The Gay Genius Chapter20

I. The central question

Q: What's the connection between Su Tungpo's personality and his painting art?

A: Lin Yutang use a chapter talk about the art of painting in ancient China. At first glance, we may assume that it doesn't appear revelant to Su Tungpo's political life. Some may even think that painting was just one of Su Tungpo's hobbies, which was not so important as his poetry. However, we maybe underestimated the art of painting and how it influenced the scholars in the Sung Dynasty. It is the common view that poetry was the central literature in early ancient China. However, it's quite different in the Sung Dynasty, because the scholars believed that painting was the top level of knowledge. Let me add that when ancient scholars talk about "knowledge", they mean learning, inner spirits and personality. That is the reason why Su Tungpo thought painting can reflected one's heart and spirits. So we could know Su Tungo more deeply through his painting and  calligraphy.

II. The sentences

1. Calligraphy provides the technique and aesthetic principles for Chinese painting, while poetry provides the spirit, the emphasis on tone and atmosphere, and the pantheistic delight in all the smells and colors and sounds of nature.

pantheistic   泛神性的

简单来说，这句话的意思是诗提供的是韵律与节奏，而画带给人的则是源于自然的感发与诗思

pantheistic delight在文中出现了两次，宋代画论讲求抽象神韵是建立在对自然界细致观察的基础上的，在观察的过程中融入诗人的喜怒哀乐，这是宋人独特的观物理念。

2. Here the Sung painters advanced one step further; in a painting, they tried not only to express the writer's impression or conception, but also the li or "inner spirit." 

advanced one step further   更进一步

3. Chinese paintings unconsciously express the oneness of man with nature and the essential unity of the great mystic procession of life in which the human being occupies but a small and transitory part.

oneness    a peaceful feeling of being part of a whole

the oneness of man with nature     天人合一

III. Thought

林语堂在这一章中的一些观点与宋人画论对应，想要理解宋诗，明白宋人诗画合一的观点非常重要。在宋代之前，文学观念是以诗学为核心的，而到了宋人这里，提出了新的理念，“画者，文之极也”（邓椿之《画继》）。宋人观物入微，异于唐人重兴象；宋人喜好清淡美，少雄奇之景，都可以从画论中找到答案。读这一章时，顺便重读了师爷的论著《诗学美论与诗词美境》，向大家推荐这本文笔极美但十分难啃的论文集。