Shanshui Journey: AI Reproducing the Experience of Chinese “Literati” Ink Paintings

Abstract The authors investigate Chinese shanshui (literally, “mountain and water”), ink paintings of the natural landscape, through an interactive art installation entitled Shanshui Journey. By examining shanshui’s philosophy, multiple moving perspectives, and creation and appreciation practices, the work emphasizes motion in nature, memories, and interactive appreciation. These concepts are realized in a digitized room, where each participant’s motion is captured as a line “sketch” and transformed into an ink painting via a custom neural network. Generated paintings are displayed in real time alongside previous works, collectively termed Shanshui Memories, mimicking handscroll interaction. The authors’ approach to shanshui aims to reproduce the Chinese literati art experience, and to raise awareness of this cultural heritage.