The Contemporary Value of the Concept of "Chuanshen" in Ancient Chinese Painting

Abstract

As the core concept of Chinese painting, "Chuanshen" (Shen-Conveying) possesses a profound contemporary significance that has yet to be fully activated and elucidated within the current contexts of artistic creation and intellectual discourse. To address this gap, this study transcends the traditional art-historical approach. Through intellectual-historical genealogy and conceptual analysis, it reveals Chuanshen Xiezhao (Shen-conveying depiction) as a methodological principle that unifies esthetic transcendence with practical skill, thus arguing that Chinese painting achieved its autonomy in value from the Wei-Jin period onward through the process of "advancing skill to approach Dao" (ji jin hu dao). The study further elucidates how this concept, by mediating between the individual and the cosmic Dao, propelled the awakening of artistic subjectivity and the independence of landscape painting, ultimately establishing the ontological status of Chinese art. In the contemporary context, this study explores the holistic contemplation and immanent transcendence inherent in Chuanshen, providing a unique esthetic resource for critiquing technological rationality and overcoming human reification, thereby rendering it a living paradigm of thought capable of engaging in modern dialog.