The Origins and Intellectual Background of Chinese-Style Painting

Under the impact of Western art and concepts, a large number of traditional literati began to think about the value of traditional Chinese art, as well as the similarities and differences with Western painting. Their intention, of course, was to avoid the influence of Western civilization on traditional Chinese culture, and not to lose the latter’s uniqueness and importance. Chen Shizeng, a painter who adhered to the position of traditional calligraphy and painting, extensively used the expression “literati painting,” which delineated a common view among traditional Chinese painters, for whom the intellectuals’ understanding of the characteristics and values of Western science and Chinese culture became a common concern. The emergence of the term “Chinese painting” (Zhongguo-hua) and the thinking and debate in the intellectual circles on the issue of science and tradition show that traditional thought, which had lasted for thousands of years, was facing the challenge of Western civilization.