Taoist Thought as a Framework for Understanding the Relationship between Humans and Animals in the History of Chinese Painting

Abstract

This study examines the interaction between people and animals in Chinese painting through the lens of Taoism. The goal is to investigate the various meanings, issues, and ideas that develop within the works. It also investigates how Taoist ideology informs the representation of human-animal connections in Chinese paintings, whether it can influence current art, and whether it is relevant in the context of international contemporary art. The first part of the article will outline the background and current state of research, the problem statement, research objectives, and research ideas. The second part analyzes and organizes the descriptions of humans and animals in the history of Chinese painting through iconographic and documentary research methods. The third part explains and analyzes which ideas of Taoism have influenced the expression of the human-animal relationship in contemporary Chinese painting. The fourth part will extend to contemporary art to explore the artistic presentation of the human-animal relationship from the perspective of Taoism. The conclusion section includes a description of the findings and limitations of the study and a look into the future. The study analyzes the connection between Taoist philosophy and fine art, reveals the expression of human-animal relationships in art, and gives readers a new understanding of works on the subject of human-animal relationships.