ART. Motifs and comments. Section1.

ART. pac2 –miquelangel castillo (see section 2)

Section 1. Elaboration on the motifs of eight images

1.A.- Selection of 4 images from Japan.

1.B.- Selection of 4 images from China.

(as seen on the screen)

image 3 + image 2 + image 6 +image 12

Section 2. At a loss for words on Eastern Art

2.1. What we can see.

2.2. What artists do.

2.3. Inside the beholder.

Section 1. Elaboration on the motifs of eight images

1.A.- Selection of 4 images from Japan.

Image ONE. Kimono amb fulles de bambú i ideogrames.

The four popular plants/ flowers in painting (the orchid, bamboo, plum, and chrysanthemum) are called the "Four Paragons" in Japanese art, were also known as the "four Gentlemen" in the continent. These four plants symbolise the four seasons and they characteristicly represent the qualities ideal gentlemen should have.
The Bamboo corresponds at summer and symbolises strength and the spirit to endure adverse circumstances. It bends with the wind and snow but it does not break, it returns to its upright position when the wind and snow ceases. The bamboo, therefore, also symbolises flexibility but with integrity.

The bamboo it's one of the most difficult subjects to paint. A painting of bamboo is essentially a painting of lines, the very same line from where the writing system derives and both share the appretiation of the calligraphy artist.

Image TWO. El vell pruner

The plum blosom appears to be a main theme in East Asian art. This image symbolises the passage of time from winter to spring. The main difference between China (like Korea) and Japan being the time the blossoming takes place. In the continent it is earlier than in northern Japanese lands. The most interesting association I found was with the lifestyle of the isolated scholar-recluse.

The ‘Plum Blossom Studio’ made the appearance with the works of Lin Bu, a Song dynasty poet , who was well represented in Chinese literature and painting, and pursued by cultivated Kyoto people in the Edo period.

The plum tree symbolises many ideas from where we highlight both hope and continuity of life which enhances the triumph of virtue over hardships in life but it also represents the virtues of purity and refinement. In China it goes with “good fortune”.

Plum tree is admired for its ability to reform itself to withstand adverse conditions. i.e. it manifests an appearance of hardness during winter. However, when spring comes, it nourishes itself and develops into a beautiful tree in spring. Plum blossom is the national emblem for Chinese New Year.
A poetical description can be rendered like this:

Almost before the winter snows have melted, the barren landscape welcomes the blooming of the plum tree, whose fragrant and delicate blossoms of the snowy white or light pink share, with the angular tree itself, older people's special admiration. The Japanese see the contrast between the knotted trunks and young green shoots as symbolic of age and youth - one bent and crabbed, the other fresh and vigorous, suggesting that in spite of age, the charm and joy of youth can always rise anew. <2>

Image THREE. Vano pintat amb la imatge d’un cirerer florit

The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan and also China. I will deal with its characteristics in Japan here.

In spring, one of the best-loved <3> symbols of Japan makes a dramatic sweep across the country. Sakura (cherry blossoms) bloom usually from the end of March through April in a kind of wave starting in southernwest areas and working its way northeast.

The word sakura is generally used for those species of cherry appreciated for the beauty of their blossoms rather than those grown for their fruit. The sakura is mentioned frequently in Japanese literature since the VIII century.

The associations I found were threefold:

• Traditional Japanese values of purity and simplicity are thought to be reflected in the form and color of its blossoms symbolizing also filial love.
• Since it flowers very briefly and then scatters, the cherry blossom has also become a symbol of the Japanese appreciation of ephemeral beauty. The undeniable beauty of the delicate pink flowers is offset by a sense of melancholy at their all-too-brief appearance. This is often compared to our own short time spent on the earth.
• The crimson flowers are liken to one of the symbols of Japan’s history: the samurai. He spends his life preparing for the battle in which he offers as a selfsacrifice to his lord: to defend him to death. Here we can play with the Germanic roots of the archaic Bluot (meaning both flower and blood –in modern German they are two words: Blüte and Blut).

Image FOUR. Choju-Gija emaki, Choju Jimbutsu Giga (Frolicking Birds and Animals) Emakimono Attributed to Toba Sojo (1053-1140), late Heian Period Kozan-ji.

Toba Sojo was the head priest of a Buddhist sect near Kyoto. He is the author of a series of important narrative scrolls featuring humorous subjects inked in the Buddhist tradition of swift brushed work.

In this famous piece the common technique of free-line ink drawing was used to depict frolicking animals, with no explicative legend or poem written on the canvas which could give the audience a clue on the intention of the author.

Some maintain that the scenes were caricatures of contemporary Buddhist priests. To support the views we can say that the time of the scroll showed the change of aesthetics from a Buddhist frame of mind to a court leaned on sword power and more interested in mundane affairs <4>.

On the first scroll the scene depicted a scorned bonzo monkey reading in front of a frog sat on a Lotus flower. The second scroll shows more realistic actions drawn with excellent technique but no signs of parody. The quality sensibly lowers in the third one but keeping the motifs of the first and second scrolls to reach a trough in the fourth <5>, sohas been advanced the posssibility of being from different hands.

1.B.- Selection of 4 images from China.

Image ONE. H 1: Fragment del romanç de la cambra de l’oest (segle XIX, Dinastia Qing).

The picture with the man at his desk shows he is a man of affairs, taking part in the mundane work of urban life. It is a fragment of a narrative piece which shows him surrounded by his natural items as any man in his position needs to appreciate culture in nature. The lifestyle of the scholar, represented in literature and painting, was pursued by the Qing’s artist fascinated by Chinese texts, rituals, leisure activities, and goods.

But the philosophy underlining his appretiation of beauty reflects, I would adventure myself to say, a Confucian approach to life. He is serving his duties (tha mandate of heaven goes upwards to his Lord and in the end his state). After the Ming dynasty the new merchant class from the southern lands could acquiry beauty as an appreciation of the work of painters. Here the man shows the great value of calligraphy and painting (the scroll) and the rich ornamental surroundings of furniture and jarr with the private garden in company of the significant other (the women in rich robes). The use of perspective and some abstract decoration combines harmonically with the organic forms of the table.

Image TWO. H 4: Contenidor de pinzells.

The materials traditionally used in Chinese brush and ink painting are water, water container, water dropper, china palette, handmade brushes, brush rest, handmade paper and woven silk, Chinese ink stick and stone to grind the ink, watercolour and cadmium red paste for the carved stone seal for the signature. The brush rest is set into a carved mould, which can be in various shapes and often decorated with a scenary as in this object (or with gold and calligraphy).

This little object gives no clue of the owner of the piece. The setting depicted on it shows the Taoist ideal of life in nature. The precious woodcarving in such a had piece of wood gives a clear account of people and bamboo trunks gathering to enjoy life as it is: a cordial group of people, away from the life in the administrative chores and free spirits with real goals: be there.

We can find several examples of friends who were famous in Chines arts and gave word to preeentr them as the example to the person who did not want to be attached to material things.

The “seven sages of the bamboo forest” for instance (drinking wine and writing poetry) is the most well known in China.

Image THREE. Hogar 5: Gerro anb flors de lotus.

The image of the lotus flower stems from their origins which stretched out over the east of Asia <6>. The flower appears in midsummer. Roots come from muddy pools, and the flower grows in mud but oddly comes up white and pure. Buddhism uses this symbol for the Buddha's life - born in the problems and darkness of society, he grew to become pure and truthful, suggesting that a pure and lovely spirit can lift itself above worldliness to live in peaceful serenity.

It is thus a sacred flower of Buddhism, and is called "sacred friend" in Chinese floral tradition. Often used at funerals. The Lotus represents in a smaller scale stately beauty.

The lotus flower shows its universal meaning in the eight petals symbolising the eight directions of the heavens. These connections may be a little difficult to figure out. For twenty centuries the Lotus flower has been a symbol of different things but somehow related to the central concept of ‘purity’: from creation and meditation to truth and perfection, and also to immortality.

Image FOUR. Adorn2 Retrat de l’Emperadriu Cixi

Here are some of the meanings of both flowers in traditional Chinese painting:
The peony has a rich, lustrous appeal, and has been addressed as the “queen of the flowers”. It signifies wealth and nobility. The peony is called the "flower of twenty days" because of its short blooming season in May. It was especially favored by the upper classes and considered a symbol of happiness, prosperity, love and affection.

The chrysanthemum, the flower of early Autumn was used to provide encouragement to one who struggles and has long been considered a noble flower. Being one of the year's last flowers and because it can survive in cold conditions that would kill most plants, it symbolises the central meaning of courage, but widening the range from longevity and satisfaction to strength, from dignity and love to knowledge.
In Japan the crest of the imperial household is a stylized representation of a chrysanthemum blossom.

ART. La presència humana en el paisatge oriental

1. Itinerari
2. Principis culturals a l’orient.
2.1. harmonia, natura, simplicitat, naturalitat.
2.2. Les arts de pinzell
2.3. La consolidació del gènere del paisatge en la pintura.
2.4. La tradició de la crítica en la pintura de paisatge.
3. La presència humana en el paisatge oriental.
3.1. La persona i el context en Xina i Japó
3.2. Dins del món xinès: L’absència de Self
3.3. La progressió Song>Yuan. La presència de Self.
3.4. La presència humana en el paisatge oriental.
4. La figura excepcional d’un pintor de tradició: Sesshu Toyo
4.1. Sensibilitat Chan/Zen
4.2 La recerca en el passat de Sesshu Toyo
4.3. La presencia humana en l’obra de Sesshu


pac3art- alumne: miquelangel castillo

La presència humana en relació a la natura en el paisatge oriental
As Chuang-tzu said, "Those who would have good government without its correlative misrule,
and right without its correlative wrong, do not understand the principle of the universe."

1. Itinerari. Que sabem, nosaltres estudiants, de la pintura del paisatge com a art? Des del meu racó he de confessar que ha estat el gènere que més m’ha interessat en els primers dos pacs. Si més no el que m’ha fet encuriosir ‘cordialment’ per aquest gènere. Fer-hi una petita anàlisi per a la pac3 em sembla més ‘coratjós’ que les dues primeres! Potser la qualitat més xinesa siga la de lleialtat (zhong) escrit amb “cor i a sobre “centre”. On posen el cor no els ha d’anar mal. <1>. Si miren al passat podran saltar endavant cap el futur.
Llegint els apunts de classe i els meus materials ho intentem sense deixar de ecordar el poc que sabem i en el que encara ens falta. Abans de començar el mòdul 4 La saviesa com a estètica veia la delicadesa del traç, i l’ús de la tinta i la força de la línia que eren quelcom ja familiar.Refent les petjades del meu itinerari manifeste que el context al tema escollit l’he tingut amb quatre materials: primer una lectura detallada de ‘El arte chino” d’Isabel Cervera en Historia 16, desprès el buscar les referències a la pintura en Li Zehou sobre la Xina i en Vera Linhartova sobre el Japó, desprès escapbussar-me en el Summa Artis –vol. 21. Aquesta visió de conjunt va complementada de detalls que sortiran en els apartats següents.

El meu text s’estructura a partir de comentar els conceptes comuns a la pintura oriental, que ja ens han sortit en les dos primeres pacs. Després s’abordarà la presència humana en el gènere del paistage. Conclourem amb la visió de dos pintors rellevants i amb una petita visió cap el present d’aquest art.

2. Principis culturals a l’orient
2.1. Harmonia, natura, simplicitat, naturalitat.
El principi clau a l’orient sembla l’harmonia. Entrar a ressonar amb l’univers. A més no hem d’oblidar una subtil diferència: l’esperit és materialista i la materia espiritual. Més explicitament, el qi i el li; el primer és la força vital en moviment, el segón l’estructura interna de l’objecte. La percepció occidental mostra la disparitat subjecte-objecte. Aquesta falsa oposició no ens permet entendre les coses del món. A l’orient, el món és una acció, un joc realitzador, un procés que catalitza en un joc de ressonàncies. És més aviat una creació que una reproducció.
A la primera pac hem anat aprenent que la divisió entre orient i occident parteix de la premisa de com s’enfronten a la natura: nosaltres dominant-la, ells reverenciant-la. I les arts aixi ho palesen: nosaltres representem la natura, ells la presenten. Com assenyala Chantal (2000:95) l’actitud estética és la más apropiada para conseguir el wu-shin (no-espíritu). És a dir, la receptivitat és una manera de ser. El principi regidor és el qi: Aquest principi d'unitat es dinamitza en el qi el qual informa (zao) i transforma (hua) tota cosa. No és cap substància aïllable al marge de les formes que pren i transforma. Com explicita el professor Ollé:
El pensament xinès no distingeix entre matèria i energia, però es pòdria parlar analògicament del qi com d'energia a punt de transformar-se en matèria o de matèria a punt de transformar-se en energia. De fet, qualsevol cos, objecte o fenomen no es concep com a res més que una forma particularitzada del qi: alè de vida immanent, principi d'unitat i de coherència que vincula els deu mil éssers entre si <2.1>.

De les tres corrents artístiques a la Xina el Confucianisme va seguir una vessant realista, el Taoisme expressionista i el Budisme impressionista. Aquestes dues últimes van interaccionar molt amigablement (especialment amb el Chan –Zen).
Per entrar en el nostre tema, entre les tradicions orientals, especialment la xinesa, la pintura ha estat central. En els murs, la seda, el paper, o sobre bambú l’expressió pictòrica ha centrat en el món natural la seua expressió creativa. Com a valor comú hem d’estar d’acord amb el valor que s’atorga al buit com expressivitat.
Aqeust darrer pensament ens portarà al Japó. Per cloure, al Japó el shintoisme sempre ha tingut un valor de substrat també estètic. Aquesta disciplina artística tan humanística però també tan individualitzada, que transmetia uns principis orientals difícils de copsar. De mostres clares les trobem en les teulades shinto, lescampanes Dotaku, l’escultura Nara (monjo Ganjin)i les posteriors influències Zen com veurem, fins arribar actualment a l’arquitectura d’Ando. Per citar a Garcia Gutierrez sobre la diferenciació japonesa :
La naturalidad en el arte quiere decir intimidad con la naturaleza ... que la transforma en arte, realizando una unión inefable entre el ideal i la realidad. Como és indeterminada en sus formas, así tambien el arte: sólo debe ser la unión de un contenidao interior <2.2>.
Sobre l’intimisme amb la natura ens mostra el valor del Sabi, el Wabi i el Shibui. El primer, que indica la solitud, s’ha de superar la bellesa formal per anar a l’essencial dos traços emmarquen el buit i “una vez sumergidos allí, lo descubrimos todo.” com afirma García Gutierrez. El segon incumbeix l’individu, per posar-nos en contacte amb la vera simplicitat ... de la vida que ens posa en contacte amb la natura universal, breus traços, economia de recursos. I la del Shibui que secciona vitalment els dos anteriors: la bellesa està a un cop de ma, proper, simplement familiar i també d’alguna forma inacabada.

2.2. Sobre les arts de pinzell
El mòdul 4.2 s’inicia amb el concepte que vam veure al pac1 (cif. Poésie et pinture) de youji. Més endavant tenim el refugi en la natura de Tao Yuangming que expressen el canvi d’estètica amb les arts del pinzell: “un model que es perpetua per mitjà de la poesia, la cal·ligrafia i la pintura al llarg dels segles ... imbricant-se de tal manera que resulta difícil entendre’n una sense l’altra” (pàg. 17). Podem recordar ara el que assenyalava Leys del període Yuan: xie bua “escriure una pintura”. Entre ells deu segles on la veneració per un mitjà d’expressió tan cohesionador i fascinant. ha estat perfectament expressat per Harrist:
Perhaps the secret of the fascination the letter has exercised for so long lies not just in its beauty and its status as a prestigious work of art, but in the bond, however tenuous, between this small piece of paper and the venerated but elusive man whose words and brushstrokes it transmits <2.3>.
El segle IV respon a la primera crisi de l’imperi, la fi dels Han, i la divisió amb noves forces del nord que es veuran atretes per l’impuls civilitzador de la Xina per ser realment el País del Centre (Zhong Guo). El confucianisme deixa pas a l’emergència del Taoisme com a cultura oficial i la adaptació del Budisme, primer al nord, a les particularitats xineses.
No cal dir que el simbol més gran de la unitat xinesa la tenim en l’escriptura, la més llarga tradició textual de la humanitat no es pot deixar de banda. Els antics caràcters es classificaven com a wen, i cultura es diu wénhuà mostran el respecte per la tradició. No oblidem que en tots els llocs les paraules conformen la cultura (i viceversa). L’impuls en l’art dona un inici que trigarà 8 segles a consolidar-se en el moviment wenrenhua. Leys a l’article ho expressava així: els principìs i procediments “de la poésie sont d’ordre pictural; de la peinture d’ordre poétique”.
A diferència dels pintors occidentals, pintaven en estudi donat que volien interpretar la natura. Sobre els formats que feien servir destacarem: els, els rotlles manuals, primer com a estendards, deprés verticals, i finalment horitzontals. També podien ser penjats. La tasca de l’acadèmia per recollir el passat va portar a desenvolupar albums en molts gèneres. De Japó i Korea van venir els vanos plegables sobre bambú.
Al primerenc ús de la línia, van aperéixer dos noves formes d’aplicar el pinzell per mostrar la textura cun i dian. El crític modern Chiang Hsun ho va expressar així:
The use of cun and dian brushstrokes ("wrinkle" and “dots” strokes) allowed Chinese artists to diligently reproduce natural forms, both for the overall structure of a landscape and for smaller details like the texture of the soil or a mountainside's exposed rock. … In Traveling amid Mountains and Gorges Fan Kuan applied delicate and sharp cun to convey with great clarity the cracks in the rocks on the mountain face and the light mist <2.4>.

De Li hiao recordarem l’expressió: ‘té pinzell, té tinta’. tots dos van ser elevats a principis actius (veg. 2.4): Bi: Va més enllà del valor tècnic del pinzell. Al representar una idea, el pinzell ha de fluir al ritme de la ment, possible si s’aconseguit un perfecte domini. Mo: habilitat amb la tinta. Permet crear espai i llum, com dotar a les formes de sutile matiços por mitjà de l’aiguada.
Els dos estils d’aplicar el pinzell ha generat dues escoles: gongbi amb una atenció als detalls i aplicació meticulosa i la xieyi amb un treball més lliure i amb tocs impressionistes.

2.3. La consolidació del gènere del paisatge en la pintura.
Destacarem algun comentari teòric que anirà acompanyat de dos poemes –com no!?- i aquells elements tècnics que no han estat englobats en l’apartat anterior. Podem començar amb l’epítom d’un sentiment amb un poema de Su Dongpo:
It is like clouds and mists passing before my eyes, or the songs of birds striking my ears. How could I help but derive joy from my contact with these things? But when they are gone, I think no more about them. In this way, these two things [painting and calligraphy] are a constant pleasure to me, but not an affliction."

La pintura Sui va donar importancia a les pintures murals. El budisme aportava nous models i aqeusta creença va servir per crear nous vincles entre els han-ren i els pobles del nord (xianbei, touba, weibei) i els aportacions tècniques van servir per tansformar un fons d’una història a una veritable inmportància del paisatge. Van ser els Tang els que van aprofundir amb la integració nacional introduient nous temes iconogràfics a la cort. D’una banda l’interés per la vida real va donar pas a la pintura de personages amb els principis pictòrics de guqi (fuerza del caracter) i qingsi (món espiritual). Wang Wei ens ha deixat poemes i pintures (còpies). La pròpia percepció enmig la natura servia per expressar alguna cosa més. Davant aquest poema seu, Esteban Ierardo comenta:
Sentado sólo en medio de silenciosos bambúes,/ taño mi laúd y canto largo tiempo.
Nadie sabe que estoy en el bosque,/ sólo la luna brilla acude a acompañarme.
escenografía pasiva para el drama humano. La naturaleza es ya realidad emocional, delicada vida sensible que un pintor poeta debe percibir, aprehender. El arte del paisaje aspira así a expresar la fina y plástica vida que fluye por montañas, aguas y bosques <2.5>.

El terme shanshui evoca el paper preponderant de la natura en el paisatge. La primera consigna que trobem en la creació del paisatge és un principi cultural, previ a la transmissió d’un sentiment. Com ha expressat Marie-Hélène Nouhaili dels shanshui:
complémentarité de la montagne (la terre) et de l'eau (mer, rivière, nuages porteurs de pluie) annonce l'aspect mystique et profondément spirituel de cette vision de la nature, relativement éloignée de la nôtre. Dans la pensée taoïste, la montagne est un symbole masculin alors que l'eau est en relation avec la féminité : le yin et le yang, les deux aspects complémentaires du monde apparaissent comme les notions fondatrices de cette esthétique qui véhicule aussi une philosophie. La découverte d'une pensée, fondée non sur la séparation de la matière et du divin comme en occident mais au contraire sur leur fusion <2.6>.

El pintor Wu Daozi va innovar amb una tècnica de treballar amb línies i oblidar-se del color, i va donar un impuls al gènere que no va minvar. Chang Tsao va reblar un clau conceptual amb el principi motriu del gènere: ‘el meu mentor extern és la Natura; la meua força interna és la xing (ment-cor). Després va venir l’era daurada de les Cinc Dinasties amb Jing Hao, Guan Tong, Dong Yuan and Ju Ran que van ser els exemples a imitar els potents massissos de pedra [imatge 1] i precipicis en boira pels nous mestres del Song del Nord: Li Cheng, Guo Xi, Fan Kuan and Mi Fu. Aquí s’obté la majoria d’edat del gènere i no l’ha perduda. Li seguí la Dinastia Song del Sud, caracteritzada per un estil líric de pintures monocromes amb cops de pinzell forts com de destral. Mestres de l’Escola Ma/Xia: Ma Yuan, Xia Gui, Mu Qi, Liang Kai. Per expressar-lo succintament vejam que va dir el crític James Cahill:
The Sung dynasty saw two important developments: the rise of an educated elite bureaucracy (scholar literati), and the dominance of landscape painting over figure painting. With these developments came a preference for the use of nature for artistic expression rather than the earlier, more literal, realistic rendering of landscape. By the late Yüan dynasty, painting was viewed as an individual artist's effort to "write" his ideas in pictorial compositions <2.7>.

El format és majorment una composició vertical sobre seda o paper que un cop acabada es muntarà sobre un suport de paper amb uns acabats de seda. La perspectiva de lectura es veurà com una cosa unitària que és simultàniament múltiple: la ‘lectura’ es fa d’allò proper a allò distant. Per cloure, l’últim tret que destacarem el devem a Zhao-Mengfu, va seguir a la cort a Pekín amb els Yuan.
Il devient le peintre officiel de la cour et invente une nouvelle forme de peinture de lettrés, donc sans aspect commercial: Accumulation d'éléments évoquant des peintures plus anciennes, les inscriptions expliquant la manière dont l'oeuvre a été réalisée, la référence de son bénéficiaire, commentaire des propriétaires ... envahissent la toile, les cachets de cire identifient l'artiste et les propriétaires successifs <2.8>.

2.4. La tradició de la crítica en la pintura de paisatge.
Aquest apartat ens presenta uns principis estètics per entendre la creació artística. La natura és també la reinterpretació d’un gènere, és a dir, un corpus, un passat. Per dir-ho clarament en perspectiva xinesa: ‘el que no té tradició –vora dos mil·lenis i mig- no tindrà futur’. Tot artista fa una imitatio del passat i la reinterpreta per projectar-la al futur.
Amb un passat sòlid, l’art de la pintura va arribar d’un món religiós a un context civil. Dels frescos budistes, d’un paisatge que a gongbi a les pintures Song. Però el context de cada moment ja ha canviat. Fent el mateix, pintar, seguir models, incloure poseia a la pintura, ben bé era una altra cosa com queda clar en el text. Que es manté?
En primer lloc destacar que el valor de l’original es perpetua en la còpia, donat que aquesta transmet una interpretació de la natura, igualment que l’original. Recordem les moltes còpies de l’obra Viatgers entre muntanyes i cascades de Fan Kuan; i la tasca de descobrir l’original al Museu de Taipei!
Després el gènere va ser englobat en cinc estils: courtesà (Zhoa Boju); monumental (Fan Kuan, Li Cheng); literal (Emperor Hui Zong); líric (Ma Yuan, Xia Gui); i espontani (Mu Qi, Liang Kai).

D’una banda està la pràctica, i d’altra la teorització sobre l’art. Per a les properes generacions tenim tots dos tipus d’obres. Ara parlarem de tres crítics ben influents: Jing Hao, Dong Qichang i Shi Tao.
Amb la seua enumeració i explicació Jing Hao va independitzar el génere del paisatge a la màxima categoria, practicant panorames amb vistes impresionants. Li Zehou ens deixa aquesta frase: “It is not however until I had made thousand of sketches that I achieved a true likeness” –iron selfcontrol! Organizó el paisaje por medio de la aplicación de distancias (yuan –perspectivas) com hem llegit als materials.
Coneixem el qi. A banda de l’esmentat als materials Xie He (siglo V a. C. amb la seua idea qi-yun, shen dong) Jing Hao va escriure unes Anotacions sobre el mètode (Bifa ji). En ella servint-se d’un diáleg imaginari amb un vell pagès, reflexiona sobre el significat de la pintura i cal·ligrafía, exposant els "6 Essencials". Al qi i yun afegia:
Si: Se refiere a la intención del pintor. Define los aspectos compositivos: proporción, estructura... conseguidos por medio de la pincelada y sus categorías. Jing: expresar los cambios en la naturaleza en su aspecto anímico, que conduzcan al espectador a una comunión espiritual con el artista <2.9>.

Dong Qichang (1555-1636) va ser a més pintor i cal·ligraf. Va categoritzar els artistes en dues escoles "Nord i Sud", basant-se en si eren artesans professionals o lletrats. Va ser capdavanter de l’escola “ortodoxa” dels Ming on calia seguir els mestres antics per aconseguir un bon resultat amb el resultat de conservar el pasat i també tendir a negar innovacions en format i composició.
Shi Tao (1617-1717) també conegut com TaoChi, va seguir en la pintura els princiupis de Guo Xi: ‘comprendre les forces secretes del cel i la terra’ investigant i renovant amb el seu coetàni Zhu Da. La seua tècnica es va basar en els traços de la ‘pinzellada primera’ on volia mostrar com la natura en la sua virtualitat revela a l’home la propia natura, permitint-le superar-se [imatge 4]. En Hua Yulu (Quotes on Painting) potser va ser el llibre estàndard al seu temps va escriure com l’artista ha de ser ú amb el universe:
The painter is guided by his heart and the mountains and reivers ask me to speak for them ... They have given me ideas that i must turn into form . <2.10>

3. La presència humana en el paisatge oriental.
3.1. La persona i el context en Xina i Japó
L'ésser humà apareix sovint en els quadros, però perfectament integrat en el paisatge, com un element més en connexió i com a reflex d'altres àmbits. En la part que ens ocupa ara, com una presència gairebé imperceptible, com una mirada que contempla i que circula pel paisatge tal com ho fan els núvols o l'aigua. Ollé ho expressa aixi:
Insignificant en si mateix, el cos humà es mostra en la tradició pictòrica del paisatgisme xinès perfectament fos en les valls boiroses que encarnen el dinasmisme entre la buidor i la plenitud, entre el moviment i la quietut. Apareix perfectament integrat en els paisatges en moviment que permeten contemplar les transformacions de les diferents polaritats que dinamitzen l'energia primordial (qi) que conforma el paisatge viu de la natura. <3.1>

Una de les característiques d’expressar el concepte Taoista de la unitat del món com una entitat viva i conscient és la d’integrar la persona humana dins de les composicions [imatge 3]. D’una banda tenim la riquesa espectacular de la natura, que domina sobre tots els elements, després la representació seguint uns patrons de composició. La tècnica pictòrica ha anat evolucionant i ha creat un seguit d’escoles com hem vist.
Ara presentarem una breu visió de la Xina i el Japó. Ho farem en etapes, seguint Li Zehou: L’absència de Self amb la posterior incorporació de noves formes i motius estètics i la presència de Self. Els nous plantejaments del Buddhisme Chan va ser el factor subjectiu que va permetre la formulació dels nous principis estètics en aquests dos segles.
El context d’apreci del paisatge va ocorrer dins d’un món artítstic dominat per uns parametres taoistes on els guerrers van quedar postergats als lletrats, a diferència del Japó. L’acceptació del neoconfucianisme va portar a un estil propi del retat realista a la cort amb un paisatges més interpretatius als amateurs.
Dins del món japonès el context d’apreci del paisatge va ocorrer amb una casta de guerrers al davant de la societat: perídoe Kamakura. La doctrina Zen va ser simple i directa i l’acceptació dels samurais del Shogunat va ser immediata.
the Japanese compulsion to compete with oneself - a compulsion which turns every craft and skill into a marathon of self-discipline. Although the attraction of Zen lay in the possibility of liberation from self-consciousness, the Japanese version of Zen fought fire with fire, overcoming the "self-observing the self" by bringing it to an intensity in which it exploded <3.2>

3.2. Dins del món xinès: L’absència de Self
Comencem per el que s’ha dit “Absència de Self”. En l’obra de Guo Xi destaquem la seua reflexió en Linquan Gaozhi: “some hills and streams are for passing thru, some to be viewed; some are to tour and enjoy; some to live in” (p. 186) on la imaginació ha de seguir aqeusta multi-perspectiva que aconsegueix un efecte emocional produida per una concepció artística completa i perdurant. Així la recepció en l’observador serà més lliure i la relació bucòlica entre la humanitat i la natura mostra en tota la seua amplitud plaer i joia.

La demanda per una tendència cap un treball més poètic dels ‘literati’ dels Song del Sud es va poder veure en els treballs de l’instaurada Acadèmia de Pintura. Expressar un poema en un quadre suposava passar del verbal al no verbal, i donat que la llengua xinesa mostragran vaguetat. Els resultats van explicitar un fervor més estètic on la presència humana va quedar més subtilment retratada <3.3>.
En aquests moments, les composicions fragmentaries, l’ús dels angles per emfatitzar allò concret amb grans espais de bellesa més abstracta, amb espais en blanc més madurs en el seu significat [imatge 2]. El començar de la primavera (1072) es l’única pintura que ens ha arribat de Guo Xi.
En ella se estremece el espíritu renovador de la naturaleza que se produce tras el reposo del invierno. Las formas que dan vida a las montañas constatan el movimiento y el sentido de transformación, mientras que las aguas invaden pacíficamente los valles donde el hombre disfruta de paseos en barca, formando parte de un universo en mutación <3.4>.

Aquests detalls van fer els paisatges més universals i les emocions més riques i nítides. Li Zehou escriu: Seeking spiritual ressemblance though formal resemblance and expressing the infinite (poetic sentiments) by means of the finite (the limits of a painting) increasingly became the aestheics criteria of al Chinese Art <3.5>

3.3. La progressió Song>Yuan. La presència de Self.
Amb la nova dinastia l’Acadèmia va perdre referència en els pintors i el nou centre es va desplaçar als wenrenhua. Els nous grans artistes van portar l’equilibri entre els valors poètics de la natura cap els elements espiritual i subjectiu. Pocs d’aqeusts artistes van pintar objectes. Ni Lunyin podia reflexionar sobre el qi: ‘Pinte bambú només per mostrar que el meu cor està allí; perquè hauria de preocupar-me si s’assembla de veritat’. La bellesa és independent de l’objecte. A més, l’emfasi formal va ser en bi i mo de tal manera que les línies i colors podíen comunicar l’esperit del pintor. El joc d’expressar el mo (self) de l’artista en un paisatge per mig dels elements a la seua disposició per revelar el xing (cor-ment) més intrínsec <3.6>.
Amb els Yuan l’art de la línia va arribar al zènit. D’aquesta unió va unir-se la cal·ligrafia al quadre –el tret més representatiu de l’art xinès i una contribució única en la història de l’art. l’ideal de tres arts en una perdura encara.
Recordem que les inscripcions corresponien a una línea en els Song. Ara van arribar a 10 línies i s’integrava en la qualitat estètica amb una vessant d’encant literari amb més significat i elegància. El segell vermell va afegir una marca indeleble de prestigi com hem vist suara.
Alliberats de no plasmar els objectes naturals van poder navegar sobre l’altra direcció: quan més simple, millor. Els espais en blanc van guanyar expressivitat, els colors s’aconseguien amb la riquesa de la tinta, el domini de la línia, el treball del pinzell xieyi i l’ús dels punts.
3.4. La presència humana en el paisatge oriental.
Sobre la presència humana en el quadre tenim doncs tres mostres: intuïda per edificis, barques –petits-, accions en el devenir del quadre de figures minúscules, o el savi allunyat del món material i mundà inspirant-se en communió amb la natura. Ned Denny ho escriu amb sensibilitat:
(…). One of the classic images of Chinese painting has a poet or scholar lost in contemplation of one of these lucid, bristling trees, its darkly tenacious branches seeming to open up a fissure in the sky. True knowledge, it seems to say, comes with vision. More often, though, the human presence in a Chinese landscape is limited to barely discernible, antlike figures or the unexpected geometry of houses among pines. These latter contrast peculiarly with the landscape that dwarfs them, their crystalline regularity forming vantage points from which it can be viewed. <3.7>
Donaré nou exemples de quadres que m’han agradat mostrant aquests tres opcions.
A. intuïda
a.1. Capvespre en un poblat de peixcadors de Mu Qi (Museu Nezu, Tokio). Les 4 cabanes I les dues barques són insinuades entre la vegetació I l’aigua respetivament. Les muntanyes al fons no són majestuoses però accentuen l’espiritualitat amb el joc de tintes i pinzell.
a.2. Residència en les muntanyes de Fuchun de Huang Wongwang (1350). Amb una subtil variació de traços, mostra un paisatge equilibrat amb les construccions entre la poca vegetació central. Amples espais on l’espectador pot perdre’s dintre el quadre.
a.3. Paisatge d’hivern de Seshu(Museu de Tokio). El dibuix de la tinta amb detalls quasi elèctrics i expressionisme abstracte deixa veure un edifici al peu d’una majestuosa superficie plana.
a.4. Paisatge de muntanya Jinting a la manera de Huang Gongwan de Shi Tao (1630-1717) (Museu Guimet) - [imatge 4]. La perfecta harmonia de la composició deixa veure un espai habitat a la part inferior al centre anb uns jocs de tinta que deixen clar el maneig del pinzell molt equilibrat i amb força expressiva.

B. minúscules
b.1. El començar de la primavera de Guo Xi (Museu Taichung, Taiwan). Les aigües ocupen les valls, elements receptors, on una petíta barca apunta a dos figures fent un tranquil passeig.
b.2. Primavera en el bosc de Shen Zhou (1470-1524) (Museu del Palau Imperia, Beijing) Com la famosa obra de Fan Kuan, amb grans espais de la vall, amb muntanyes suaus, i
b.3. Lletrats observant la lluna i la seua reflexió en l’aigua de Chen Quan (Segle XVII) (Collection Nicholas Cahill) [imatge 3]. El contrast de les petites i múltiples figures en un mar de color per represntar el fons i el llac ens porta a una pau interna amb facilitat.

c) persona solitària
c.1. Passeig per un sender de muntanya en primavera de Ma Yuan (Museu Taichung, Taiwan) [imatge 2]. Aqeust famós quadre sembla l’epítom de l’‘angle Ma’ en quant a composició i mirada serena del savi en perfecte contrast amb l’entorn i cap un endavant que ja no vem
c.2. Breu descans a l’ombra d’un pi de Wu Wei (1459-1508). Ara són els pescadors que tenen una presència important en el quadre dibuixats amb soltura i traç volat a l’ombra d’un pi amb una línia molt caligràfica en contrast amb els tons suaus de la figura difuminada de les muntanyes.


4. La figura excepcional d’un pintor de tradició: Sesshu Toyo
4.1. Sensibilitat Chan/Zen
Recordem de l’assignatura de Pensament que els vells mestres Chan van entrar a coneixer profundament les fonts Taoistes. La natura va ser assimilada dins el Tao de la natura. I l’acceptació de les coses com eren sense caler justificar. Aquesta naturalitat va quallar perfectament amb la sensibilitat japonesa. Era el que Alan Watts va expressar: el seu tarannà era wu-shih (res especial, ‘no fuss’). El Chan–Zen ensenyava qeu només podiem trobar a Buddha en la nostra interioritat i després aquesta unitat es manifestava en l’univers: l’ú en el tot, i viceversa. La sensibilidad per la bellesa tenia a veure amb la forma interior. L’objecte tenia que entrar en resonància amb el cor o esperit.
Certain arts were inspired by the Zen apprehension of spiritual identity of all things, by an appreciation of direct, intuitive perception, and aesthetic standards which stressed subtlety, allusiveness and restraint. The tea ceremony and its related arts, monochrome landscape painting, and garden architecture were especially favored by Zen artists and patrons. <4.1>
Com va expresar Cheng, l’oposició de ple i buit, negres i blancs, es fundadora de l’estètica japonesa. El buit és “signe parmi les signes, assurant au système pictural son efficacité et son unité. (...) Ressort de toutes choses, le vide intervient à l'intérieur même du plein, en y insufflant les souffles vitaux”. ´És aquesta l’essència de l’art oriental entre el que hi ha i el que és dibuixa més enllà. Com Denny va escriure:
the forms of the landscape seem to be slipping in and out of a bareness that might be mist and cloud, but is also both the primal void and merely areas of untouched paper or canvas. And these blank areas have as much intensity and inner life as the landscape's visible features <4.2>.

La situació cultural va permetre adorar els productes xinesos. D’alguan manera la valoració del pasta en Xina havia portat a deixar de valorar aquesta pintura, dita zen, que va tenir tant de ressó en Japó. El recuperar l’alé d’aqeusts grans mestres en la tècnica i l’expressió implicava que esdevenir artista era una ardua tasca. Per llegir amb profit tenim aquest petit fragment:
When they ordered paintings by Japanese painters, they would ask for them in the style of famous Chinese painters who were popular in Japan. Besides Xia jGui and Mu Xi, such Chinese painters included Ma Yuan, Sun Junze, Yu Jian and others. Thus in order to fill all their orders, Japanese painters of the Muromachi Period had to master the styles of as many major Chinese painters as possible! <4.4>
Mestres Japanesos del període Ashikaga Shubun (c.1390-1464), Sesshu (1420-1506) i Sesson (c.1504-1589), que van emprar els estils shin (ús de cops de pinzell rapid, aguts i angulars derivats de la tradició Ma/Xia) o haboku o hatsu-boku ("tinta volada" ús de pinzellades suaus, humides I explosives).

4.2 La recerca en el passat de Sesshu Toyo un viatge sense futur.

El procès d’aprenentatge el va fer dins de la disciplina del monestir. El seu mestre artístic va ser Shubun amb qui compartí monestir. Shubun va assimilar el joc de la composició dels mestres Song del Sud i va quallar en l’estètica de la cort. Sesshu arribar a una edat mitjana amb l’estada d’un any a la Xina en el 1468 gràcies al mecenatge de la família Ouchi. Va arribar al sud i anà fins a Pekin. Va buscar bons mestres i no en trobà. L’Acadèmia mostrava la seua vessant conservadora i una apreciació en diversa sintonia a la de Sesshu. Durant tota la vida va pintar escenes paisatgístiques combinant diversos estils, amb un dominant, amb sequències de les quatre estacions on condensa la grandesa de la natura. Com escriu Garcia Gutierrez ‘La pincelada de Sesshu es natural y espontànea. Parece como si su misma angre fuese tinta; todo lo que toca lo vuelve pintura’ en elogioses paraules d’un crític de l’època (pàg. 296). El domini tècnic dels darrers anys va plasmar uns paisatges hatsu-boku amb brillant execució seguint la tradició de Yu-chien, pintor Song del Sud. La perfecció tècnica i la potent expressivitat personal amb una construcció plàstica molt acurada va superar l’art de Josetsu, el seu precursor. Amb tots tres artistes l’entorn Zen va expandir-se a la societat japonesa exposada al fi lirisme d’una expressió molt personal. Els seguidor de seshu van donar peu a una no-oficial escola sesshu-ha.
Sobre els seus paisatges hatsu-boku la presència humana són mers traços: dues teulades i una línia mínima per mostrar una barca incrustats en un espai de tinta creant la vegetació i el blanc de l’aigua. En el famós paisatge panoràmic Vista de Ama-no-hashidate, pintat l’any de la seua mort, són les teulades vermelles les que dónen un respir habitat en un espai solemne i harmoniós.
El retrat de persones va ser també una habilitat en Sesshu. L’obra de Liang Kai El poeta Li T’ai-po ja assenyala la seua obra retratística de monjo Zen amb la màxima expressió d’un traç de tinta quasi cal·ligràfic. La seua composició Hui k’o tallant-se el braç continuà la tradició de transmetre una visió personal. La pintura zen neix de la meditació. També ell va donar pas a un jove deixeble, que li va regalar un autoretrat, ‘regal de separació’, i a un altre una inscripció sobre un ‘Pisatge a tinta’. El mestre va inscriure: “et moi. alors que dejà ma vue s’obscurcit et que j’ai atteint un âge avancé, j’ignore toujours lepourquoi et le comment de mon ouvrage’ (Linhartovà, pàg. 171). Comptat i debatut, va poder afegir que com únic consell de no anar a la Xina i seguir les vies plàstiques obertes pels pintors japonesos.



Referències i material bibliogràfic per elaborar la pac 3:
Texts llegits
Cervera,Isabel El arte chino-vol. 23 i 37 d’Historia del Arte, Historia 16
Garcia Gutierrez, F. Summa Artis Encyclopaedia vol. XXI (Japón), pages 213-15
Maillard, Chantal La sabiduria como estética china: confucianismo, taoismo i budismo, ed. Akal, 2000
Linhartova, V. Sur un fond blanc Gallimard, Paris, 1996
Nitschke, Gunter: From Shinto to Ando : Studies in Architectural Anthropology in Japan
Academy Editions (UK), (1996)
Zehou, Li The Path of Beauty: A Study of Chinese Aesthetics (Oxford in Asia Paperbacks) , 1995 [1981]
Articles:
Cheng, François (1993; 1979). Vacío y plenitud. Madrid: Ediciones Siruela (pp. 113-115).
Gª Gutierrez, F. (1990). “La concepción china y japonesa de la naturaleza en el arte” (pp.51-55) en Japón y Occidente. Influencias recíprocas en el arte. Sevilla: Ediciones Guadalquivir.
Ollé, Manel Cos i cosmos. Dinou aproximacions al cos xinès Revista de Catalunya, núm. 112 pàgs. 57-75
Zehou, Li The path of Beauty. A study of Chinese Aesthetics, Oxford in Asia Paperbacks, 1995

Notes al text.
<1> Al nostre món romànic, també les parules amaguen una història que moltes vegades no s’arriba a veure. Considerem “cordial” i “coratge” que tenen a l’interior “cor” –total entrega.
<2.1> Manel Ollé Cos i cosmos. (pàg. 61)
<2.2> Summa Artis, pàg. 28.
<2.3> Editor de la John B. Elliot Collection. http://www.asianart.com/books/reviews/embodied_image.shtml
<2.4> http://www.sinorama.com.tw/Millennium/en/Millennium-en-09.2.html
<2.5> http://www.temakel.com/trachinanaturaleza.htm
<2.6> http://www.cndp.fr/tice/teledoc/dossiers/dossier_vague.htm
<2.7> http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/masterworks/info_2.html
<2.8> http://perso.wanadoo.fr/fatthalin/louvre/histoire_art/chine_japon/chine3.html
<2.9> http://www.temakel.com/trachinanaturaleza.htm
<2.10> Li Zehou Op. cit. pàg. 231
<3.1> Manel Ollé Cos i cosmos (pàg. 68)
<3.2> http://home.earthlink.net/~pkrczr/watts.htm
<3.3> Els dos exemples de Li Zehou són: ‘a boatman taking a nap; beside him is a short flute’ i ‘merely painted a sign with the character wine in front of a bamboo grove at he head of the bridge to signify that the shop lay behind it’ (pàg. 191).
<3.4> Cervera Op. cit. pàg. 110
<3.5> Li Zehou Op. cit. pàg. 194.
<3.6> Wong, Wucius. The Tao of Chinese Landscape Painting, Principles & Methods. New York: Design Press. 1991.]
http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Wong/WongTP.htm
<3.7> Denny, N. Taoist visions New Stateman 10 /02/2003 http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4624_132/ai_98055358/print
<4.1.> www.pitt.edu/~asian/week-12/week-12.2.html - 10k
<4.2> Denny, N. Taoist visions New Stateman 10/02/2003
http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FQP/is_4624_132/ai_98055358/print
<4.3> François Cheng, Vide et plein : le langage pictural chinois.També en l’architectura: Tadao Ando, ha consacrat la seua creació amb uns espais específics buits per aconseguir la meditació, font de força creadora.
<4.4> www.kyohaku.go.jp/eng/dictio/data/kaiga/egaki.htm . Per un preciòs detall sobre com pintaven tenim el diari del monjo Oguri Sokei del mateix període.

images

imatge 1. Muntanya Lushan de Jing Hao.
imatge 2. Passeig per un sender de muntanya en primavera de Ma Yuan (Museu Taichung, Taiwan).

imatge 3
imatge4. Paisatge de muntanya a la manera de Huang Gongwan de Shi Tao (1630-1717) (Museu Guimet) -

ART. Comments. Section 2. At a loss for words on Eastern Art How can I dare?

Oriental art.
Section 2. At a loss for words on Eastern Art

How can I dare to write about such an inefable subject? I will start with what we can see in a painting give an outline of the motifs in Eastern art, then I will scale up to what the artist does and finally I will move gradually into an aesthetics thought: what happens inside the beholder?
Somewhere I read a European romantic artist who said these words: “in the trees, plants and flowers we can find the secret writing with icons” which implies the metaphoric significance of images. Likewise a vocabulary of symbolic motifs gradually developed in the East of Asia, including animals and plants in their seasonal settings. They have continued to be used by artists and craftsmen to the present day working in traditional styles. Besides, the human being is seen as an integral part of nature, as important as the sky, mountains, water, trees or birds.
On the principles I understood that the true artist at the moment of painting must feel the very nature of the subject matter of his piece of art, which, by the magic of his craftmanship, he transfers into his work to remain forever, affecting all who see it with the same sensations he experienced when executing it.

2.1. What we can see.
Yugiri seeks the favour of Tamakazura with
a bunch of fujibakama purple blooms
(Genji monogatari )
Good examples of symbolic motifs could be found in the popular subjects known as the “ten friends”, the Seven plants of autumn or the one I mentioned in the first section: “Flowers and Grasses of the Four Seasons” where the bamboo depicted resiliency and strength, the orchid morality and integrity, the Chrysanthemum moral virtue and the plum blossom (apricot in Korea) excellence. Other groupings, such as the 'Three Gentlemen of Winter' (pine, bamboo and plum), were symbols of longevity in Japan.
Chinese poetry calligraphy and painting continued with the centuries-old Taoist and Buddhist philosophies and techniques. Well known artists were those retired to the lake of the west in the XI century:
Su-Dongpo, l’ami de l’orchidée, et Zhao Maoshu l’ami du lotus; Lin Hejing, l’ami de la flor du prunier, et Tao Yuanming l’ami du chrysanthème. Voilà ce qu’on appelle la salle des Quatre Compagnons .

Flower-and-bird painting was separated from decorative art to form an independent genre around the 9th century. A great many artists painted in this genre during the Song dynasty and their subject matter included a rich variety of flowers, fruits, insects and fish. Many of the scholar painters working with ink and brush used a great economy of line. They produced paintings of natural things to reflect their own ideals and character.
With flower-and-bird paintings, sometimes a single flower hangs as if suspended in space, or the flowers and plants of different seasons appear together. In other occasions their depictions of gorgeous blossoms and a pair of beautiful birds symbolised the love between the spouses and the desire for a large off-spring. A bird and flower could be systematically paired to produce an appropriate seasonal feeling, as with bush warbler and plum blossom, also mentioned frequently in haiku verse to signify early spring.

Chinese painters attach great importance to reality, space and time and yet manage to disregard them at the same time ignoring perspective and shading. The laws of these things must come second to the requirements of artistic creation and should not become shackles that bind artistic expression.
To mention the case of Japan, already in the eighth-century Manyôshû poetry anthology, references to the seasons have strong emotional connotations. During the Heian period (AD 794-1180), courtly taste in painting favoured seasonal themes as one of the most important elements distinguishing Japanese Yamato-e painting from Chinese kara-e.

2.2. What artists do.
La peinture qui s’attache à la resemblance formelle nous paraît naïve comme un dessin d’enfant
To judge a painting by form alone is but a child’s way
(Su Dongpo)

The underlying Eastern principle –that I studied in my first pac- was ‘harmony’. This was explained by one of the Ming painters, Wang Fu(1362-1416), as “likeness through unlikeness” and Qi Baishi(1863-1957) as “subtlety of a good painting lies in its being alike and yet unlike the subject”.

The Confucian way of expression gave way to a richly decorative style. The ink-and wash style, however, relied on vivid brushwork and varying degrees of intensity of ink to express the artist's conception of nature, and his own emotions and individuality in a Taoist artistic framework.
Learning 'the Way of the Brush' can give any artist an extra dimension, vitality and spontaneity to their works of art. In trying to understand the philosophy and practice of observing and absorbing the Ch'i in nature will create a calmer more thoughtful, meditative state in which to draw and paint. There is an established order of the brush strokes first for the leaves, then the stalk, and finally the flower.

This is not an imaginary principle but a strictly enforced law of Japanese painting. When he is painting, say ‘a tree’, he is urged to feel the strength which shoots through the branches and sustains the limbs. Or if a flower, to try to feel the grace with which it expands or bows its blossoms.

Since the creative requirements of Chinese painting do not demand strict adherence to reality or to a particular angle of view or source of light, the painter has complete freedom in terms of artistic conception, structural composition and method of expression. To give prominence to the main subject, it is quite permissible to omit the background entirely and simply leave it blank. At the same time, since the sizes and shapes of the spaces in the painting are different, the very absence of content can itself create rhythm and variety.
As Clarence Shute states:
It is because of this oneness of nature and man--not only in the sense that man is in nature or that man is generated and supported by nature, but that there are identities of characteristics-that the spectacle of nature arouses the powerful emotion the artist experiences in its presence. And unless this feeling for nature pervades his entire being, there will not be the control of his skill which is requisite for the painting of a picture which has resonance or life movement .
Aesthetics standards change with the times. The poetic flavour took hold with the Song Dinasty. Painters were required to express a one-line poem and the only resources were figures and ink-play. The former was favoured by the Northern Academy heavily leant towards formal ressemblance, the latter by the free spirits of the literati who stroke for personal moods. With the Yuan the tension broke in a clear direction. Following Li Zehou: “the basic principle of ‘rhythmic vitalism’ that had always been the advocated in Chinese painting no longer applied to objects but only and entrirely to the subjective” .

2.3. Inside the beholder.
Whatever side you behold nature, the infinite springs from her (Goethe)
The Chinese attitude toward life lies in the belief in the secret of life, namely the Ch'i, the life force or the ever-evolving circle of life. The Taoist philosophy 'The Way', or the basic Chinese belief in an order and harmony in nature has also a very important influence in Chinese calligraphy and painting. The human being is seen as an integral part of nature, as important as the sky, mountains, water, trees, birds, animals and insects.
There are many different styles in Chinese painting including the outline method, and 'boneless' method (Mo Ku style, no outline). Landscape, figures, birds, and flowers and animals are all painted using both these methods. The Chinese artist's way is to observe, absorb and study nature and then to paint from the mind. Sometimes the variety and balance created in this way is further enriched by the addition of inscriptions in the empty space.
Somehow the painting often moves the audience more profoundly than its original subject due to the creativity of the artist. It is explained first of all in terms of the unity of all things which can be perceived from a truly great man possessing “the Great Character”.
Again and again the Chinese philosophers, Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist, have carried this point of view to the extreme--to know any-thing one must become that thing. Its application to art is taken very seriously. Even when nature is being represented the artist is concerned not to reproduce its aesthetic surface, but to lay bare its hidden spirit.

Literature and resources to pac 2.
Linhartova, V. Sur un fond blanc Gallimard, Paris, 1996
Zehou, Li The path of Beauty. A study of Chinese Aesthetics, Oxford in Asia Paperbacks, 1995
References to section 1. Mainly from these resources:
Mitford, Bruce Signos y símbolos (Blume, 1997) pages 44-53
Seunghye Sun “The symbols of Seasonal changes from winter to spring in East Asian paintings” (pages 167-75) in Symbols of time in the history of Art edited by Heck, C. and Lippincott k. (Brepols, 2002)

website 1: http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/season.shtml
website 2: http://www.yoursourceinjapan.com/motifs.htm
website 3: http://www.china-interface.co.uk/introzh.htm#Subject
website 4: http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/japan/Flowers/Japanese_Flowers_Bonsai.html

Footnotes to section1:
<1> Seunghye Sun page 167
<2> From A Gift of Japanese Flowers by A. Koehn found at website 4.
<3> Cultural note: Cherry-blossom viewing parties (Hanami) were popular among the Japanese nobility in ancient times, and by the early 17th century the custom has spread to the common people. Picnicking and drinking sake with family, friends and co-workers beneath flowering cherry trees remains a popular rite of springtime in contemporary Japan (found at website 3).
<4> Linhartova states: “au cours de l’époque Heian est née une nouvelle conception de l’image. (...) La peinture n’est plus une révélation du monde divin, (...) la légèreté serà dorénavant sa principal qualité” page 128.
<5> Summa Artis Encyclopaedia vol. XXI (Japón), pages 213-15
<6> It shares its sacred value with the Hindu, that is Arian, background and can be traced backwasrds as the antique Egypt.

Footnotes to section 2.
Linhartova, v. op.cit. page 142.
& http://www.asia-art.net/chinese_tech_brush.html
Shute, C. The Comparative Phenomenology of Japanese Painting and Zen Buddhism Philosophy East and West Vol.18 (1968) pp.285-298 ) http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/9#9
Zehou, Li, v. op.cit. page 194.
Some principles can be stated as follow: (1) that nature reveals itself as something which can be described as possessing life or living movement; (2) that this same quality is transfused into the successful landscape by the artist; (3) that the basis of this transfusion is a resonance of spirit between nature and man; and (4) that the medium in which this is accomplished is perceptible forms which recur to such an extent, in both nature and art, that they can be called "ideal types." Shute, C. op.cit.

tibet at the crossroads

miquelangel Castillo

ONE. At thread with many ends: a glimpse at Tibetan lands across time and space .

1.1. Some features of Space and Population before 1960

TWO- Current troublesome situation

2.1. Population transfer: Contrasting some Facts and figures

2-2- the Tibetan claim of Beijing colonialism on use of resources

2.3. The unsolved issue of civil rights in Tibet

2.4. The destruction of Tibetan culture.

THREE- Current Chinese point of view.

FOUR. Tibet’s acknowledgement of its perilous stand

4.1. Tibetans four-folded counterpoint

4.2. Three accounts on the Tibet issue in non Tibetan sources

FIVE. Conclusion.

SIX. References and notes

ONE. At thread with many ends: a glimpse at Tibetan lands across time and space .

Interested in complex situations and familiar with the historic developments in Europe I have been puzzled by a political contradiction related to Tibetan situation after I read the Història dels Tibetans by Josep Ll. Alay and a lovely history-timed book from the early 1910’s Un viaje a Lhasa by Alexandra David-Néel.

I would like to dive with this paper into the main turning points at the end of the XX century focusing at some issues: worlds in contact, culture and language, changing situations. My two long-standing questions want to be answered:

• Are Tibetan Chinese?
• How well aware are Han Chinese of the current (and quickly changing) Tibetan situation?

With its vast area and long history of expanding settlements, China went through distinct assimilation waves to other rulers and foreign influences engulfing them. In fact, all the evidence indicates that it once did. Chinese speakers were especially vigorous in replacing and linguistically converting other ethnic groups, whom they looked down on as primitive and inferior <1>.

1.1. Some features of Government at 1900

The Government of Tibet was headquartered in Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. It consisted of a Head of State (the Dalai Dalai Lama), a Cabinet of Ministers (the Kashag), a National Assembly (the Tsongdu), and an elaborate bureaucracy to administer the vast territory of Tibet.

The Government of Tibet levied tax, issued its own currency, ran the country's postal system and issued postage stamps, commanded Tibet's small army, and generally conducted all affairs of Government. It was an ancient form of government which had served the needs of Tibet well in the past, but was in need of reform in order for the country to keep pace with the great political, social and economic changes that were taking place in the world. The Tibetan form of government was a highly de-centralised one, with many districts and principalities of Tibet enjoying a large degree of self-government. This was, to a large extent, inevitable due to the vastness of the territory.

1.2. Some features of Space and Population before 1960

Tibet before 1959: (consisting of the provinces of U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham) Size: 2.47 million square kilometres. Geography: Plateau with an average height of 4,200 metres.
Tibet in Chinese documents after 1959 being the present "Tibet Autonomous Region" (T.A.R.), ‘Xizang’ in Chinese sources. Its size: 1,226,400 square kilometres.
Religion: Mahayana Buddhism is practised by 99 per cent of TAR Tibetans. Language: Tibetan of the Tibetan-Burmese language family. Population: 96 per cent of the people, without counting the Chinese immigrants, are Tibetans. There are also minorities like Hu, Monbas, Lopas, Sherpas, Naxis, Denpas besides 3,000 Moslem Tibetans and 20,000 Chinese Moslems.

1.3. Negotiations.

There have been several rounds of talk with the Chinese government authorities in order to solve the Tibetan issue since the "Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" in 1951. Yet, no results have emerged out of them. After the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled to India and established his government in exile. Since then, he has called on the international community to help formulate a peaceful solution to free his homeland. The main reason behind the failure of the talks, or the Chinese rejection of the Tibetan proposals, is obviously the lack of common ground between the Chinese and the Tibetan demands. The latest chapter in this soft-voiced dispute were a Beijing whitepaper report in 2001 with the Tibetan side quickly snapping back.

2- Current troublesome situation

I will focus on several key themes: first, the Tibetan claim of Beijing colonialism on use of resources; then contrasting the use of statistics on both sides, specially on the sensitive issue of population transfer; next the unsolved issue of civil rights in Tibet; and last but not least, the destruction of Tibetan culture.

2.1. The Tibetan claim of Beijing colonialism on use of resources

In the introduction to the book The poverty of Plenty, Angela Knox, the translator, says:

Historically, China has a long tradition of making vassal states serve imperial aims. Its geopolitical strategy since 1949 with regard to the border regions shows many similarities with previous practice. Where once vassal states provided tribute to the Chinese emperor, they are now expected to provide raw materials and natural resources... The economic and political integration of outlying regions has been and still is crucial.

The promising outlook of natural Resources can be summarised here: (In old Tibet) Chrome iron ore, lithium, copper, coal, asbestos, borax, mica, tantalum, niobium, gold, iron ore, crude oil, lead, zinc,silver, calcium, nickel and salt. The Tibetans have embarked on a road of socialist transformation, cautiously but steadily.Communications facilities also grew rapidly. There was no highway in Tibet before liberation. Completed projects are Qinghai-Tibet highway (1954), the Sichuan-Tibet highway (1954), the Yunnan-Tibet highway (1976) and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway starting from Xining has already reached Golmud in Qinghai. In the 80’s policies to enable the Tibetan people to recoup their strength and make up for the damage they had suffered during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976). In late 1992, China announced the opening of Tibet's economy to "foreign investments" with BP, Agip, Enron, Exxon and AES amongst the multinationals involved.

In September 1999 Jiang Zemin and Bill Cinton met in an APEC meeting and China shown a clear commitment to pushing faster on the road toward a market economy. The next month Fortune, the American business magazine, Fortune, published a far-stretched report on China’s opening to the world <2>.

The agenda behind China's modernisation of Tibet is best expressed by Gabriel Lafitte <3>, University of Melbourne. He writes in his perceptive article called Economic Colonisation:

China is globalising Tibet. Foreign investment, high technology, stock exchange share floats, railways, hydro-dams, gas and electricity grids are all coming to Tibet, in a campaign orchestrated by Beijing…China is in a hurry to integrate its western half, taps its resources and deal with the deep discontent at being left behind by the booming coast. China's great leap westward is to be financed by global capital as well as through China's latest Five-Year Plan.

Exile Tibetan sources say that the hidden agenda is the real Chinese determination to absorb Tibet into the Chinese economy. For instance, to name two complaints from the many I found, an estimate 40 per cent of the once thick forest cover had been destroyed by 1985 with the wood being shipped to China; and also in Kham and Amdo, the most fertile lands in the valleys have been given to Chinese settlers, driving the Tibetans to more and more barren lands.

In reality, this economic open-door policy is designed only to encourage the settlement of Chinese population in Tibet. The Chinese Government is already persuading its massive drifting population to find home in the T.A.R. But Jiang Zemin for once was honest and said during a late visit in 2001 to the United States that the Xizang-Qinghai railway project would go ahead at any cost even though it doesn't make any economic sense. Jiang Zemin cited "political" reasons for the decision <4>.

2.2. Population transfer: Contrasting some Facts and figures

1. Statistics. Statistics on Tibet are often contradictory and difficult to verify as they are released by both the Chinese and exile-Tibetan sides with opposing aims. I always make the difference between Tibet and TAR. Four sources on Kham and Amdo the Chinese data does not refers to Tibetan entities as they work for the whole of the povince.

Inhabitants: Six million Tibetans (now in the old Tibet area there are 7.5 million Chinese, and 6.1 million Tibetans. According to Chinese figures, the number of Tibetans is 4.5 million). According to Chinese claims there are 90,000 Chinese in Tibet and 2.1 million Tibetans. According to Tibetan sources in exile, there are 120,000 to 170,000 Chinese in Lhasa and 40,000 Tibetans <5>.

The pressures started in the low-Tibet in the late 30’s with the occupation of soil for Han migrants after military occupation in Sichuan province. Better studied is the case of the Qinghai province where M. Peissel refers in his book The Last Barbarians (1995) the political assimilation <6>. The urban areas of the "TAR" are dominated by Chinese settlers and personnel, who form overwhelming majorities in major towns. The Tibetan population, on the other hand, is concentrated mainly in rural areas. The general economic impact of the Chinese settlers on Tibetans may be appreciated from the ownership ratio of shops or restaurants in Tibetan towns <7>

In the early 1980s, the Tibetan Government-in- Exile estimated the Chinese population in the whole of Tibetat 7.5 million. Since 1992, new "foreign investments" provoked a highest rate. The figure today may be well in excess of this <8>, which leads into our next topic: colonisation.

2. Colonisation. The hottest issue is the undergoing colonisation of Tibet. We can show the Tibetan claim looking up http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white6.html from where I selected some pieces:

The first public indication of Chinese population transfer to Tibet came in the 50’s. In the "Directive on Central Committee of CPC on the policies for Work in Tibet", issued by Mao Zedong himself. Proposing a five-fold increase in the "TAR" population, he said:

Tibet covers a large area but is thinly populated. Its population should be increased from the present two or three million to five or six million, and then to over ten million. <9>

During the mid 80’s pressure continued. Deng Xiaoping admitted that the Chinese were being encouraged to move to Tibet because, according to him, the local population "needs Han immigrants as the (Autonomous) Region's population of about 2 million was inadequate to develop its resources" <10>.

As a result of Chinese population transfer, Tibetans find themselves marginalised in economic, political, educational and social spheres. Chinese settlers are given preference over Tibetans in jobs created by forestry and mineral exploitation in Tibet.

2.3. The unsolved issue of civil rights in Tibet and the destruction of Tibetan culture;

The General Assembly of the UN during the full debates on the Tibet issue in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1965 expressed their concern about the situation <11>. A previous appeal from the Tibetan Government in 1949 was left unattended following advice from India and UK. Lately in the 90’s the EU went back to a process of diplomatic pressure to no avail.

Angela Knox pointed out, "Seeing the east-west divide in economic terms alone omits a whole range of important issues … (Tibetan) territories are not fully integrated socially, culturally or economically with Chinaproper." <12>. Its best examples being the level of development of rural Tibetans and the continuous flow of refugees.

To start with, development didn’t reach Tibetans. Besides their country had been ‘liberated’ and in so doing a military presence became a constant feature in the cities. I summarise some Social Data (applicable only to Tibetans): Average life expectancy is 40 years. The average annual income was 80 dollars in 1990. The analogous purchasing power according to UNDP is 598 dollars. Literacy rate is 21.7 per cent and infant mortality 150 in 1,000. (It is 43 in 1,000 in China). People who leave their country (about 130,000) became deprived citizens in most cases. The difficult situation of refugees in closest country, Nepal (up to 25.000), can give us a close idea <13>.

2.4. The destruction of Tibetan culture.

As a result of Chinese policies, it has become very difficult to teach or issue official documents in both the Tibetan and Chinese languages.

To use inner sources of information gathered in Tibetan websites I offer a couple of criticism passages<14>. Firstly, The PRC's education policy in Tibet over the last three decades can be summed up in the following words of the late Panchen Lama. Speaking at the first meeting of China's Institute of Tibetology in 1988, he said:

The land which managed itself well for 1,300 years, from the seventh century, lost its language after it was liberated. Whether we remained backward or made mistakes, we managed our life on the world's highest plateau by using only Tibetan. We had everything written in our own language, be it Buddhism, crafts, astronomy, astrology, poems, logic. All administrative works were also done in Tibetan. When the Institute ofTibetology was founded, I spoke in the People's Palace and said that the Tibetan studies should be based on the foundation of Tibet's own religion and culture. So far we have underestimated these subjects. It may not be the deliberate goal of the Party to let Tibetan culture die, but I wonder whether the Tibetan language will survive or be eradicated.

Secondly, in a publication of China's Institute of Tibetology (1991), Sangay, a junior lecturer of QinghaiNationalities University, wrote:

There is one group of people who hold the view that the use of the Tibetan language will work as obstacles on the way to economic development. ...The local authorities have decided that only the Chinese language should be taught and used.

Nothing shows a deeper divide than the fact of denigrating the local culture of Tibetan by Han political instances. In conclusion, Tibetan is not accepted, taught, used, or promoted by Beijing authorities beyond a minor symbolic usage.

2. Tibetan achievements. To begin with a small effort from the Tibet in exile forces maintained an outstanding landmark of achievements for a land without government: There are more than 700 Tibetan religious and cultural centres established around the world today. Tibet's native religion, Bön, has re-established its headquarters in Himachal Pradesh state, India. The Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamsala educates students in Tibetan language.

The world has been open to Tibetan influences. Technology and the information age have speedep up the team-up nowadays. The Tibetan collections are copied and preserved in the net in a handful of organizations. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) in Dharamsala, and Tibet House in New Delhi, serve as facilities to educate foreign students in Tibetan history, language and culture. The LTWA is the premier internationally-acknowledged centre for studies in Tibetology. Up to 1992 it has assisted more than 5,000 research students from over 30 countries. The religious one in St. Petersburgh (a destination linked to past sympathies) has achieved a remarkable success.

THREE- China’s current point of view.

I wanted to confront the Zhongguo Ren (Chinese people -Han) with the other western minorities, as Tibetan lands are fringe southwestern provinces with the particularity of showing some trends for the future of the “United China” - as the name clearly tells Zhong Guo (the Central Country), or the place where everythings starts -and from where everything is controlled-, for example only one time zone! As the general Chinese overview pervades all my paper, in this chapter I will deal with the last 20 years.

Economic Development
The 1980s witnessed a great upsurge of the reform started with the election of 1961, opening-up and modernisation drive in Tibet, as in other parts of China. Party Secretary of Chinese Communist Party Hu Yaobang visited Tibet. After Hu's visit, there was a brief period of liberal measures: handing local administrative power to the Tibetan cadres to let the Tibetans decide their way of life.

In 1984 at the Second Work Forum on Tibet, 43 projects were launched with state investment and aid from nine provinces and municipalities, including promoting tourism with new hotels in Tibet. Similarly in 1994, at the Third Work Forum on Tibet, 62 projects were announced to help in the development of Tibet's economy. Most of them were geared towards improving the backward urban infrastructure in Tibet. The 1990’s headed the way to economic reforms, while political divergence was severely tied up. The openness to the west investment resulted in a yawning gulf between the developed regions on the coast and and the backward western border regions.

And criticism appeared inside China as well. The pressing problems were first articulated by Wang Xiaoqiang and Bai Nanfeng in their book, The Poverty of Plenty which offered an intellectual framework for bridging the east-west divide. More than a decade later, China came up with an overall solution. The political side has to device a manifold project. These are some of the reasons for Beijing to hit upon the idea of the Western China Development Programme, which will solve several problems.

In June 2001, in the wake of the Fourth Work Forum on Tibet, 117 projects were formally announced and ambitious plans were laid out to "develop" Tibet, a part of the Western China Development Programme. The white paper on Modernising Tibet, issued by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 8 November 2001 stated that under the democratic reform in 1959 it introduced the new political system of people's democracy and that the Tibetan people have become masters of the country. Communist Party members dominate key government posts and only a few important posts are held by trusted non-party members. As we can read in http://www.radicalparty.org/tibet/diir_08122001.htm :

The creation of the same dynamic economy in the western regions will attract migrant workers in the opposite direction, thus easing the strain of over-population in China's eastern seaboard. The development of the western regions will make it easier for China to exploit the natural resources and enormous energy potential of these regions, like oil and gas, to meet the galloping energy demand of eastern China.

Also, being aware of the diversity of peoples and that sinisization will upset the social stability, a process which is closely linked with the economic growth and prosperity of these regions. The two economists urged the Chinese authorities to look into the problem and come up with suitable solutions. They said,

We have before us a vast array of serious problems which urgently require investigation and policy decisions. Of course, it is not just the lack of development in undeveloped regions that will prove the decisive factor. However, looking into the future, research into solutions to the problems of backwardness in these regions, be it with a view to China's economic growth or social stability, will be of vital strategic and theoretical importance that is hard to visualise.

President Jiang Zemin launched the Western China Development Programme in a speech he made in Xian on17 June 1999. The initial emphasis of the campaign was on acceleration of development focusing on the western regions of China - the Tibet, Xinjiang Uighur and Ningxia Autonomous Regions, Qinghai, Gansu,Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing municipality - totalling 56 per cent ofChina's land area and 23 per cent of the population <15>.

FOUR. Tibet’s acknowledgement of its perilous stand

4.1. Tibetans counterpoint

Tibetan sources could honestly claim the truth will prevail in the end. They could show all the unconsistent pattern of Chinese claims. We can summarize their slashback in four points:

Point one. The reader of China's White Paper "Tibet: Its Ownership and Human Rights Situation" will be surprised by the minor attention its authors pay to Tibet's modern history. This is because from 1911 to the completion of the Chinese occupation in 1951, there is no evidence of Chinese authority or influence in Tibetwhich can support China's claim. And as everyone can read inhttp://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white6.html

It is a matter of undeniable fact that Tibet has never remained a part of China. China can never prove that Tibet is part of China, although they claim this to the world community in order to fully integrate Tibet into the Mainland China. The term "separatists" they brand the Tibetans is only to tell the world that Tibet is one with China thereby misleading them to think thatTibet is part of China.

Point two. Tibet compared favourably with most Asian countries at the turn of the XX century in both sides: social mobility and wealth distribution. Under Chinese eyes, all peasants were serfs and the country an unjust theocratic regime that needed reform. Besides, Tibet's monastic system provided plenty of opportunities for social mobility. And the peasants could ask for the lawful procedures in all situations. Com llegim a http://www.radicalparty.org/tibet/diir_08122001.htm :

Admission to monastic institutions in Tibet was open to all and the large majority of monks, particularly those who rose through its ranks to the highest positions, came from humble backgrounds, often from far-flung villages in Kham and Amdo. This is because the monasteries offered equal opportunities to all to rise to any monastic post through their own scholarship.

Point three. The large gap between China's policies and the true condition in Tibet can be understood when we realise that Chinese rule in Tibet is essentially colonialist in nature. In many cases it was true that economic development did occur, but the native population contributed more to the realisation of profits for the colonial power and its business entrepreneurs than it ever got in return.

Their mottoes have always being a clever marketing strategy without much meat to support their empty rethoric: first, it was "liberation," that led into a "socialist paradise." Now is occupation with a clear colonial nature of Chinese rule. The latest slogan is "modernisation."

In its white paper, China claims that after 1959 the Tibetan people have become masters of the country. But the plain truth being the reverse one: Tibetans have little or no say in running their own affairs. <16>. And most important, Chinese white paper overlooks their cruel deeds in Tibet. There is neither mention of the Cultural Revolution, nor the massacres commited on the Tibetan people (some accounts put the figure up to 1 million).

Point four. Given China's record in Tibet, any assessment on social and economic developments reported inChina’s sources cannot be taken at face value. Even official statistics appear to be drawn up to prove a particular political point rather than to present an objective picture of the situation.

4.2. Three accounts on the Tibet issue in non Tibetan sources

First account. Political struggle.

The main point of support for their political struggle stems from internet close-knit groups that have been organising under different financial umbrellas. Every western country has its own branch and some communities have been very active in gathering reports and first-hand accounts of attrocities in the fifties.

The state pressure has amounted to rhetorical discourses with the UN and lately EU being a bit more pro-active, but nothing has come out from their efforts on defending Tibetan civil rights. Since the late 80’s the international community starting to have the Dalai Lama as a World leader with a status close to the Pope as a mediatic fixture. If a well-justified common ground between the two parties could be found, at least, in order to push the talk ahead, this could ensure complete success of the talk.

Second account. Democratisation, liberalisation and wishful thinking.

Since Tianamen, Han Democratic Chinese leaders come to appreciate Tibetan's tireless, courageous and consistent fight for its fundamental rights. Their struggle is not breaking the power of the Communist autocratic regime in China yet. Tibet's efforts will eventually benefit all Chinese people. As an emblematic flag of their position we have Wei Jingshen's letter to Deng Xiaoping in 1992http://www.tibet.com/China/wei.html . If most young Han Chinese students could show respect for Tibet, and agree that Tibet has freedom of choice, Beijing's current policy would become untenable. When a majority of Han Chinese may express this type of sympathy, it will represent a significant shift in thought among dynamic Han Chinese.

Third account. Discrimination in education.

Young people, while speaking of their desire for education, admit that their only choice is to attempt to reach the Tibetan communities in India where at least education was freely available irrespective of all the other hardships. The independent right-on work from the liberalised years (late 1980’s) can be shown in these two short accounts on the education field that we took from http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white6.html .
The first Australian Human Rights Delegation to China stated in its report:

Though the delegation noted an official determination to raise educational standards for Tibetans, many Tibetan children appear to still go without formal education. Tibetan children in the Lhasa area seemingly have access to a very limited syllabus at both primary and secondary levels. Some testified to never having been at school, or having to leave for economic reasons as early as ten years old.

In a petition, dated 20 February 1986, submitted to the Chinese authorities, Tashi Tsering, an English teacher at Lhasa's Tibet University, stated:

In 1979, 600 students from the Tibet Autonomous Region were pursuing university education in Tibet andChina. Of them, only 60 were Tibetans (...) Even today, 70 per cent of Tibetans are illiterate. Out of 28 classes in Lhasa's Middle School No.1, 12 are for Tibetans. ... Out of 1,451 students, 933 are Tibetans and 518 Chinese. Only 546 Tibetans are learning their language. Of the 111 teachers, only 30 are Tibetans and seven teach Tibetan. In Lhasa's Primary School No. 1, there are 34 classes with the Tibetans and Chinese sharing the same number of classes. 1,000 students are Tibetans and 900 Chinese.

FIVE. Conclusion.

My second question still being unanswered: How well aware are Han Chinese of the current (and quickly changing) Tibetan situation? Inland I don’t know. Abroad quite acquainted. But dissidents cannot lead mainstream paths.

China enters the XXI century to be back at the central role she always demanded. Politically occupying a pivotal role at UN where she does not interfered in world affairs as long as the world didn’t put any pressure on her internal issues. After Tian An Men’s riots the central government went back to the core policies: openness in the economical sector and tight control on the household sensible minorities issues. As somebody said “never so many people improved so much in a decade in humankind”. Enough said.

The last project of the Three Gorges, the successful space race and the Olympic Games to be held in China in 2008 show the right way with no turning points. The six-million strong Tibet may be a minute speck of dust in a diplomatic portfolio but nothing more.

This current situation linked to two hot topics in Beijing talks:

the liberalization process so that an unavoidable economic expansion can offer a escapeway to wider demands of democratisation across China dynamic quadres, the official doctrine of “five races” to integrate all five ethnic autonomous regions. Making an exception for Tibet would likely stimulate separatist and independence movements by ethnic minorities in the other regions.

The yearning of the Chinese people in China for more individual liberty is another proof. If the Chinese could be convinced with the above fact in all way possible, I think there is hope that we can achieve complete independence. After all, the needs of the people can never be left uncared for long. For a short account of a way-out situation: Dalai Lama seeking 1 country, 2 systems

04 November 2003 Yomiuri Shimbun http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/2003/11/4_1.html
We may attain a better historical account of conflictive crucial points. China's alleged legal claim is based on historical relationships primarily of non-Han rulers with Tibetan lamas and, to a lesser extent, of Chinese rulers and Tibetan lamas. The main events relied on by the Chinese Government occurred hundreds of years ago <18> and China also broke the Manchu rulers from their throne.

Any contemporary historian can study the sources and now is a better understanding of past events. What I learnt we could see an invasion of a Tibetan state. I can offer three examples: No inference of being in China lands was made in the novel Viaje a Lhasa. After reading the relevant sections in the Atlas Cultural de China no mention was made of Tibet as belonging to China cultural framework. To end, the maps used by the agreement to clarify the borders in 1951 had to use English maps as China didn’t have any topographical sources from the area. <6.44>

Are Tibetan Chinese? The only insight I gain from the paper is that I will not consider Tibetan to be Chinese.

In this short journey to Tibet I would like to end up quoting last David-Néel words in her book Viaje aLhasa: ‘sola en mi habitación, antes de dormirme, grité para mis adentros: ¡Lha gyalo! ¡Los dioses han triunfado!

SIX. Reference material.

sources:

Alay, J. LL., Història dels Tibetans, Lleida, Pages editors, 2000

Peissel, M., Los últimos bárbaros, Barcelona, Península, 1999 (1995 english version)

David-Néel, A., Viaje a Lhasa, Barcelona, Península, 1999 (1927 French version)

Diamond, Jared Empire of Uniformity, http://www.huaren.org/heritage/id/082698-01.html

Gernet, Jacques, Le monde chinois, Armando Colin, Paris, 1972

Blunden, C. & Elvin, M. Atlas cultural de China, Ed. Folio, Barcelona 2000

Notes :_____________

<1> To enter in the fascinating Chinese world the best piece I read was an outstanding article by Jared Diamond Empire of Uniformity Discover Magazine, March, http://www.huaren.org/heritage/id/082698-01.html

<2> Fortune, October 11 1999, a special report (pages 50-86). American businessmen were astonished at the thousand of opportunities of the openness.

<3> An expert on the Tibetan economy and a Fellow at the Institute of Asian Language and Societies. Text found at www.tibet.net/eng/diir/tibbul/0111/focus3.html

<4> (with 1994 data taken from http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1994/11/11-3_7.html unless quoted other sources.

<5> November-Decenber 2001, vol. 5, issue 5 in http://www.tibet.net/eng/diir/tibbul/0111/focus6.html

<6> Qinghai was a prison placement for a large number of ideological citizens (over 2 millions in Mao’s purges) and sinisation started with a quick steady redistribution of urban settlements. Lately, a gold rush in the 80’s brought another large contingent of Han migrants that has left the province with a comfortable majority of 55%. Xinin has become a large capital with more than 1 million inhabitants.

<7> Some data: 300 out of 12,827 in Lhasa city (excluding Barkhor); in Tsawa Pashö, southern Kham, 15 out of 133 business enterprises; process similar in other Tibetan towns: 748 to 92 in Chamdo, 229 to 3 in Powo Tramo. Source: http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white8.html

<8> http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white8.html

<9> [Renmin Ribao, 22 November 1952]. In the aftermath of the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Premier Zhou Enlai said: ‘The Chinese are greater in number and more developed in economy and culture but in the regions they inhabit there is not much arable land left and underground resources are not as abundant as in the regions inhabited by fraternal nationalities’.

<10> Deng Xiaoping, during his meeting with ex-US President Jimmy Carter, 29 June 1987, reported by Reuters, Beijing, 30 June 1987. Two years earlier in February 1985, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi announced its Government's intention to ‘change both the ecological imbalance and the population lack" not just in Tibet but also in other "sparsely populated outlying regions … (Chinese) migration should be welcomed by the local population, and should result in a population increase of 60 million over the next 30 years in those regions.’

<11> Some polarised sectors spoke clearly. So the Ambassador of the Philippines who referred to Tibet as an "independent nation", described China's occupation as "the worst type of imperialism, and colonialism past or present" and added: "it is clear that on the eve of the Chinese invasion in 1950, Tibet was not under the rule of any foreign country."

<12> In the preface to the influential Xiaoqiang’s and Nanfeng’s book she translated The poverty of Plenty.

<13> . Besides there are more Tibetans in Exile: (India 100,000, Bhutan 2,000, Switzerland 2,000, U.S. 1,500 and Canada 600). Status of the Tibetans in Exile: Stateless, though some have taken foreign citizenships.

<14> From http://www.tibet.com/WhitePaper/white6.html

<15> According to the London Tibet Information Network's publication, China's Great Leap West, http://www.radicalparty.org/tibet/diir_08122001.htm

<16> The election of 1961, as referred to in the white paper, was a farce. Tibetans do not hold any key positions even within the TAR Communist Party. The Secretary of the TAR Communist Party is the most powerful post in the TAR and this post has been held by the Chinese since 1959 (Zhang Guhua, Zeng Yongya, Ren Rong, Yin Fatang, Wu Jinhua, Hu Jintao, Chen Kuiyuan and now Guo Jinlong). There is racial discrimination against the Tibetans.

http://www.radicalparty.org/tibet/diir_08122001.htm

<17> During the height of Mongol imperial expansion, when the Mongol Emperors extended their political supremacy throughout most of Asia and large parts of Eastern Europe; and when Manchu Emperors ruled China and expanded their influence throughout East and Central Asia, including Tibet, particularly in the 18th century.

<18> Peissel’s The last Barbarians.