Page 94 - AC-2-1

Arts & Communication Esthetics in wényán and modern báihuà poetry

no ornament but the (simple white), shows how he has the establishment of a liberated relationship between the
attained his aim.” The development inherent in the lines reader and the language. The activity of interpretation
7
22
of Bì suggested a shift of focus from the outer excessive of wényán texts maintains a state of precariousness and
expressions to the emphasis on the inner essences. uncertainty (若即若离), where the reader floats in a
Further, the progression in the quantity of decoration is position of pre-signification, entering the meanings of a
7
accompanied by the deepening in one’s understanding of text from various angles at the same time and receiving
the subject, till the recognition of “the simple white” as different kinds of esthetic experiences.
the essence of its true beauty and meaning, attaining his/ This principle can be found in many forms of artistic
her “aim” in the course of self-cultivation. As Xiangzhuan
advocated in the interpretation of the hexagram Jiārén and literary expressions in China. Artists of classical
(家人), “the superior man, in accordance with this Chinese paintings lived in the mountains for months and
[hexagram], orders his words according to (the truth of) years on end, until the representation of the mountains
things, and his conduct so that it is uniformly consistent”. is as familiar to the painter as his/her dearest friend and
22
Therefore, language, according to the classical Chinese family. Its image is then displayed in a single painting
tradition, is subordinate to the meaning making process, where multiple perspectives are presented at the same
where a meaning must exist before a word is written. time so that the viewer is invited to enter the illusional
7
And when it is written, it must efficiently, effectively, and representation and wander in the mountain ranges. The
accurately depict the true essence of one’s subject and essence of the mountains is thus shown (“会意”) rather
being. As the essence is distilled, words used to illustrate than described (“申说”), just as the meanings of a poem
that it should naturally be effortlessly precise (简洁精辟). and the purpose of the poet are carried in an assemblage of
multifold imageries that are carefully selected. The ability
Our results from participants’ appreciation of of the classical Chinese language, painting, and poetry to
classical Chinese poems clearly echoe this line of esthetic express profound meaning using few and simple words
interpretation, where classical poems were appreciated is enabled by acute observation, precise and accurate
for their effortless precision and poetic elusiveness (简洁 manipulation of imageries and concepts, and carefully
精辟而含蓄). In classical Chinese, a precise and accurate and liberally dropped instances of negative space, which,
depiction is necessarily elusive when first perceived, together, created an intriguing and captivating complexity.
reflecting the intrinsic difficulty of language as delineated
in the Daoist epistemology: According to participants, contemporary Chinese
poems’ beauty lies in purity (pǔ, 朴) which is also
As my random talk conforms to nature, it will spread
far and wide and lives out its natural span. When I talk developed from the White Bì. While the beauty appreciated
without words, I am at one with nature, for words are from classical Chinese poems emphasizes the importance
not nature and nature is not at one with the words. of meaning and truth, it appears that when appreciating
Therefore, it is said, “Do not talk with words.” If I talk contemporary poems, participants’ enjoyment of their
without words, I have been talking all my life but have purity is an emphasis of Bì’s “natural and without ornament”
not used any words, while I have been using words all aspect. Discussing the beauty in the rudimentary and pure
my life but I have not talked . (pǔzhuō, 朴拙), Chinese scholar Wang Luxiang (王鲁湘,
2 23
1956-). pointed to three important dialectic relations: loss
Harmonization with nature was held as the ultimate versus growth (损益), ingenious versus obtuse (巧拙),
standard for the application of words such that their use and new versus aged (老生), embodying the concept of
24
must be selective. It was also implied that a true conformity return (fù, 复) in Zhouyi. During the process of growth in
to nature was shown through one’s actions and explicit one’s artistic cultivation, it is necessary to intentionally seek
declarations with words on one’s purposes and means were “loss” to return to the original and innocent (fùchū, 复初).
not necessary or even superfluous without true grasping of Similarly, one often experiences self-dissatisfaction for
the essence of the Heavenly elements. being obtuse as a novice and overindulges in seemingly
The flexibility in manipulation of classical written ingenious and extravagant designs and creations after
Chinese, wényán, also contributes to the perceived acquiring some skills, thus moving away from true beauty.
elusiveness of classical Chinese poetry, through facilitating To return, one must realize that the greatest ingeniousness
often appears to be rudimentary and crude (大巧若拙).
2 卮言日出，和以天倪，因以曼衍，所以穷年。不言 Finally, the beauty of pǔ is a unity of the new and the aged,
则齐，齐与言不齐，言与齐不齐也，故曰无言。言无 where, for instance, an experienced painter may enter into
言，终身言，未尝言；终身不言，未尝不言。《庄 a state of creation when it feels as if they have returned
子·寓言》 to the moment when they first learned to draw, and their

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 9 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.1825