The Cultural Lineage in the Field of Chinese Art Manifesting on Dong Qichang’s Work, Theory and Value

Abstract

As an often-debated topic in literature and history, the power of cultural lineage in some ways also manifests itself in the field of art. The study of the cultural lineage traces the origin of the Chinese literati spirit and its inheritance. In order to find out the connections between Dong Qichang and the “old masters” as becoming ideal figure of Chinese literati group, this article will analyze critical terms and concepts of Dong that adopted from his admired “old masters” – concepts like shiqi 士氣, xiongci 胸次, pingdan tianzhen 平淡天真, etc. The study will involve how Dong received and developed his ideas following great masters, why Dong’s theory stands out and becomes one of the dominant disciplines of Chinese art, and how would this inheritance process improve scholars’ understanding of the lineage between Chinese masters in different time periods.