Chapter 15 The eighth section "Cao Yi out of the water" and "painting the Buddha's eye"

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism spread rapidly in the Central Plains, which had a great influence on the paintings at that time, especially in figure paintings.As Zhang Guangfu said in "History of Chinese Art": "The prosperity of figure painting is an important feature of painting in this period. First of all, in terms of subject matter, the content of Chinese figure painting has been changed due to the spread of Buddhism to the East. Buddhist figures Painting became very popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In addition to the majority of folk painters who were enslaved and hired to paint Buddhist murals for monks and landlords, professional painters of the ruling class and intellectuals also painted Buddha. Starting from Cao Buxing, Wei Xie, Gu Kaizhi, Lu Tanshen, Zhang Sengyao, Zhan Ziqian, etc., it can be said that as long as they are painters, they are all good at Buddhist figure painting." Here are some typical examples.

Cao Buxing, a native of Wuxing (Huzhou, Zhejiang) during the Three Kingdoms period.His paintings were considered to be the best of Soochow at that time.It is said that Sun Quan once asked him to paint a screen, and he accidentally splashed a little ink on the screen, so he took the opportunity to draw the ink dots into flies.When Sun Quan looked at the screen, he thought it was a real fly, so he waved his hand away, but the "fly" did not fly away.It can be seen that its realistic skills are enough to be true.It is also said that he once painted a dragon, which looked like a real dragon.When this painting was handed down to the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Song Dynasty Liu Yilong used this painting to pray for rain, and it rained heavily for more than ten days.Cao Buxing's figure paintings are also very good. Later generations said that the wrinkles of his clothes are very realistic, and some people call it "Cao's clothes come out of water".That is to say, the clothes he painted are as close to the body as if just out of the water, with a sense of transparency.However, some people also say that the "Cao" in "Cao Yi Chushui" refers to Cao Zhongda, a man of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Many art historians believe that "Cao Yi comes out of the water" is influenced by the artistic style of Indian Buddhism Gandhara.Gandhara is a place name in ancient India, about today's northern Pakistan.Around AD, due to the influence of ancient Greek and Roman art, Buddhist-themed architecture and sculpture art appeared there.The most prominent of these is the sculpture of Buddha statues.The early sculptures and paintings of Buddha statues in my country were influenced by the art of Gandhara.

Dai Kui, courtesy name Andao, was born in Suxian County, Anhui Province. He was born in 326 AD and died in 396 AD.He became famous at a young age and is a versatile artist.He is erudite, can write articles, understands music theory, and is good at piano art.He draws very well and is good at sculpture as well.He lived in seclusion all his life without being an official, and painted "Seven Sages in the Bamboo Grove", "Gao Shitu", and many Buddha statues.He once painted in Waguan Temple when he was young, and was highly respected by people at that time.He also carved a wooden statue of Infinite Life Buddha, which is six feet high.The five Buddha statues and Bodhisattva statues he carved in Waguan Temple are amazing.Starting from him, the Buddha statues in Chinese temples began to have a more perfect image and have a Chinese national style.Therefore, he is an outstanding figure in the history of Chinese art and has a great influence on later generations.

Gu Kaizhi, courtesy name Changkang, was born in Wuxi during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.He was born in a famous official family and was an official himself.He is erudite and talented. He is a great painter with realism and romantic spirit in the history of Chinese art, and he is also an early Chinese painting theorist.As he put forward in his painting theory, he advocates "using form to describe the spirit" and "imagining wonderfully" when painting, that is, he advocates expressing the inner world by depicting the appearance of characters, and advocates conceiving and associating for a long time before starting to write. .Every time he draws a portrait, he draws the outline first, leaving only the eyes unpainted, and waits for a long time, sometimes several years, before painting.Someone asked him why, and he said: "The vivid portrayal is in Adu." Adu, a common saying in the Jin Dynasty, means "this" and "this stuff", and here refers to the eyes.That is to say, he believes that the body of figure painting is not the key point, but the most critical part in expressing the spirit of the figure is the eyes.According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the monks at Waguan Temple in Nanjing begged for donations. At that time, no officials donated more than 100,000 yuan, but Gu Kaizhi wrote a million with a stroke of his pen. People expressed doubts about his ability to donate so much money.And he asked the monks to set aside an empty wall for him in the main hall of the temple, and he closed the door to paint "Vimalakirti" on the wall.One month later, when he was about to touch his eyes, he said to the monk: "People who come to see my paintings on the first day should donate 100,000; As a result, when the door of the temple was opened, the gorgeous paintings illuminated the whole temple, and the donors who came to see the paintings rushed to donate millions of dollars in a short while.His mural, Dai Kui's Buddha statue and Sri Lanka's Jade Buddha statue have become the "three wonders" of Waguan Temple.

Zhang Sengyou (youyou) was born in Suzhou in the Southern Liang Dynasty.During the Tianjian period of Emperor Wu of Liang, he was the servant of Xiao Ji, the king of Wuling, and later served as the general of the right and the prefect of Wuxing.He is good at painting Taoist and Buddhist figures.Emperor Wu of Liang believed in Buddhism and Daxing Buddhist Temple often asked him to paint murals.The portraits of Dingguang Tathagata and Vimalakirti he painted are superb and highly praised.There is Baitang in Jiangling Tianhuang Temple. He painted the statue of Lushana Buddha, and he also painted the statue of Confucius.Emperor Wu of Liang looked at it and felt that it was inappropriate to draw a statue of Confucius next to the Buddha statue, but he said, "We will have to rely on him in the future." like but not destroyed.Legend has it that he drew a dragon on the foundation of the Huayan Temple in Kunshan, Suzhou. The dragon would jump when it was rainy, so he drew a lock to lock the dragon so that the dragon would not move.It is also said that turtledoves and pigeons perched on the beams of Xingguo Temple in Runzhou, and often dropped dung on the Buddha statues. The monk asked him to paint an eagle on the east wall of the temple and a harrier on the west wall.According to the "Records of Jiankang": Zhang once painted patterns on the gate of Yicheng Temple. From a distance, they are uneven and dizzy, but they are flat when viewed up close. This painting method was passed down from Tianzhu.Because of his unique painting style and skills, he is called "Zhang Jiayan", in today's words, it is Zhang's painting school or Zhang's painting method.

Cao Zhongda, whose birth and death dates are unknown, lived in the Northern Qi Dynasty.Some people say that he is from Cao County, Shandong, while others say that he is from Cao Guo, Central Asia. The latter may be more reliable.The Cao Kingdom in Central Asia is in present-day Samarkand.At that time, many artists came to China from Central Asia and South Asia, and many of them were famous for their paintings. Cao Zhongda was one of them.Guo Ruoxu of the Song Dynasty said in "Pictures and Experiences": "Cao's brush is thick and thick, but the clothes are tight and narrow." It is believed that this is the source of "Cao's clothes come out of water".However, some people think that the "Cao" in "Cao Yi Chushui" refers to Cao Buxing, a painter in the Three Kingdoms period.Both theories have certain basis, and Cao Zhongda is more likely.If he was really an expatriate from the Western Regions, he would be more likely to be influenced by Gandhara art, because Central Asia was also greatly influenced by Buddhist art at that time.In any case, it is generally recognized that Cao Zhongda is good at painting Buddha statues.Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty said in "Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties" that the Buddha statues he painted are unique and "like Cao's family".It can be seen that he is also a painter of his own genre.

In short, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the introduction of Indian Buddhism brought new themes and vitality to Chinese painting. At the same time, it also brought ancient Indian painting skills to China, which strongly promoted the development of Chinese painting. development of.