Asian Views of Nature: China
Taoism in Poetry and Art
text by Dr. Roxanne Farrar
Links/bibliographic sections by Dr. Vess
The way, the Tao, is something that comes out of nature. Part of the belief of Taoism is that it's futile to fight against the way. You're swimming up a stream if you try to fight the Tao. One of the beautiful metaphors for Taoism, what the Taoist person should do, is they should try to aspire to be like a bamboo plant. The bamboo plant is very very flexible and when a strong wind blows. The bamboo bends as opposed to some really strong heavy trees that, when a very strong wind blows, break. A Taoist will bend with change, will go with the flow, to put it in modern language. It's a way of going along with nature and being a part of that great way of nature.
The dragon in China is and has been very important. This is a modern painting
of a dragon. The dragon is often a symbol of royalty, but it is also a
celestial symbol. There is a belief that there's a celestial dragon that
keeps the universe in motion.
Here, the celestial dragon is getting ready to bite the yin yang sign. The yin yang sign, as a symbol that relates to Taoism, shows a perfect balance between things that seem to be opposite. Taoism teaches that everything really all is one thing in the final analysis. If you look at everything from a great cosmic view, you see everything's all the same. The yin yang sign illustrates that even where you've got two opposites, they compliment each other. The black and white of the two sides of the sign are opposites, but within the black there is a little bit of white and within the white there is a little bit of black. There's a perfect balance between the two. Often the yin yang sign is used to symbolize male and female forces. Female usually is associated with the dark and the male is associated with white and the light. In something that might seem completely masculine, not just in people or animals, but even in various manifestations of nature or society or whatever, there is a little touch of the feminine. Within something that might seem to be completely feminine, there is a little touch of the masculine. There is always a little bit of the opposite within whatever it is you're talking about, even if things seem to be totally opposite. Here you see a Vietnamese disc that shows the celestial dragon, clouds all around here, and they're coming at the yin yang sign, too.
This is a painting of Taoist monks. Taoism is a philosophy. Some people consider it religion, but really a person can be almost any religion and still be a Taoist because Taoism is really a philosophy. Taoism is a way of life. These are some Taoist sages, philosophers, wise men, that are all gathered around admiring the yin yang. They're contemplating and thinking about the deep profound meanings of the yin yang sign.
There is a difference between Confucianism and Taoism. The term Tao or "way" was used by Confucians and other thinkers as well as by the Taoists. The way is simply the natural course of things. Please note this key difference. For the Confucians, Tao is a moral concept and it is also something that is realized in human society that has a social context. To the Taoists, it is really amoral. Not immoral, but it really doesn't have any right and wrong. Right and wrong are two ways of looking at things that are totally matters of perspective. Think of almost any two concepts that seem to be opposite, such as up and down. Doesn't it really depend where you're sitting whether something looks to be up or down? Even dark and light is something that's relative. In some parts of the world where it's dark during winters, there is very subtle light at certain times of the day. That appears pretty light when you live in that part of the world where that is what you have twenty-four hours a day. All these various things that seem to be opposite are all based on one's perspective. Therefore, Taoists want to move beyond these categories. Categories like that are artificial. They are human constructions and it totally depends on where one is coming from in terms of how they actually judge things.
Taoism in Poetry
Literature played a very important central role in the Tang Dynasty. One thing very interesting is how poetry is such a part of social life that even if somebody went to visit someone and they weren't home, they'd leave a poem for them. Then the person would write back a poem. A poem is totally woven into their life in a way that's hard for us to appreciate today. Now Li Po is one of the famous personalities. Li Po himself was something of an eccentric. He was known for sometimes overindulging in wine and drink. He apparently liked a good drink and he actually got in trouble with some rulers because he offended some people. He was a very eccentric man, but was really one of the great poets of this period. "Sitting Alone by Ching Ting Mountain" and "Drinking Alone by Moonlight" talk about a kind of relationship that he's setting up with nature. Is he really alone sitting by the mountain? Think about some of the companions he's had that go away. First there were birds there with him and they flew away. He looks at birds and the cloud as almost companions and then the birds leave and the cloud leaves and then the mountain remains. He said we look at each other and never get bored. There is a kind of relationship set up here with nature. He's really looking at nature here as a companion in a beautiful way. He has flowers and a jug of wine and is bored alone with the moonlight. Suddenly, after a few drinks, he realizes he's not really alone after all. He sees his shadow and says now there are three of us. The moon is one, he makes a toast to the moon. Then he sees that his shadow is there. The shadow and the moon are not quite the best companions, since the moon has never known how to drink and the shadow does nothing but follow his body, but at least there's something. In this poem the Taoist notion of the interconnectedness of all things is evident, as is the poet's self-consciousness and self-examination.
For further exploration of the poetry of Li Po and Chinese literature, click on the following links:
- Poetry
of Li Po
- Li Po
- The Li Po Society of America
- Poetry Today Online : Classic Poets: LI PO
- Ezra Pound's translation of a Li-Po poem
- Li Po
Note that this is a very free translation of Li Po; what differences in language do you notice here and what differences in meaning does the language ?
Taoism in Art
The yin yang sign also involves two principles. The first one is li, which is idea. It is abstract, and one might even call it abstract energy. The second one is qi, and that is matter. That is the material world. Think about that in the yin yang sign. These two forces are working together. The goal of the Taoist is to try to realize a kind of balance of these two things. And one of the ideas is to take the qu, the physical part of ourselves and try to raise it up by educating our minds. By improving ourselves, we can add more li, more of this energy, more of this idea so there is this kind of struggle to pull oneself up by improving yourself. These ideas are expressed in painting. Painting from the Northern Sung Dynasty reflects many Taoist ideas.The map shows China during the Northern and Southern Sung eras. You can explore the influence of Taoism on Chinese art by clicking on the links below.
Fan Quon Travelers Among Moutains and Streams
Another scroll from the northern Sung era.
Explore some other examples of Chinese landscape art and see if you can determine the Taoist elements of the works:
Kao Ko-kung (1240-1310), Green Hills and White Clouds
Tai Chin (15th century), Returning Late from a Spring Outing
Shen Chou (1427-1509), Walking with a Staff
Ch'iu Ying (1494-1560), Saying Farewell near Hsun-Yang
Ch'iu Ying, Landscape in the Manner of Li T'ang
Hsu Wei (1521-1593), Bamboo, section of a handscroll
Sun K'o-hung (1532-1610), The Moon Rises
Wang Shih-Min (1592-1680), Landscape in the Manner of Chao Meng
Hung-jen (1610-63), Dragon Pine on Mount
Chang Feng (1645-1673), Gazing at Red-Leafed Maple
Kao Feng-han (1683-after 1747), Peonies and Rocks (1734)
Tao Chi (1641-1717), Bamboo in Wind and Rain
Tao Chi, Landscape (from 1660-1710)
Tao-Chi, Three Peaks of Mountain Range
Tao-Chi, The Peach Blossom Spring
Tao Chi, A Man in a House beneath a Cliff
For further exploration of Chinese art, society, and culture, click on the following links:
This is an excellent resource for the study of China. This list contains links to databases on modern and historic China.
The oldest known printed book. This link takes you to the British Library Page, where you will need to click on the Digital Library link, and then find the Diamond Sutra.
Explore the art of Asia
Explore the wonders of Chinese Art, and the art of a number of other cultures.
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