Re-reading Aesthetic Consciousness in Early Chinese Landscape Painting: Derridiean Perspective and Interpretations

Abstract

Derridiean Perspective and Interpretations examines elemental forms of early   Chinese landscape painting to re-read the notions and meanings that not only revive the lineage of thought but also step beyond usual concepts that align with Chinese aesthetics. The paper applies the theory of Deconstruction by    Jacques Derrida to engage in a comparative stance of observing the landscapes through ‘trace’, ‘aporia’, and ‘difference’. Presenting Derridian theoretical perspectives, the paper interprets them to decode various contemporary elements of viewing, analyzing, and re-understanding the traditional Chinese landscape painting armed with the leaves of reality and relooking at the Daoist and Buddhist principles. The paper argues that the elements of the Chinese    landscape, through the analysis of two paintings by Fan Kuan, are semiotic of the process of experiencing cerebral aesthetic consciousness, which is not pleasurable. The research study points out that the representation of human, their occupation, and placement in the visual framework acts as a Derridian    trace. The meaning of the whole is driven by the absent meanings about the    presence of humans, mountains, and animals. Hence, what are the binaries of these visual elements that transgress the usual and streamlined concept of the painting and the discipline?