There is a sense of ascension. Do you think so? Yes, if you say no, then it's adding your own imagination. In philosophy, it is the integration and unity of existence and non-existence, the dialectical unity of being and nothingness. Look at this sense of ascension, look at this ink, black as the dark side of the moon. This ink is a type that the Huangshan Ink Factory hasn't had for a long time. They bought the lacquer from the mountains of Guizhou, boiled the raw lacquer, then smoked it, and added musk and gold leaf to make the ink. So good ink turns purple, while inferior ink turns green. Initially, this piece of ink was hard to handle, easy to make the painting lifeless. However, due to the quality of the ink, this piece not only isn't lifeless, but is full of spirit and vitality, which is the function of good ink.

Look at this area; the overall sense of ascension is generated by the accumulation of water. How did the ancients describe it? It's a kind of celestial air. Everything in the world that has life cannot leave water. Where there is water, there is life; without water, there is death. So, all vibrant ink paintings use water well, while those that are flat and lifeless do not. Look at the contrast created by the water; the heaviness ascends, the contrast increases, the white becomes whiter, the black becomes blacker. This increased contrast gives the painting a three-dimensional feel, a sense of volume. Thus, you can see the wonders created by water, which the ancients did not achieve. This painting method, the water accumulation method, is unprecedented.

Before the opening, I was with Mr. Lai Zhigang looking at his work. It was my first time seeing it. I said, "Your painting logic is different from traditional literati painting. The first meaning is that you started painting space, creating space. The second difference is that you turn the void into reality and reality into void. He is particularly interested in painting clouds. As you said earlier, he materializes some abstract things."

Second, he painted a large piece of water. Because water can be said to be formless, it is the most uncertain shape in water culture. He painted such a large piece. I said, "You are interested in uncertain things, and he made them certain. This is a reverse thinking, which is very interesting, including this shape of the mountain, which has an angle different from traditional calligraphy and painting."

His large painting has a unique feature, just like Mao Zedong's poetry: "Standing on the western cliff of the Yangtze River, cutting off the clouds and rain of Mount Wu." It has the grandeur of cutting off the clouds and rain of Mount Wu. Greatness is determined by comparison, beauty is also determined by comparison. Overall, the water surface has a sense of ascension, which is absent in other paintings. Looking at paintings sometimes requires viewing from a distance, sometimes up close. The effects are different from different perspectives and lighting conditions.

The core value of philosophical thought lies in Laozi and Zhuangzi's pursuit of a free and easy unity of man and nature. There is no restraint, expressing freedom. The valleys in the heart are freely expressed on paper through brush and ink, reflecting Zhuangzi's free and easy thoughts, which gives this painting a sense of ascension.

Look at this tree; this piece is good. This piece is excellent, unprecedented. The sense of light and artistic conception are unparalleled. Beauty does not distinguish between ancient, modern, or contemporary; it only distinguishes between good and bad.

All vibrant Chinese ink paintings use water well, while lifeless ones do not. Where do the content and space of Chinese painting come from? They come from the natural way of the Tao. First, it comes from the natural way. Second, it comes from the philosophical thought and cultural accumulation of the natural way, which has depth.

Regarding the theme of water culture, this topic highlights the biggest difference between Chinese and Western painting. For example, both depict nature. In the West, it is called landscape painting. Why is it called landscape painting? Because it is observed through viewing. In China, why is it called shanshui (mountains and water)? The meaning of shanshui? It embodies a considerable amount of thought and spirit, and a different understanding of the way of viewing.

This leads to the difference that Western painting strives to present results close to natural observation, leading to the development of perspective, shaping, light and shadow, etc. Chinese landscape painting uses shanshui as a metaphor, but conveys more of a spiritual attitude. This attitude is important and is not landscape painting.

Thus, we can see that through long scrolls, Western painting using single-point perspective cannot achieve this because it cannot handle scattered perspective and multi-dimensional, continuous viewing methods. This is why David Hockney was influenced by Chinese long scrolls and later changed his continuous photography and the deconstruction of his oil painting compositions. Chinese viewing methods influenced him.

Why is this important? Because each segment of viewing, whether the viewer is moving or stationary, or inside a room, always involves a segment in motion, with the most important being the movement of thought. In the process of viewing, constantly applying all philosophical thoughts to see the painting, using the philosophical aesthetic value to view everything, yields different conclusions from those without philosophical thought.

Therefore, why is Chinese painting said to originate from calligraphy and painting? First, Chinese calligraphy and painting originate from the same source, with the same original forms. Second, the creative methods are the same. Thus, the earliest modeling concepts and intentions are the same, leading to the same creation methods. Chinese characters and painting originated from freehand brushwork.

Chinese painting is based on outline and freehand skills, while Western painting is based on sketching and quick drawing. Now, many art students use sketching and quick drawing for so-called Chinese painting, which has deviated from the tradition. Third, the aesthetic values of Chinese painting and calligraphy are the same. Dong Qichang said, "Viewing a painting is like viewing a beauty, appreciating its charm and structure beyond the surface."

Chinese painting embodies the valleys in the heart, expressed on paper through brush and ink. This is fundamentally different from Western landscape painting, which is too realistic and only visually appealing. Chinese painting contains inner valleys, making it readable. This is the essential difference between Chinese and Western painting. Chinese painting is readable; Western painting is only visually appreciable.

Because Chinese philosophical thought has reached the pinnacle of world philosophy, the natural way of the Tao is the pinnacle. Huang Binhong, after studying the relocated calligraphy and painting artifacts of the Forbidden City, summarized the best brush methods: flat, reserved, round, heavy, and variable. He also summarized the best ink methods: light ink, heavy ink, accumulated ink, burnt ink, aged ink, splash ink, and broken ink, but never water accumulation. Ancient Chinese did not use the water accumulation method, but now we have the first to use it in ink painting, bringing vitality and sublimation to ink on paper.

Water and ink on paper fibers do not spread evenly or fully, but in water accumulation, the water on the paper does not fully sublimate, bringing vitality to the ink. Therefore, you see this painting has a sense of ascension, which is sublimation. This is a breakthrough, a philosophical and aesthetic breakthrough.

Mr. Lai's large paintings are grand, not only in form but also in content, embodying the valleys in the heart. These valleys originate from nature and reflect nature. Therefore, grandeur is the most significant feature of Mr. Lai's large paintings, filled with content. His creation methods, breaking through ancient methods, entered a new stage, giving future generations new inspiration. Future generations will follow this path, this philosophical and aesthetic path, guiding the development of Chinese painting.

Mr. Lai's treatment of clouds and fog, his grasp of space, have a certain subversive nature, directly placing space in the painting. This is one. Second, as I mentioned earlier, his works often make the void into reality. While traditional literati painting leaves blank spaces, Mr. Lai directly paints, turning the void into a solid state. Like water becoming steam when heated, ice when cold, he turns the abstract into something solid and tangible, preserving the moment.

I said, "Your painting has a great deal of Zen or Eastern philosophy embedded in it." This is interesting because it is rarely seen in previous works. Ancient artists often turned it into a concept, while Mr. Lai uses a direct viewing and solidifying method.

Mr. Lai Zhigang chose the right theme, selecting ink painting. Laozi and Zhuangzi loved the color black, black represents the heavens, and the universe. He chose black, which has infinite depth, volume, energy, and space. This is a well-chosen theme.

Most importantly, in the language of Chinese painting, Wang Wei broke through the concept of depicting things as they are. He proposed depicting things based on poetic meaning, and this evolved into depicting things based on literary meaning during the Song Dynasty. Liang Kai continued this tradition. Mr. Lai Zhigang's painting embodies "depicting meaning," focusing on his creative ideas.

His works do not exist in reality, but they seem to, embodying the mystery of Chinese painting, balancing between reality and abstraction. His innovation lies in his use of language and forms of expression. Mr. Lai created the accumulated ink method for painting clouds, using black to express white, which is an innovation. Knowing white and guarding black, the white is highlighted by the black and grey.

This white is accumulated through ink, creating brightness and a sense of light. The wonder lies in the integration of light, cloud, water, and fog, creating a mysterious and profound feeling. This painting is remarkably wondrous.

The painting has several features. First, its grand scale. Grandness is the essence of accumulated ink landscape painting, with black representing infinite space, volume, and energy. His grand portrayal of landscapes makes him a standout in the contemporary art world. Second, its thickness. The ink's thickness adds richness and depth, creating a dynamic and profound effect. Chen Zhuanxi praised its grandeur and richness.

Third, the accumulated ink method is a creation. If we only talk about accumulated ink without understanding its depth, we miss its essence. Accumulated ink is a language storage, including sketching. It is about using ink methods to express stored language, which is the true accumulated ink method. Without language storage, just accumulating ink does not make a good painter. A good painter first solves the language problem.

Mr. Lai Zhigang addressed this well, choosing accumulated ink and innovating within it. He expresses this vividly in his paintings. The beauty of clouds lies in their dynamic nature; they are never static, always changing. If one can express the changing beauty of clouds, it shows a deep understanding of natural laws, creating visual impact and beauty.

This dynamic beauty is elusive; seeing it once, you cannot remember the changes, nor after multiple viewings, because clouds constantly change. Mr. Lai Zhigang captures this dynamic flow, integrating various ink techniques, making the clouds feel alive.

He skillfully expresses the dynamic beauty of clouds, their ever-changing forms, requiring high-level brush and ink skills. His clouds form a cohesive whole, integrating with the mountains, water, and foreground, creating a sense of haziness and blending. This combination of reality and illusion reflects a new philosophical and aesthetic thinking, reversing traditional methods.

His paintings exhibit depth, grandeur, and richness, using ink fluidly, which he developed through his sketching. His clouds and painting methods are his own creations, showing depth and three-dimensionality. This represents the unity of heaven and man, the highest artistic realm.

Chinese painting requires traditional brush and ink, embodying Chinese painting language and basic skills. The core value is aesthetic, giving meaning to the painting. Aesthetics can be categorized into small beauty, medium beauty, and great beauty, each with increasing depth and readability.

To evaluate a good painting, we look for innovation in theme and expression. Innovation means unique creation or excelling in common themes. True innovation builds on tradition. Mr. Lai's paintings, grounded in the study of masters like Li Keran and Huang Binhong, have developed his unique style through continuous refinement, embodying the essence of great artists.

A great artist constantly corrects, improves, and learns, achieving unparalleled mastery. Mr. Lai's dedication to refining his work and seeking feedback shows his potential for growth. Satisfied artists who reject feedback stop progressing. Many artists repeat themselves, leading to stagnation. True growth requires embracing new challenges and continuous improvement.