石濤談山- Shi Tao on Mountains

 

石濤談山，說山脈縱橫有動勢，有時又靜靜地潛伏著，山像拱揖有禮，山亦緩慢溫和地轉彎。山之環聚中彼此守著嚴謹，山之虛靈中表現出智慧，山之純淨秀色中有文氣，山之蹲跳中顯出勇武，山之峻厲中見驚險，山之高直逼霄漢，山之渾厚表現其寬宏，山之淺陋也不遺忘於巧小。利用山的多種狀貌與特性，石濤談的全是人格：仁、禮、和、謹、智、文、武、險、高、宏、小……其繪畫表現中的意境與人情，為19世紀德國美學家立普斯的“移情說”提供了例證。

 

 

 

 

Shi Tao on Mountains: A Study of Emotive Form

When Shi Tao speaks of mountains, he describes their ridges thrusting dynamically across space, yet at other times lying in silent latency. A mountain may bow like a scholar exchanging courteous greetings, or curve with slow, deliberate grace. Where peaks gather in congress, they maintain solemn discipline; in their hollowed voids, they reveal quiet wisdom. Their pristine beauty carries the refinement of literati culture, while their sudden leaps embody martial vigor. Sheer cliffs evoke peril, and soaring summits pierce the heavens. The massiveness of mountains expresses magnanimity; even their humble foothills remember the virtue of small things.

Through these manifold manifestations, Shi Tao’s mountains become allegories of human character: benevolence, propriety, harmony, prudence, intellect, cultivation, valor, daring, nobility, generosity, and humility... His painterly vision—where landscape resonates with human sentiment—anticipates by two centuries the German aesthetician Theodor Lipps’ theory of Einfühlung (empathy), proving how art transcends cultural epochs to touch universal truths.

 

 

石濤談山，說山脈縱橫有動勢，有時又靜靜地潛伏著，山像拱揖有禮，山亦緩慢溫和地轉彎。山之環聚中彼此守著嚴謹，山之虛靈中表現出智慧，山之純淨秀色中有文氣，山之蹲跳中顯出勇武，山之峻厲中見驚險，山之高直逼霄漢，山之渾厚表現其寬宏，山之淺陋也不遺忘於巧小。利用山的多種狀貌與特性，石濤談的全是人格：仁、禮、和、謹、智、文、武、險、高、宏、小……其繪畫表現中的意境與人情，為19世紀德國美學家立普斯的“移情說”提供了例證。

*語出吳冠中《放眼看人》

 

 

 

Shi Tao on Mountains: A Study of Emotive Form

When Shi Tao speaks of mountains, he describes their ridges thrusting dynamically across space, yet at other times lying in silent latency. A mountain may bow like a scholar exchanging courteous greetings, or curve with slow, deliberate grace. Where peaks gather in congress, they maintain solemn discipline; in their hollowed voids, they reveal quiet wisdom. Their pristine beauty carries the refinement of literati culture, while their sudden leaps embody martial vigor. Sheer cliffs evoke peril, and soaring summits pierce the heavens. The massiveness of mountains expresses magnanimity; even their humble foothills remember the virtue of small things.

Through these manifold manifestations, Shi Tao’s mountains become allegories of human character: benevolence, propriety, harmony, prudence, intellect, cultivation, valor, daring, nobility, generosity, and humility... His painterly vision—where landscape resonates with human sentiment—anticipates by two centuries the German aesthetician Theodor Lipps’ theory of Einfühlung (empathy), proving how art transcends cultural epochs to touch universal truths.

As quoted from Wu Guanzhong's Seeing with Open Eyes