Chinese ink art has her comparatively independent taste. It is an indispensable part of Chinese traditional art system, which is obviously different from the western classical oil painting. Generally speaking, the former emphasizes the artistic conception while the latter stresses the realistic aspects; the former is configured by brush and ink while the latter is painted with oil. It is important to notice the differences of these two arts in their pursuit of beauty and techniques of expression, but we always neglect an important fact, that is, there are still some common points in the creation theory and representing ways of the Chinese ink art and the Western oil art. Both ink painting and oil painting are “Plastic Arts”, which provide the audience sensory stimulation and aesthetic pleasure through a kind of “forms”. The “form” in the painting is a reflection of the physical world and the portraiture of the painter’s mind. The Chinese “regard nature as one’s teacher outside and thinking spirit as one’s origin inside”, and the westerners say that the painter “experience the nature”. In the techniques of expression, the ink paintings and the oil paintings also have many common points. The techniques of “brush strokes and adding details” in the ink painting can also be seen in the oil painting. The differences of Chinese ink painting and the western oil painting make the artistic world rich and colorful, and their common points enable them to get close and communicate with each other, so people of different nationalities and aesthetic tastes can understand and appreciate each other’s arts. Another phenomenon which deserves deep thinking is that those artists who have profound understanding of their own arts can appreciate other nations’ arts most. Picasso appreciated Chinese traditional arts very much. Qi Baishi watched the oil painting exhibition at very old age, and he said if he were young, he would try the oil painting.
　　The above sentences reflect some of my thoughts after I watched Liu Yun’s ink paintings. Liu’s landscape paintings are very vivid, and have his own personal characteristics. It is different from the popular “Literati” ink painting which derives from Huang Binhong’s ink painting system. Maybe there are too many superficial imitation of Huang’s landscape ink painting, which forms a “new stereotyped painting”, and causes audience “visual fatigue”. It is quite natural for people to look forward to seeing some authentic landscape paintings which can manifest people’s real disposition. Under such circumstances, Liu Yun’s paintings will make you feel so refreshing and vivid.
　　Formerly Liu Yun undertook oil painting, and made some achievements in that field. The he changed to ink landscape painting. In the aspect of narrow work specialization, he shifted from his major. But in fact, there is mutual connection among all kinds of arts. Liu Yun’s ink landscape painting is the natural extension of his artistic creation. I think, Liu has found the place where ink painting is in correspondence with the oil painting in his practice of the latter, and he has noticed that there is more space for him to exert his ability in the ink painting, so he made that decision. It goes without saying that the experience and the fruits he got in the oil painting will contribute to his understanding of ink landscape painting. Besides, the reasons why he starts so outstandingly are that he has the cultural background of the traditional arts and he knows very well the universal theory of artistic creation. It seems that Liu doesn’t definitely make the difference of “landscape” and “scenery”. By the way, in Chinese ancient documents, “landscape” is taken as ‘scenery’, and they are interchangeable. Liu notices the similarity between “landscapes” in the ink painting and “scenery” in the oil painting, that is, both will learn something from nature, portray the beauty of nature, express the emotion through the nature, and express one’s own feelings towards nature. The selection and the arrangement of Liu’s landscape of Liu are related to, but not identical to the traditional Literati paintings. It carries something of “painting outdoors”. It means that the painter makes the artistic polish on the basis of the real landscape instead of the sheer imagination. As for “painting outdoors”, some people take it as the patent of the western paintings, and the traditional Chinese landscape paintings abstain from it. It is a misapprehension. There is also the parlance of “painting outdoors” in the theory of Chinese ancient landscape paintings, but the method is not totally the same as the western paintings. It emphasizes the emotional aspects. From the twentieth century some landscape painters have borrowed the western painting technique to make up for the deficiency of Literati painting, which breaks a new path in art. The representative is Li Keran who is well known to us. Liu Yun’s landscape paintings stand between the Literati painting and the western painting. He deliberately includes the real landscape (the scenery he sees in the hometown) into his artistic structure. By doing so, his landscape painting can keep away from the set type of the Literati paintings and get close to the realistic oil painting.
　　The landscape painting can’t steer clear of the issue of brush and ink. Generally brush and ink includes two sets of contents: the common criterion and the individual characteristics. The common criterion is what we call ‘law’, which is gradually formed in history. The artists must be familiar with it, and grasp it, but they can’t be bound up by the existing law. The artists must show their own talent between the state of “with” or “without” law, that is, from obeying the law to neglecting the law, and establish their own characteristics. Liu Yun respects the traditional brush and ink principle, but he doesn’t imitate the traditional masters. Through mental imagery and conjecture, he learns the traditional principles of brush and ink, and by practice he searches his own way. From the perspective of the literati painting, he uses fewer curves than the thin lines or the straight lines. In his paintings, he uses color as much as ink, and sometimes even more color than ink, and he uses the levels and the texture caused by the change of the color ink to strengthen the expressive force of the picture. He pays attention to the changes of white and black, false and true; in the meantime, he attaches importance to the expression of light and air. From him, the minute painting style doesn’t mean trivialness, for it contributes to the whole painting effect.
　　Some people say, Liu Yun’s paintings are not the authentic literati paintings. It’s true. Because he lives in modern times, and feels the contemporary cultural atmosphere. He speaks his own words which are different from the ancient literati. It goes without saying that his landscape painting is different from the old tome literati painting. Liu Yun’s paintings are praised by the fellows of the painting world and welcomed by the general people, which means that the contents of Chinese painting are large, and its innovation is great.
　　I believe Liu Yun will follow his own way of painting, and make his contribution to the innovation of the Chinese paintings.
　　(Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, September, 2005)
　　Shao Dazhen: Professor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Director of the Theoretical Arts Committee of Chinese Artists’ Association

作者：邵大箴