The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius : Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes

In The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius: Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes, Xiaoyan Hu provides an interpretation of the notion of qiyun, or spirit consonance, in Chinese painting, and considers why creating a painting—especially a landscape painting—replete with qiyun is regarded as an art of genius, where genius is an innate mental talent. Through a comparison of the role of this innate mental disposition in the aesthetics of qiyun and Kant’s account of artistic genius, the book addresses an important feature of the Chinese aesthetic tradition, one that evades the aesthetic universality assumed by a Kantian lens. Drawing on the views of influential sixth to fourteenth-century theorists and art historians and connoisseurs, the first part explains and discusses qiyun and its conceptual development from a notion mainly applied to figure painting to one that also plays an enduring role in the aesthetics of landscape painting. In the light of Kant’s account of genius, the second part examines a range of issues regarding the role of the mind in creating a painting replete with qiyun and the impossibility of teaching qiyun. Through this comparison with Kant, Hu demystifies the uniqueness of qiyun aesthetics and also illuminates some limitations in Kant’s aesthetics. The publication of this work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (project no: 3213042202A1). Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Chronology Introduction Notes Part I: The Notion of Qiyun in the Sixth to Fourteenth Centuries Chapter 1: The Notion of Qiyun in Xie He’s First Law of Chinese Painting Introduction 1.1 Various Translations of qiyun shengdong 1.2 Qi 1.3 Yun 1.4 Shengdong 1.5 Qiyun in Xie He’s First Law and Zhang Yanyuan’s Echo Interim Conclusion Notes Chapter 2: The Thread of Qiyun: A Shared Legacy in Tenth-to-Fourteenth-Century Landscape Painting Introduction 2.1 Jing Hao’s Application of Qiyun in Landscape Painting 2.2. Guo Ruoxu’s Emphasis on Mental Disposition in Relation to Qiyun 2.3 Tang Hou’s Valuing of Qiyun in Art Connoisseurship 2.4 A Synthesis of the Notion of Qiyun Interim Conclusion Notes Part II: The Art of Genius Note Chapter 3: The Master of Qiyun: Genius as an Innate Mental Talent of Idea-Giving Introduction 3.1 The Idea-Giving of Genius in the Qiyun-Focused Context 3.2 Problems with Projecting Kant’s View of Genius into the Qiyun-Oriented Context Interim Conclusion Notes Chapter 4: Spontaneity of Qiyun: Genius as the Innate Mental Talent of Rule-Giving Introduction 4.1 The Rule of No Rule or the Rule of Nature 4.2 The Intention of No Intention: The Valuing of Unselfconsciousness 4.3 Unteachable Spontaneity and Somatic Training of Genius Interim Conclusion Notes Chapter 5: The Impossibility of Teaching Qiyun: The Exemplary Originality of Genius in Yipin Introduction 5.1 Yipin, Qiyun, and the Mental Disposition of Yi 5.2 The Craze of Yipin, and the Impossibility of Imitating Qiyun Interim Conclusion Notes Chapter 6: Genius as a Pure and Lofty Mind I: Aesthetic Autonomy and Balanced Human Nature Introduction 6.1 The Purification of the Mind through Meditation 6.2 A City-Recluse-Artist’s Satisfaction: Heart in Tune with Forest and Stream 6.3 A Balanced Human Nature Fulfilled through Art in a Qiyun-Focused Context and in Schiller Interim Conclusion Notes Chapter 7: Genius as a Pure and Lofty Mind II: Moral Cultivation of the Kindred Mind Introduction 7.1 Qiyun, Spiritual Kinship, and Sincere Will 7.2 The Reconciliation of Aesthetic Autonomy and Moral Relevance Interim Conclusion Notes Conclusion Notes References Works in English or German or French Works in Chinese Index About the Author "In The Aesthetics of Qiyun and Genius: Spirit Consonance in Chinese Landscape Painting and Some Kantian Echoes, Xiaoyan Hu provides an interpretation of the notion of qiyun, or spirit consonance, in Chinese painting, and considers why creating a painting-especially a landscape painting-replete with qiyun is regarded as an art of genius, where genius is an innate mental talent. Through a comparison of the role of this innate mental disposition in the aesthetics of qiyun and Kant's account of artistic genius, the book addresses an important feature of the Chinese aesthetic tradition, one that evades the aesthetic universality assumed by a Kantian lens. Drawing on the views of influential sixth to fourteenth-century theorists and art historians and connoisseurs, the first part explains and discusses qiyun and its conceptual development from a notion mainly applied to figure painting to one that also plays an enduring role in the aesthetics of landscape painting. In the light of Kant's account of genius, the second part examines a range of issues regarding the role of the mind in creating a painting replete with qiyun and the impossibility of teaching qiyun. Through this comparison with Kant, Hu demystifies the uniqueness of qiyun aesthetics and also illuminates some limitations in Kant's aesthetics"-- Provided by publisher