Dimensions of Originality: Essays on Seventeenth-Century Chinese Art Th eory and Criticism

Chapter 1: Some Problems of Expectation

chapter 1 Some Problems of Expectation or Speculations on Why Originality Can’t Be a “Traditional Chinese” Value (When It Is) It is curious that although the topic of originality has received much attention in European and American art histories, it has been neglected in studies of Chinese art and theory. More curious still is that new research on the topic has met with stiff resistance from some unexpected quarters. It is only logical to ask, therefore, why this is so? While I cannot pretend to know the skeptics’ various individual and personal reasons, I can speculate on what might be shaping their mindsets. It is this speculation that is attempted in this chapter. Key terms indicate values At the outset, it can be stipulated that key terms indicate cultural and social values. To talk about art, artists, theorists, and critics the world around identify special concepts and use keywords to describe the concepts. Art historians then talk about these concepts and their related key words, drawing our attention to their importance. While a fuller discussion of the importance of key terms is provided in Chapter 4, a few important points must first be made. Local and time specific terms Key words are active and potent, and like warp threads support a rich fabric of intellectual discourse. Some words characterize the interests of certain periods, others the interest of certain places. And, terms that are 4 | dimensions of originality important in one area are not necessarily shared with the rest of the world, or even within one period of a certain region’s time, or across all groups of artists. Concepts that are of particular importance to China in the fourteenth century, for example, are not necessarily important to China in the twenty-first century, or for that matter, to France in these or any other times. In art theory written by a distinct literati class, such values as pingdan and fugu recur frequently.1 Pingdan 平淡, variously translated as “bland,” “insipid,” or “mild,” is akin to the broader concept of the “understated.” Fugu 復古, “return to the ancients,” is a value respecting the expressive integrity of past masters though not a restrictive aping of their modes. Dominant in art criticism during the fourteenth century, these terms appear less frequently in texts of later periods, though the outward forms of the painting modes they are associated with have been maintained since that time. In the cases of pingdan and fugu, these terms were particularly useful in theory and criticism during China’s brief Mongolian-led Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) when the suddenly disenfranchised literati class of the ethnic Han discussed their art, and tacitly protested their conquering Mongolian overlords. Therefore, it is understood that art critical terms can have a political aspect that can periodize them and affect their usefulness. Terms of more universal application In contrast, other terms have more universal application. Some of these that immediately come to mind include “skill,” “mimesis,” and “originality .” Readings of art historical tracts in many world cultures reveal a shared concern with these values. Nonetheless, it should immediately be noted that although such terms as these have a universal application , this is not to say that the values with which they are associated are always heralded in all times and all places. For example, in the cases of skill and mimesis, art historians typically have been quick to point out that theorists and critics have almost always argued that these technical values were useful but not necessarily essential determinants of important Chinese art. chapter 1: some problems of expectation | 5 The curious case of “originality” In the case of Chinese art theory and criticism, “originality” is an interesting if not also curious concept. By “originality,” I am not referring to an originary work of art and its copy, but rather, to conceptual originality and the closely related concept of creativity. Surprisingly, though originality is a topic of shared interest among the various participants in the art world (artists, theorists, critics, dealers, museum curators, and art historians), and although the concept was richly discussed by Chinese critics, and as is argued more fully in Chapters 5, 6, and 7, was of particular concern in the seventeenth century, it has never been identified as important for Chinese art or for that matter, for Chinese culture. The question is, Why not? Why not? It might be useful at this point to unpack the title of...