On the Essence of “Chuanyimoxie”

“Chuanyimoxie” is not necessarily related with Liu Shaozu. To Liu,“yihua”means that he has the ability for realistic description that surpasses ordinary painters.“Chuanyimoxie”is different from copy. It treats nature as its object, with“chuanyi” stressing on creativity and“moxie”emphasizing details. “Chuanyimoxie”as put forward by Zhang Yanyuan should be understanded in his specific context. Zhang critisized contemporary artists for only paying attention to similarity and coloring, while losing sight of painting skills and artistic conception. Accordingly,Zhang concluded that“chuanyimoxie”is no trivial matter but of paramount importance. It requested that the painting should integrate shapes,colors,strokes, and even artistic conception,which amounted to very high standards.