Lit. an unvoiced poem. Painting as a medium which
conveys meaning without sound. The Chinese believed that although poetry is savored
by giving voice to written characters, painting conveys the same message without
a word. On the other hand, painting has tangible form and a poem does not. This
mysterious interaction between painting, calligraphy and poetry is an age-old
concept, although it was not introduced in writing until the 11c by Guo Xi
(Jp: Kaku Ki 郭熙, ca.1001- 90). Museishi came to be seen as an essential
underlying concept in painting by literati artists. |