Threading Painting and Poetry Together; 奇 (Qi) and 正 (Zheng)

金佛山 Jinfo Shan: Light at The Golden Buddha Mountain, Gouache on paper

Scale

Is

The distance between the ground

We cover

And
The difference between

What we were

Where we were 

And what we are now

Distance

Is

The difference

In time and space

Between

People

And the journey

From where we are

To what we aspire to be

In 17^th Century Chinese Painting theory, 奇（Qi） and   正（Zheng） are two elements which refer to the traditions of painting and to the creative act of painting itself. 奇 Qi in this context means firstly difference or oddness, the state of being unbalanced, but ultimately original. 正 Zheng primarily translates as central or upright and straight, but also regular, proper and honest. The act of painting was seen, and can still be viewed, as ‘tradition-as-transmission’ or ‘tradition-as-transformation’. 

(detail of 金佛山 Jinfo Shan: In the Azure Valley)

Painters were either continuing, or transmitting, the highly esteemed traditions of ancient Chinese painting, or transforming these values with their work.  Both methods brought forth messages rich in value, meaning and composition.  The combination of these two elements however brought together the best of both qualities, creating an artwork that would be unique in its originality, whilst also being seeped in the rich knowledge and heritage of landscape painting.

17th Century painter and poet Gong Xian

An artist bringing the two qualities together in a painting meant they were simultaneously acknowledging tradition, the importance of previous master’s work and the lessons they passed on through their own experience, but also demonstrated they were developing, re-creating and transforming this knowledge of painting to create something original, something unique.

金佛山 Jinfo Shan: In the Azure Valley, Gouache on paper

This theory could be further applied to analysing the structure of an artwork, with 奇 Qi and 正 Zheng coming together to make a successful painting’s composition simultaneously unbalanced but stable. Perhaps we can allow these two concepts to flow in our daily lives a little too, in accepting that at times we may feel unbalanced, or at odds with the ways things are, but yet remain stable in our perceptions and outlook on life. 

金佛山 Jinfo Shan: Above and Below, Ropeway Station, Gouache on paper