink and wash. The emphasis on zhen (眞, "genuineness") as an aesthetic goal in Bifaji is an essential feature in its discourse on the nature of painting. This essay explores the concept of zhen as an ideal state of pictorial reality in Bifaji. Illuminating the meaning of zhen is vital to understanding Jing Hao's and his contemporaries' artistic aspirations. Considering its aesthetic connotations reveals zhen in Bifaji to be multivalent, involving a number of qualities required for the creation of a landscape painting, from the observation of nature to the method of brush technique. To elucidate the aesthetic ideals of Bifaji, this paper examines the relationship between the concept of zhen and other key terms such as qiyun (氣韻, "character"), qishi (氣勢, "dynamic configuration"), and xiang (象, "image") along with the additional conceptual layer of qi applied in the Six Essentials (Liuyao 六要) and the Four Forces (Sishi 四勢).