Abstract.Drawing creation of Chinese traditional blue and white porcelains is closely related to the development condition of religions and culture in particular period. The exploration on the creation themes, patterns and techniques of blue and white porcelains sets off from the understanding of Chinese traditional religions and culture. This paper is concentrated in the following two points: 1. the traditional religious themes, ceramic types and patterns are closely related to the thoughts and blue-and-white development process; 2. the influences of humanistic situation to the creation of blue and white porcelains. Analyses are made on this basis. It directly explains how the cultural connotations of blue-and-white is encoded with symbols and is integrated to the modern awareness.
Key words： Blue and white porcelain; religion; culture; Landscape artistic conception
Blue and white porcelain is representative of traditional culture. It is the symbol of Chinese traditional culture of symbolization. In spite of a number of successes, China continues to face huge challenges threatening sustainable development. Problems are: a conflict between rapid economic growth and voluminous consumption of resources and ecological deterioration, social development lagging behind economic development, widening disparities between different regions in social and economic development, constraints posed by a large population and scarce resources, and inconsistencies between some existing laws, regulations and policies and actual needs for sustainable development. Other major problems include the quality and the aging of the population, the inadequate social security system and the pressure of employment. Another problem is serious waste in the exploitation of natural resources. This paper is concentrated in the following two points: the traditional religious themes, ceramic types and patterns are closely related to the thoughts and blue-and-white development process; the influences of humanistic situation to the creation of blue and white porcelains. Analyses are made on this basis. It directly explains how the cultural connotations of blue-and-white is encoded with symbols and is integrated to the modern awareness.
1.Blue and White and Traditional Religions
Looking back to the development process of the entire blue and white porcelains, every historical stage of the blue-and-white art development has impressed different of the times. The manifestation forms of the blue-and-white arts have gone through continuous innovation and reformation by artists. At the same time, they stand out in the world with different appearances.
1)In the first place, blue and white wares designate white pottery and porcelain decorated under the glaze with a blue pigment, generally cobalt oxide. The decoration is commonly applied by hand, by stencilling or by transfer-printing, though other methods of application have also been used. The technique of cobalt blue decorations seems to have been through decorative experimentation on white ware. Cobalt blue pigments were excavated from local mines in central Iran from the ninth century, and then were exported as a raw material to China.
2)In the second place the blue-and-white technique was fully developed in China with porcelain technology in the fourth century. There are bamboo-like lines at the foot of the porcelain. The body is connected to the foot before the glaze is coated. The body is decorated with lotuses, clouds and flowers. Dense decorations were not only applied to blue-white porcelain but also to picture weaving and stone carving, reflecting the unique characteristics of the time. The major producer of blue-white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty was Jingdezhen. In addition, there were kilns for blue-white porcelain production in East China"s Zhejiang Province and Southwest China"s Yunnan Province.
3)In the third place, blue-white porcelain actually belongs to colour-glazed porcelain and the colouring agent used is called cobalt oxide. First, using cobalt oxide, paint the unbaked mould, then apply a layer of translucent glaze over it and bake it at one thousand three hundred degrees Celsius. The cobalt oxide will be reduced under the high temperature into a blue hue, which will be very bright and durable without poisonous lead. Each piece of monochrome-glazed porcelain has a single bright color with an exquisite design.
4)Along with efforts to maximize the use of available resources, measures to combat existing ecological damage are announced in the Program. Over the past years, the government has already greatly increased its spending on environmental issues, and various measures for curbing pollution have been taken, as well as related policies of energy consumption and retiring fragile farmlands. At the same time, capacity-building for sustainable development has continued. Measures announced include, for example improvement of environmental quality and controlling the deterioration of the ecological balance.
1.1.The traditional religious themes have long been the major theme drawn in blue and white porcelains
Religion in China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. The Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand the exclusive adherence of members. Some scholars doubt the use of the term "religion" in reference to Buddhism and Taoism, and suggest "cultural practices" or "thought systems" as more appropriate names. The questions of what should be called religion or religious in China, and who should be called religious is up to debate. Generally, the percentage of people who call themselves religious in China has been among the lowest in the world. Buddhism remains a main popular religion in China since its introduction in the 1st century; the largest group of religious traditions is however that of Chinese folk religion, which he used to collectively name Chinese folk religions, as the ethnic religion of the Hans, which encompasses Taoism, and the worship of the shens, a collection of various local ethnic deities, heroes and ancestors, and figures from Chinese mythology, among which the most popular ones in recent years have been Mazu, Huangdi the Black Dragon, Caishen and others. Although an established presence since the 7th century, Christianity in China declined as a result of persecution during the 10th through 14th centuries. It was reintroduced in the 16th century by Jesuit missionaries. However, the biggest part of the population, ranging between 60% and 70%, is mostly agnostic or non-religious; purely atheists. Various new religious movements, both indigenous and exogenous, are scattered across the country. Confucianism as a religion is popular among intellectuals.
China has many of the world"s highest statues and even the highest absolute one amongst all. Most of them represent Buddha, deities and religious personalities and have been built. The world"s tallest statue is the Spring Temple Buddha, located in Henan. Recently built in the country are also the world"s tallest pagoda and the world"s tallest stupa. Prior to the advent of Chinese civilization and World religion in the region generally known today as East Asia including the territorial boundaries of modern-day China; tribal or primal religious practices were the way in which prayers, sacrifices or offerings were communicated to the spiritual world by groups or mediatory individuals such as shamans. Following the dawn of Chinese civilization, an early indigenous form of religious practice in Chinese history began to develop from the more primitive elements of animism, folk religions and Shamanism; known as Taoism, and is considered a Traditional Chinese Religion along with Confucianism and other Chinese folk religions with a constituency of almost 400 million followers in China alone.
1.2.A great amount of blue and white serves for the creation of ceramic types with religious purposes
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also became associated with the dwelling places of a god or gods. The word temple dates to about the 6th century BCE. Despite the specific set of meanings associated with the religion of the ancient Rome, the word has now become quite widely used to describe a house of worship for any number of religions and is even used for time periods prior to the Romans.
Use the “Body text” style for all paragraphs. The following is an example of the “Bullet” style, which you may want to use for lists.
1.3.The correlation between blue and white porcelain and the traditional religions shows in the transmission of a great amount of religious ornamentations in the drawing of blue-and-white
Yet the difference in tome and language must strike us, so soon as it is philosophy that speaks: that change should remind us that even if the function of religion and that of reason coincide, this function is performed in the two cases by very different organs. Religions are many, reason one. Religion consists of conscious ideas, hopes, enthusiasms, and objects of worship; it operates by grace and flourishes by prayer. Reason, on the other hand, is a mere principle or potential order, on which indeed we may come to reflect but which exists in us ideally only, without variation or stress of any kind. We conform or do not conform to it; it does not urge or chide us, not call for any emotions on our part other than those naturally aroused by the various objects which it unfolds in their true nature and proportion. Religion brings some order into life by weighting it with new materials. Reason adds to the natural materials only the perfect order which it introduces into them.
1.4.The closed relationship between blue and white porcelains and traditional religions is also shown as the symbolized blue-and-white satisfies the traditional religious thoughts of “harmony between man and nature” and geomantic omen requirements
Chinese philosophy, by contrast with Western thinking, has from the start emphasized immanence and unity. Where Western dualism led to an opposition between man and nature, Chinese monism led to a harmony between the two. Most of Chinese philosophers share this unique view no matter how different their views may be. Given the restraints China"s population poses for sustainable development, controlling population growth will remain a key policy in the years to come. At the same time, the government aims to enhance the educational level of the populace as one form of human resources development. Water management is another key area for China"s development. Here, diversion of water from China"s south to the north is one of the big projects.
Considering this circumstance, the research of the relationship of blue and white porcelains and Chinese religious thoughts has greatly enriched the cultural connotations of the ceramics. It has expanded the paces from “practical arts” to “cultural arts”.
2.The Influences of Literati Situation to the Blue-and-white Creation
It is absolutely necessary for creating a harmonious society that humanistic management should be carried out. Management personnel should recognize the humanistic nature of hospital management and consider it their responsibility and mission to respect and love hospital staff. The humanistic care of the medical staff is the humanistic spirit to respect the significance of life that doctors should possess. The humanistic management is the soft environment for the doctors" humanistic feelings, and the humanistic care of the medical staff is the external manifestation of the hospital humanistic management. The two are mutually reinforcing and supplementing.
2.1.From manufacturing to creation
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucianism originated as an ethical-socio-political teaching" during the spring and autumn period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han Dynasty. Following the abandonment of Legalism in China after the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism became the official state ideology of China, until it was replaced by the three principles of the people ideology with the establishment of the country.
My friends appreciate my way of life, and bearing wine pots all together come. We clear the weeds to sit beneath the pine, with several cups of wine we drunk become. When all the elders midst confusion speak, and drinking is from all conventions freed; we do not know if we ourselves exist, and pay to the material world no heed; in carefree drinking thus ourselves forget, for in the wine a deeper truth is set. My friends appreciate me, with a kettle of wine, they come, one after the other. We sit under the pine trees, and after a few cups we are drunk, like old people chattering. In drinking to satisfaction, we forget formality, and I do not feel that there is an I. How can I know that things are valuable? I wish to linger in this stupor; there is a deep meaning in the wine.
Academic painters were highly skilled craftsmen, who aimed to achieve marvellous effects through their use of colours, realistic or highly conventional representations of people or things, spectacular detail, applications of shiny gold leaf, and so forth. The imperial court employed many such men, and others made their way in the world by selling their paintings to wealthy patrons and customers. "Academic painters" were professionals, both in their virtuoso skills, and in the fact that they depended on permanent employment as painters, or on selling their paintings to live. While many of these men were educated to some degree, few possessed the literary background of literates, and none made their way in life fulfilling the Confucian ideal of governmental service.
Generally, Southern School painters worked in monochrome ink, and focused on expressive brushstrokes and a somewhat more impressionistic approach than the Northern School"s formal attention to detail and use of colour and highly refined traditional modes and methods. The stereotypical literati painter lived in retirement in the mountains or other rural areas, not entirely isolated, but immersed in natural beauty and far from mundane concerns. Civilization and culture are two kinds of different names and concepts. In the development process of blue and white porcelain, the ceramic manufacturing industry has acquired the relationships beyond its meaning.
2.2.The writing significance of blue-and-white creation
They were also lovers of culture, hypothetically enjoying and taking part in all Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar as touted by Confucianism, that is, painting, calligraphy, music, and games of skill and strategy. They would often combine these elements into their work, and would gather with one another to share their interests.
Land usage is another issue; the government pledges to practice the strictest land-management system in the world. Energy-efficiency is to be raised, and use of environmental friendly energy is to be strengthened. Anti-desertification measures, the fostering of green agriculture and the protection of basic resources such as grasslands, mineral, forest, marine, climate and strategic mineral resources, are further aims.
A painting is the expression of the heart and soul; it transmits cultural messages and the mysteries of the universe. It is born out of the desire of the artist to represent the forms of nature and man through the spirit of the artist as he perceives his world. An artist not only captures the forms of nature, the artist"s spirit interacts with the spirit of the animals or men he is painting. His painting captures both the spirit and the message of its subject.
3.Conclusions
It is through this combination that blue and white symbols finally realize the nirvana.
With this kind of attitude, it enters into the cultural research field and all kinds of classifications.
4.References
[1]DING Xi-yuan《art geomantic omen》[M]，Shanghai；Shanghai People"s Fine Arts Publishing House，2006
[2]YANG Yong-shan《talks about ceramics and arts》[M]，Herbing；Heilongjiang Fine Arts Publishing House，2001
[3]WANG Xin-yu, JIANG Qiang 《discussions on the common places of the ceramic painting arts and the Chinese arts》「J」，JINGDEZHEN；《Ceramics China》，2009.11 Page 86－87
[4]YUAN Zhi-yong《 the influences of Chinese literati paintings on the ceramic drawing in Jingdezhen》「J」，JINGDEZHEN；《Ceramics China》，2007.2 Page 61－62
[5]SONG Xi-tong 《Explanations on “Yi”》「J」，Jinan；《Research on ZHOUYI》2007.6 Page 40－45
[6]WEI Li《art research on the ceramic ornamentations in Ming and Qing Dynasties》master degree thesis；Wuhan University of Technology，2008
[7]SU Bei-quan《blue and white porcelain and cultural communications between China and Foreign countries》；Doctoral dissertation. Jinan University，2005
[8]（Wei and Jin Dynasties）WANG YU《ZHOUYI》
[9]（Eastern Jin Dynasty）TAO Yuan-ming《Tao"s wine poems》
[10]（Wei Dynasties）JI Kang《On the sound》
[11]（Eastern Jin Dynasty）GU Kai-zhi《On the paintings》
[12]（the Southern Dynasties）XIE Hao《ancient painting catalog》
[13]（the Ming Dynasty）DONG Qi-chang《writings on the Chan》
[14]（the Tang Dynasty）DENG Xian《on the history》Volume 52