‘書畵同源論’의 ‘源’의 의미 고찰

Abstract

In terms of the history of calligraphy and painting development, a conflation of calligraphy with painting first appeared in the Tang era. The creation of painting was made by Wen Tong, Su Shi, and others using calligraphic brushwork during the Song Dynasty. The “Theory on the Same Origin of Calligraphy and Painting”(書畵同源論) based on the same method of brushwork between calligraphy and painting was firmly settled by Zhao Mengfu and Kejiusi during the Yuan Dynasty. As the problem of “the same origin of calligraphy and painting” was yoked with the matter of “literati painting,” an aesthetic standard of calligraphy and painting was established. The concept of the “origin”(源) in the “Theory on the Same Origin of Calligraphy and Painting”(書畵同源論) developed after Zhang Yanyuan in the Tang Dynasty comes from three aspects. First, the use of brushes in calligraphy and painting is the same in the process of aesthetic creation. This aspect is represented by Zhang Yanyuan’s observation that “One who is excellent in painting often writes with a good hand.” and “The technique of using the brush in calligraphy and painting is the same.” Second, the composition of calligraphy bears a parallel to that of painting. One letter in a work of calligraphy begins from one dot and one stroke of the brush, and a phrase is formed when the letters written like this are linked. The whole is completed through this process. This is like the composition of painting. Third, calligraphy can be integrated into painting with a common denominator of “euigyeong” or artistic conception. This means both calligraphy and painting are aesthetically characterized by the expression of subjective emotion. The two can be united in terms of “artistic conception”. What Zhang’s assertion that “Calligraphy and painting are the same in the use of brushes” means is that the two are the same not only in brush technique and composition, but in artistic intention beyond form and composition.