Modern Understanding of Shi Tao's Way for Drawing in His 《A Dialogue on drawing》

The way for Drawing is that no fixed way for any picture, which is the important principle for drawing. The nature is , through the unity of subject and object and fully publicizing subject' s personality, to create a whole picture full of life and vigor. He believes that all the images of Chinese traditional landscape painting are the symbols of the drawers' inner world, indication of life, reflection of the soul by outside world. So he classifies it as a special type which is extremely different from western system, the principle of which is one way for one picture. During the creation, the drawer should draw without any limitation. Only in this way, the people's creativity can be fully displayed. He attacks the doctrine of back to the ancients in Late Qing Dynasty by the spirit of originality, and at the same time points the way to modern drawing.