DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2017.9.24405

Abstract: Chinese calligrapher Zhang Qiang (born in 1962, People’s Republic of China) is a reputable researcher in aesthetics of the traditional calligraphy, expert in the history of the Western art, theorist of the avant-garde calligraphy and creator of the calligraphic traceology (from the mid 1990’s to the present moment). Multiple exhibitions and calligraphic performances by Zhang Qiang in China and abroad made him a prominent figure in the modern calligraphy. Zhang Qiang perceives the future of calligraphy in its roots, which are linear flourishes of the ink, which depict deep-seated acts of conscience. Zhang Qiang, in trance and with his eyes closed, makes spontaneous strokes with a brush, which leaves traces of ink on the long slips of paper, geometric figures or directly on the bodies of the assistants, who decide themselves, where and how the brush of the master touches them. Zhang Qiang engages interaction of the male and female energy, thus creating new forms of calligraphic expressiveness, while implementing the internal connection with the basics of the traditional aesthetics. Zhang Qiang’s works are the most radical attempt at Sinification of the western avant-garde art.

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0625.2016.6.20702

Abstract: The subject of the research is the theory and practice of the gardening art of China during the period of the Myng Dynasty (1368-1644) when the gardening tradition reached the height of its development. The object of the research is the treatise 'Yuan e' ('Gardening') written by a famous practical and theoretical expert in gardening Ji Cheng (1582-1642?) as well as an essay 'Jan u Ji' ('About Things that Delight our Eye') written by a well-known writer Wen Zhensheng (1585-1645). The purpose of the research is to systematize artistic devices and analyze artistic principles which have predetermined the national singularity of the phenomenon of Chinese gardens. The art studies methodology was completed with the methods of semiotics, hermeneutics and cultural analysis. The author gives extracts from the aforesaid treatises in her own translation and offers new interpretations of the key terms there. Her analysis of the gardening tradition once again proves the unity of theory and practice that is so typical for Chinese art in general. The novelty of the results is caused by the fact that the author clarifies the content of theoretical postulates about Human having the right to actively transform Nature through the art of landscape design which creates prospects for better understanding of the status and role of Human in the traditional Chinese culture in general.