Everybody oohed and aahed. After all the person is not Chinese and for some Westerner to be able to do that is encouraging.
The writing was something one would derive from Google Translate. It was devoid of syntax, although one could surmise the gist of it.
After the oohing and aahing, small talks began to surface, especially with regards to whether it was proper for the person to use broken Chinese on a painting.
A month later the same enthusiast presented us with another painting with Chinese written on it. Unfortunately the passage made absolutely no sense this time.
The artist was asked about the meaning of the writing and admitted to not knowing. The artist made a comment that a lot of Chinese Brush painting had writing on it and deemed it appropriate to write something on the painting, whether it made sense or not.
The small talk behind this person's back grew louder, yet no one felt comfortable enough to tell this artist. It was determined that one should not dowse this enthusiasm, especially when a Westerner is willing to try. It was also somewhat inherent in our culture that we do not want to point out people's mistakes. Call that political correctness if you will.
One finds Chinese writings and calligraphy on paintings quite frequently. Most of the time the writings refer to the time of the year, the artist's name, and sometimes the place where the artwork was done. If there was a title for the painting, it would be written in a different font.
If the painting was to be presented to a particular person, or for a particular occasion, the name of the receiver or the event would be recorded in writing.
Besides the above mention of when one would find writings on a painting, there are other instances when such needs arise.
The artist needed to convey a message about the painting. The attached painting is by Qi Baishi (1864-1957)
In this painting of a simple catfish, Mr.Qi was lamenting about the fact that it is very difficult to characterize a simple fish with a few scant brushstrokes and impart the energy and personality to the subject matter. Even he was having problem composing a legitimate painting of fish, and he had to resort to cropping a good sample as his work. The obvious reason too was the fact that now he had cropped the fish out from his large sheet of Xuan, how was he going to deal with the empty space?
The obvious answer perhaps, was for him to write something. Mr. Qi is known for his paintings, but he rated his poetry as his best accomplishment, followed by his seal carving, then his calligraphy. He didn't even list his painting as his top 3 virtues. It made sense that he would fill the void with his well thought out sentences and wrote them in his genuinely peasantry calligraphy. The writing and calligraphy became part of his artwork.
Feng Zikai (1898-1975) liked to title his works in a thought provoking way. Other than his signature, he often dispensed with the recording of time and locality.
In this work, the title says "The mirror is the only person who knows the beauty of that poor girl". This was a commentary about the society. If one is poor, whether financially or in social status, one would not expect anyone to cast attention in their direction.
In our studies and lessons, we are always reminded that there is poetry in a painting, and a painting should be like poetry. In fact one teacher would give us a poem and we were to paint something to exemplify that poem. We've also been asked to compose a poem after viewing a painting, but that's a different story. Our erudition on Chinese literary skills is quite dismal.
Chinese poetry is rather pedantic.
Each line or verse must be composed of the same number of words. The order of words in each line must match or contrast in meaning. For example, if the first line says " A boy kisses a girl ", then the second line might be something like "The gymnast takes a whirl". Thus we have 5 words in each verse; a subject followed by a verb, describing the action; and the verses rhyme. There are attempts to translate Chinese poetry into other languages, but none of them deliver the whole package. They do fine in translating the meaning of the poetry, yet the beauty of matched words and syntax and context and rhyming is totally lost. It's analogous to leading a blindfolded person to an elephant and upon touching the trunk the person exclaimed "I got it".
Yang Shan Shen (1913-2004) is a famous Master in the Lingnan School. This style of work exhibits a strong western influence. Paintings are usually brightly colored, with attention to light and shadows. He employed two verses in his work below:
The writing is translated as
In the rain, a fruit drops
On a branch, a bird sings
Again, adherence to the verse structure.
I am using these examples from contemporary Chinese Brush artists. I use them to illustrate the point that the tradition of writings and calligraphy on our painting is structured, revered and time honored.
Whereas one must appreciate the zeal of a non Chinese in learning to paint and write with Chinese brush, one must also take into consideration that the person must learn it the correct way, with understanding of the various elements involved. It is one thing if the artist wanted to incorporate Chinese brush calligraphy as a background or as an element of graphic design but to put it in just because that seemed the proper format is quite another. One must not blindly pursue the stereotype. That would be patronizing.
Also important is that if we can clearly see a misconception by a student, it is the duty of those of us who are in the know to point out the truth. It does not need to be embarrassing, nor demeaning. How else is one to learn? The worst thing that can happen to a budding Chinese Brush enthusiast is to be misled. The discipline is complicated as it is. After all, mastering painting, poetry and calligraphy and applying them together is considered the Three Perfections in the arena of traditional Chinese Brush painting.
I therefore voiced my observations to this person. I am convinced that I did the right thing. Only time would tell.
