There have been a lot of studies on Su Manshu's literary works, including poems, fictions, essays and literary translations. However, Su Manshu's paintings, though considered as valuable as his literary works, have not yet been thoroughly studied. This thesis attempts to take up the neglected aspect of Su Manshu's creative genius and study his paintings against the historical background of the late Qing and early Republican periods....[ Read more ]

There have been a lot of studies on Su Manshu's literary works, including poems, fictions, essays and literary translations. However, Su Manshu's paintings, though considered as valuable as his literary works, have not yet been thoroughly studied. This thesis attempts to take up the neglected aspect of Su Manshu's creative genius and study his paintings against the historical background of the late Qing and early Republican periods.

The thesis is divided into five chapters. Chapter One gives a brief account of Su Manshu's life and thought. Chapter Two goes on to discuss the problem of Su Manshu's personal identity. Based on the evidence gathered in the first chapter, we are able to define Su's identity as a modern Chan monk.

Chapter Three discusses Su Manshu's paintings in relation to the Chan monks' painting tradition in China and the "Zen painting" tradition in Japan. Two categories of Chan related paintings are proposed, which are, "Chan painting" and "Chan idea painting." We also find that Su's "Chan painting" or "Chan idea painting" combines traditional elements from Chinese Chan painting tradition and the realistic techniques of the Western paintings. Chapter Four compares the Chan ideas conveyed in both Su's paintings and poems.

Chapter Five deals with Su Manshu's painting theories, which help us to evaluate Su's paintings more clearly in the history of Chinese painting.