Chapter 37 On "Adoption of Old Forms"

The issue of "adoption of the old form", if discussed in a calm manner, is very meaningful now, but at the very beginning, it was criticized by Mr. Erye [2]. "Same as surrender" and "opportunism" are the result of "searching for new forms" in the past ten years, and they are mantras to defeat the enemy.Mr. Daniel is upright, because he is also translating "Content and Form of Art" [3], once it is published, it will wash away his fierce punishment; and a few words are also correct, he said The search for new forms cannot be mechanically separated from the adoption of old forms.

But these few words can already be said to be common sense; that is to say, content and form cannot be separated mechanically, which is already common sense; and knowing that works and the public cannot be separated mechanically is also common sense.The reason why the old form is only "adopted" - but Mr. Erye refers to it as "supporting the whole (!) old art" - is for the search for new forms.Taking some is different from taking "the whole", and the progressive artist cannot have this idea (content).However, he will think of adopting the old art, because he understands that the work and the public cannot be separated mechanically.People who think that art is the explosion of the artist's "inspiration", like a person with an itchy nose, feel comfortable as long as they sneeze.This is a new idea (content), and thus it is looking for new forms. The first thing proposed is the adoption of the old form. The idea of ​​this adoption is the origin of the new form, that is, the transformation of the old form. In my opinion, I didn't separate the content from the form mechanically, and I didn't see "Sisters" [4] being a hit, so I also came to learn a set of opportunistic crimes.

Naturally, the adoption of old forms, or the exploration of new forms, requires the hard work of art apprentices, but theorists and critics have the same responsibilities for guidance, comment, and consultation, and they cannot just be blamed for their unclear explanations. , you can get away with it.We have art history, and we were born in China, so we must open up the history of Chinese art.What to take?I think we have no way of witnessing the authentic works before the Tang Dynasty, but we can still know that most of the stories were used as the theme. 〔5〕, it is advisable to give up the sluggish and soft places, and it is advisable to be meticulous and meticulous.Whether the later freehand brushwork (literati painting) was useful or not, I can't say for sure at the moment, but I'm afraid there may still be some use for it.These collections are not fragments of antiques, but must be dissolved in new works, which is needless to say, just like eating cattle and sheep, discarding hoof hair, and retaining its essence to nourish and develop new organisms. It doesn't mean that it will be "similar" to cattle and sheep.

It’s just that what we mentioned above, that is, what we can see now, is the art of consumption.It has always been favored by the powerful, so there are still many remaining.But as long as there are consumers, there must be producers, so on the one hand, there is the art of consumers, and on the other hand, there is also the art of producers.Ancient things, because there is no protection, we can hardly see anything except the illustrations of novels.As for now, there are still New Year's papers on the market, as well as the comic strips pointed out by Mr. Mengke[7].Although these are not necessarily the arts of the real producers, they are undoubtedly opposed to the arts of the higher leisure.But even so, it is still greatly influenced by consumer art. For example, in literature, folk songs are mostly inseparable from the scope of seven characters; Crisp, simple stuff too.This is metamorphosis, which has always been called "vulgarity".It is probably not wrong for an artist who pays attention to these things to pay attention to these things, and it goes without saying that they still need to be refined.

However, the two Chinese arts also have similarities in appearance but are actually different. For example, the Buddhist paintings are full of clouds and smoke, which is a luxurious decoration. There is also a kind of flower paper that is so hard filled that there is almost no white paper, but it is a thrifty paper. The beauties with slender waists and slender hands painted by Tang Bohu[8] are what people like him want to get. There are also such people on flower paper, but the viewers only think that there are such people in the world. Just to satisfy curiosity.There is no need to shy away from painters who are for the public.

As for the saying that comic strips are just one of the types of pictures, which are the same as poetry, opera, and novels in literature, that is certainly not bad.But this kind of distinction is still related to social conditions. We only need to look at the historical facts that sometimes poetry is popular, sometimes novels are popular, and sometimes short stories are the only ones.Therefore, it can also be known that it is associated with the content.The comic strips that are popular in today's society, that is, because they have the possibility and need to be popular, focus on this and guide them. It is the correct task of the progressive artist; Is the right endeavor of the advancing artist.As the old form is taken, something must be deleted, and with the deletion, something must be added, and the result is the emergence of a new form, that is, a change.Moreover, the work is by no means as easy as the spectators think.

But even if there is a new form, of course it will not be a very high art.The advancement of art requires the assistance of other cultural work. For a certain cultural department, it is impossible to talk about it, but it is difficult to do it by asking a certain expert to perform a monologue. Biased is the same thing as being context-biased.May 2nd. CC 〔1〕This article was originally published in Shanghai's "China Daily·Dongxiang" on May 4, 1934, signed by Chang Geng. [2] Erye is Nie Gannu, a native of Beijing, Hubei, a writer, and a member of the "Leftist Alliance".At that time, he was the editor-in-chief of the supplement "Dongxiang" of "China Daily".On April 24, 1934, he published "The Search for New Forms and the Adoption of Old Forms" in "Trends", refuting Mengke's article "Adoption and Imitation" on the same issue on April 19.Mengke said in the article: "Before the social system is reformed, the old form and technology of comic strips must be accepted conditionally...but some people think that this is a surrender to the old art." He also said that the new comic strips "form and The comic strips that are popular on the streets are quite different, and some of the techniques imitate Cubism and the like, which not only often make children unable to understand, but also people of the intellectual class cannot understand its content.” Erye’s article believes that these The words "very similar to 'surrender'", "Separate content and form mechanically... because there are one or two things in the old art that are close to the public, just like this to support the whole old art." Then he said: "A little There are various complicated reasons why some old arts can be "understood", "habited", and "loved" by the public... To talk about the adoption of old forms, do not first conduct a detailed study on the reasons for these decisions, see "Laughing Marriage" " sells well, and "Sister Flower" is jealous when it sells well. This is an opportunistic approach." Finally, he said: "There is only one way to popularize art, and that is to explore new forms...Only after the efforts to explore new forms Only then can we talk about conditionally adopting the old form.”

〔3〕 "Content and Form of Art" a paper by Yoshito Kurahara, Japan.The translation was serialized in "Dongxiang" from April 24 to May 10, 1934. 〔4〕"Sister Flower" is a feature film adapted and directed by Zheng Zhengqiu based on his own stage play "The Noble Man and the Prisoner", produced by Shanghai Star Film Company.It was released in Shanghai in February 1934. 〔5〕Song academy paintings refer to the works of court painters in the "Hanlin Academy of Painting" in the Song Dynasty.They are all characterized by neatness and meticulousness in form.

〔6〕Mi Dian Shanshui refers to the landscape paintings of Mi Fu and Mi Youren's father and son in the Song Dynasty.Mi Fu (1051-1107) and Mi Youren (1074-1153) were born in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu).Their paintings do not focus on fine workmanship, but create their own method of texturing, which is made by horizontal dots with the tip of the brush, which is called Midian Landscape. [7] Mengke Wei Mengke, from Changsha, Hunan, an artist.Member of China Left Wing Writers Union. 〔8〕Tang Bohu (1470-1523), named Yin, courtesy name Bohu, was born in Wu County (now Jiangsu). He was a litterateur and painter in the Ming Dynasty, and was good at painting landscapes and ladies.