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IDST 2310 The Fine and Applied Arts in Civilization
Asian Views of Nature: China
Taoism in Poetry and Art
text by Dr. Roxanne Farrar
Links/bibliographic sections by Dr. Vess
The way, the Tao, is something that comes out of nature. Part of the
belief of Taoism is that it's futile to fight against the way. You're
swimming up a stream if you try to fight the Tao. One of the beautiful
metaphors for Taoism, what the Taoist person should do, is they should
try to aspire to be like a bamboo plant. The bamboo plant is very very
flexible and when a strong wind blows. The bamboo bends as opposed to
some really strong heavy trees that, when a very strong wind blows, break.
A Taoist will bend with change, will go with the flow, to put it in modern
language. It's a way of going along with nature and being a part of that
great way of nature.
The dragon in China is and has been very important. This is a modern painting
of a dragon. The dragon is often a symbol of royalty, but it is also a
celestial symbol. There is a belief that there's a celestial dragon that
keeps the universe in motion.
Here, the
celestial dragon is getting ready to bite the yin yang sign. The yin
yang sign, as a symbol that relates to Taoism, shows a perfect balance
between things that seem to be opposite. Taoism teaches that everything
really all is one thing in the final analysis. If you look at everything
from a great cosmic view, you see everything's all the same. The yin yang
sign illustrates that even where you've got two opposites, they compliment
each other. The black and white of the two sides of the sign are opposites,
but within the black there is a little bit of white and within the white
there is a little bit of black. There's a perfect balance between the
two. Often the yin yang sign is used to symbolize male and female forces.
Female usually is associated with the dark and the male is associated
with white and the light. In something that might seem completely masculine,
not just in people or animals, but even in various manifestations of nature
or society or whatever, there is a little touch of the feminine. Within
something that might seem to be completely feminine, there is a little
touch of the masculine. There is always a little bit of the opposite within
whatever it is you're talking about, even if things seem to be totally
opposite. Here
you see a Vietnamese disc that shows the celestial dragon, clouds
all around here, and they're coming at the yin yang sign, too.
This is a painting
of Taoist monks. Taoism is a philosophy. Some people consider it religion,
but really a person can be almost any religion and still be a Taoist because
Taoism is really a philosophy. Taoism is a way of life. These are some
Taoist sages, philosophers, wise men, that are all gathered around admiring
the yin yang. They're contemplating and thinking about the deep profound
meanings of the yin yang sign.
There is a difference between Confucianism and Taoism. The term Tao or
"way" was used by Confucians and other thinkers as well as by the Taoists.
The way is simply the natural course of things. Please note this key difference.
For the Confucians, Tao is a moral concept and it is also something that
is realized in human society that has a social context. To the Taoists,
it is really amoral. Not immoral, but it really doesn't have any right
and wrong. Right and wrong are two ways of looking at things that are
totally matters of perspective. Think of almost any two concepts that
seem to be opposite, such as up and down. Doesn't it really depend where
you're sitting whether something looks to be up or down? Even dark and
light is something that's relative. In some parts of the world where it's
dark during winters, there is very subtle light at certain times of the
day. That appears pretty light when you live in that part of the world
where that is what you have twenty-four hours a day. All these various
things that seem to be opposite are all based on one's perspective. Therefore,
Taoists want to move beyond these categories. Categories like that are
artificial. They are human constructions and it totally depends on where
one is coming from in terms of how they actually judge things.
Taoism in Poetry
Literature played a very important central role in the Tang Dynasty.
One thing very interesting is how poetry is such a part of social life
that even if somebody went to visit someone and they weren't home, they'd
leave a poem for them. Then the person would write back a poem. A poem
is totally woven into their life in a way that's hard for us to appreciate
today. Now Li Po is one of the famous personalities. Li Po himself was
something of an eccentric. He was known for sometimes overindulging in
wine and drink. He apparently liked a good drink and he actually got in
trouble with some rulers because he offended some people. He was a very
eccentric man, but was really one of the great poets of this period. "Sitting
Alone by Ching Ting Mountain" and "Drinking Alone by Moonlight" talk about
a kind of relationship that he's setting up with nature. Is he really
alone sitting by the mountain? Think about some of the companions he's
had that go away. First there were birds there with him and they flew
away. He looks at birds and the cloud as almost companions and then the
birds leave and the cloud leaves and then the mountain remains. He said
we look at each other and never get bored. There is a kind of relationship
set up here with nature. He's really looking at nature here as a companion
in a beautiful way. He has flowers and a jug of wine and is bored alone
with the moonlight. Suddenly, after a few drinks, he realizes he's not
really alone after all. He sees his shadow and says now there are three
of us. The moon is one, he makes a toast to the moon. Then he sees that
his shadow is there. The shadow and the moon are not quite the best companions,
since the moon has never known how to drink and the shadow does nothing
but follow his body, but at least there's something. In this poem the
Taoist notion of the interconnectedness of all things is evident, as is
the poet's self-consciousness and self-examination.
For further exploration of the poetry of Li Po and Chinese literature,
click on the following links:
Poetry
of Li Po
Li
Po
The
Li Po Society of America
Poetry
Today Online : Classic Poets: LI PO
Ezra
Pound's translation of a Li-Po poem
Note that this is a very free translation of Li Po; what differences
in language do you notice here and what differences in meaning does the
language ?
Li
Po
Chinese
poems
Li
Po
Tang
Poetry
Chinese
Literature
Chinese
Poetry
Taoism in Art
The yin yang sign also involves two principles. The first one is li,
which is idea. It is abstract, and one might even call it abstract energy.
The second one is qi, and that is matter. That is the material
world. Think about that in the yin yang sign. These two forces are working
together. The goal of the Taoist is to try to realize a kind of balance
of these two things. And one of the ideas is to take the qu, the
physical part of ourselves and try to raise it up by educating our minds.
By improving ourselves, we can add more li, more of this energy,
more of this idea so there is this kind of struggle to pull oneself up
by improving yourself. These ideas are expressed in painting. Painting
from the Northern Sung Dynasty reflects many Taoist ideas.The
map shows China during the Northern and Southern Sung eras. You can
explore the influence of Taoism on Chinese art by clicking on the links
below.
Fan Quon Travelers Among Moutains and Streams
Another scroll from the northern Sung era.
A southern Sung scroll
Explore some other examples of Chinese landscape
art and see if you can determine the Taoist elements of the works:
Kao Ko-kung (1240-1310), Green
Hills and White Clouds
Tai Chin (15th century), Returning
Late from a Spring Outing
Shen Chou (1427-1509), Walking
with a Staff
Ch'iu Ying (1494-1560), Saying
Farewell near Hsun-Yang
Ch'iu Ying, Landscape
in the Manner of Li T'ang
Hsu Wei (1521-1593), Bamboo,
section of a handscroll
Sun K'o-hung (1532-1610), The
Moon Rises
Wang Shih-Min (1592-1680), Landscape
in the Manner of Chao Meng
Hung-jen (1610-63), Dragon
Pine on Mount
Chang Feng (1645-1673), Gazing
at Red-Leafed Maple
Kao Feng-han (1683-after 1747), Peonies and Rocks (1734)
Tao Chi (1641-1717), Bamboo
in Wind and Rain
Tao Chi, Landscape
(from 1660-1710)
Tao-Chi, Three
Peaks of Mountain Range
Tao-Chi, The
Peach Blossom Spring
Tao Chi, A
Man in a House beneath a Cliff
For further exploration of Chinese art, society,
and culture, click on the following links:
WWW Asian Studies: China
This is an excellent resource for the study of China. This list contains
links to databases on modern and historic China.
The Diamond Sutra
The oldest known printed book. This link takes you to the British Library
Page, where you will need to click on the Digital Library link, and then
find the Diamond Sutra.
Art Gallery
Explore the art of Asia
World Art Treasures
Explore the wonders of Chinese Art, and the art of a number of other
cultures.
Chinese calligraphy
copyright © Dr.
Deborah Vess 1998-2001, Georgia College & State University and
the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. All rights reserved.
Rights to chapters authored by contributing faculty
members reserved to Georgia College & State University, to the
Interdisciplinary
Studies Program at GC&SU, and
to the individual faculty authors.
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