White ground is thought to hold traces of the artist’s physical movement during the working process, which not only includes actions across the artwork, but also those vertical to the paper support. Thus, for artists and viewers alike, the white ground is inherently three-dimensional. According to theorist Xiong Bingming, the white ground functions as a relief-like space in Chinese calligraphy. “White Ground is neither two-dimensional nor three-dimensional,” he writes, “It resembles the space in murals that exists between the two and three-dimensional space.”

The conceptualization of white ground as a three-dimensional space constitutes a running thread that Chinese artists have worked with or against in modern times. C. C. Wang offered a reiteration of white ground in his experiments with calligraphy, of which the following piece is an example. At first glance, the work features a strong linear pattern. While the contours of the ten characters is still discernible, the lines of each character are elongated into interlocking swirls and spirals. This linear pattern is not flat. Rather, it inhabits the relief-like space of calligraphy. This relief-like space is not only indicated by the swirling and intersecting lines that seem to protrude from the surface, but also by the solid and rounded calligraphic lines. The shifting widths of these lines make them look like tangled ropes meandering on the surface of the paper, creating a three-dimensional effect.

C. C. Wang used yellow to paint parts of the space between the lines, and green for the background. This uncommon color scheme blurs the line between pictorial and calligraphic space. This may be a reference to the poem written in the piece, which reads, “The bright moon shines between the pines; the clear spring water flows over the stones”. The yellow and green color blocks are suggestive of the moonlight in the woods, while the twisted lines may remind one of a running stream or intersecting tree branches at night. Even for viewers who are not familiar with the poem, the color blocks and swirling lines imbue the relief-like space with a subtle sense of movement.

Curated by Fu Qiumeng Fine Art