The Invisible Body in Chinese Calligraphy and Painting

by Jianping Gao

Overview

This book explores Chinese calligraphy and painting from an aesthetic perspective, using modern visual theory to analyze the theoretical implications of the relationship between ancient Chinese literati painting and calligraphy, in contrast to Western aesthetic traditions.

It highlights the action-oriented nature of Chinese calligraphy and painting, demonstrating that these art forms should be viewed not as static images, but as dynamic traces of the artist’s expressive movements.

This book is ideal for those interested in aesthetics, art historians, scholars of visual theory, and anyone fascinated by the dynamic essence of Chinese artistic traditions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789819666461
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	08/01/2025
Series:	China Academic Library
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	585 KB

About the Author

Gao Jianping, Ph.D. in Aesthetics of Uppsala University, Sweden, Research Fellow of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Professor of Shenzhen University. Currently, he is the President of Chinese Society for Aesthetics, and was served as the President of the International Association of Aesthetics (2013-2016). His representative books include  Aesthetics and Art: Traditional and Contemporary China in a Comparative Perspective (English), and L’esprit Esthétique Chinois (French), as well as more than 20 books in Chinese.

Table of Contents

Introduction  Chinese Society and Literati Painting.- The Quality of a Line.- The Relationships Between Lines.- The Act of Painting Part One: Performance, Expression, and Strength.- The Act of Painting Part Two: Momentum, Rhythm, and Time.- Painter, Painting, and the Painted: Penetrating the Appearance of the World.- Painter, Painting, and the Painted: Demonstrating the Self through Action.- A Unity of Expressive Act.