Laurens Trommel > Recent Status Updates

Theoretically, one can conceive of a copy that may be superior to its model, to the extent that it succeeds in injecting more qi into its borrowed composition. Primacy of expression over invention is thus a fundamental aspect of Chinese aesthetics.

The unique emphasis put on the expression of qi has important consequences: originality and formal invention are not valued per se. So long as the artist is able to transmit qi, it is quite irrelevant whether the formal pretext of his work is original or borrowed.

Nee, 't zijn uw ogen, die mijn blikken boeien,
Zij zijn mijn sterren, en ik lees eruit,
Dat schoon- en waarheid heerlijk zullen bloeien...