Research on Aesthetic Orientation of painting themes of Lingnan Temple Monks in Ming and Qing Dynasties

Monk painting is an important part of Chinese painting art and a unique cultural phenomenon in Chinese art history. Monks in successive dynasties have made great achievements in landscape painting, figures, flowers and animals. These eminent monks who have entered the Buddhist gate often have a deep understanding of traditional Chinese culture, a more thorough insight, understanding and interpretation of human and nature, and a more lofty perspective. Their works are obviously different from other kinds of paintings. The selection of painting themes is not random, but careful consideration based on life experience and emotional expression. They not only contain the artist's clever conception of objective objects, but also embody rich emotion and aesthetic consciousness. In the study of the aesthetic orientation of the painting themes of Lingnan monks in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the elements and means commonly used in the paintings of monks can be regarded as a form of the use of image symbols. This paper will try to use the research method of image semiotics to analyze its theme orientation from the perspective of painting specialty, trying to clarify the unique artistic features of the paintings of Lingnan monks in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and then reveal the uniqueness of the theme orientation of the paintings of Lingnan monks in the Ming and Qing dynasties.