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- Other popular subjects include the prunus blossom, the orchid, the bamboo and the chrysanthemum, which came to be known as the Four Noble Plants. These four plants symbolized the qualities most loved by scholars and artists. The plum blossom represents courage because it braves the cold winds of winter. The bamboo�s hollow body is capable of holding good advice and its knots show its spirit of endurance. The orchid symbolizes humility combined with beauty, modesty and delicacy. The chrysanthemum symbolizes the man who maintains his integrity in spite of temptation.
Calligraphy and painting are closely related and have many common points. Painting, in fact, probably grew directly out of the use of the brush for writing. To the Chinese, calligraphy is as much appreciated as an art form as painting or even more so. Calligraphy is not just handwriting. Calligraphy must show originality, style, strength and personality.
Poetry and painting are also intimately connected. From Yuan and Ming times onwards, it became in vogue for literati painters, skilled at poetry and calligraphy, to write a poem on their paintings. The poems were often lyrical, complementing the substance through narration, and therefore becoming one with the painting, each complementing the growth and development of the other. The poem is often the soul of the painting and may tell us more about the private life of the painter, than can be derived from any other source. An inscription of this kind may turn an otherwise conventional painting into a very human document. The poem is often as important to the understanding of the landscape as is the pictorial content. In perfect blending of the three perfections: poetry, calligraphy and painting, it should be difficult to differentiate which of the three is most important.
Chinese painting became, for the most part, the preserve of an aloof and independent class, that of the scholar-gentlemen or literati (wcnrcn) who from childhood were taught and trained with a masterly dexterity of the brush. Because they came from educated families, they had the immense advantage of having a long and arduous training, which was necessary to master both calligraphy and painting. These literati painted for their own pleasure and used their paintings as a vehicle to unburden their moments of depression and as a means of expressing their thoughts and feelings. They revolutionized painting by expressing character and integrity in brush technique rather than attempting to create images of realistic fidelity like the professional painters. Some became recluses, who enjoyed occasional visits from other amateur painters. Each would show or exchange their paintings, which would be appreciated for their cleverness or ingenuity and obscure references. The arduous study of a required reading list of ancient works and compilations, in such fields as law, history, rituals and classics for the state examinations, provided the literati with a shared knowledge and a common vocabulary, which allowed for classical allusions in poetry. Their special character and life experience was often revealed through their art. The literati did not confine their self-expression to painting but sought outlets also in music, poetry, calligraphy and in collecting fine objets d�art. Many became connoisseurs of old paintings and antiquities.
The literati painting tradition can be traced back as early as the Tang dynasty (618- 907) to the legendary poet-painter Wang Wei (669-759), who served as a prototype of the ideal literati painter. However, Chinese painting underwent its full and greatest flowering during the Song dynasty (960-1279). It was during this time that the literati concept was formulated by Su Shi (1036-1101), Mi Fu (1052-1107) and their circle of friends. Painting and calligraphy for them was a personal statement.
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