Image Thinking

Xuefeng

Image thinking refers to the process of transforming the appearance of the material world, or a tangible entity, into a pattern, symbol, melody, language, gesture, expression, or sound.

For example, activities such as sketching, painting, photography, copying, rubbing, and sculpture express physical objects through patterns. These are all forms of image thinking.

Similarly, cartography—whether it be maps, transistor circuit diagrams, architectural blueprints, process flowcharts, mechanical construction diagrams, assembly schematics, meridian charts, simplified musical notation, or staff notation—transforms physical entities into symbols, which is also an application of image thinking.

Musical pieces such as A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, The Moon Reflected in Erquan, and the violin concerto Butterfly Lovers express the stories of nature and human experiences through melodies rich in emotional highs and lows, achieving a profound spiritual impact. This, too, belongs to image thinking.

The development and evolution of the Chinese language is a result of image thinking. Our writing system began with pictographs, where visual symbols represented physical objects. Even today, characters like moon (月), mountain (山), stone (石), field (田), and water (水) still retain traces of their original pictorial forms. When reading classic literary works such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Journey to the West, A Dream of Red Mansions, and Investiture of the Gods, we can vividly “see” the characters come to life, as if they are standing before us. This is a result of the author's image thinking, through which real people are transformed into literary figures.

The Five Animal Frolics exercise, created by the renowned physician Hua Tuo to enhance physical health, elevates the imitation of animal movements into a series of postures and gestures—another manifestation of image thinking.

Theatrical performances, whether by Shakespeare or Lao She, rely on actors whose expressions and costumes are not genuine reflections of their personal emotions. Instead, the actors serve as vessels for their characters, vividly expressing their joy, anger, love, sorrow, and longing. This is yet another form of image thinking.

Similarly, imitating dragon roars, tiger growls, frog croaks, dog barks, human shouts, horse neighs, insect chirps, and wolf howls also falls under image thinking.

Image thinking is a cognitive process in which physical entities are represented by images to achieve a corresponding effect. For example, sending a photograph to a distant loved one provides comfort, even though the sender is not physically present. The landscapes and figures on a television screen are mere projections, yet their impact is nearly indistinguishable from that of real images. When watching television, we experience emotions— excitement, joy, anger, sorrow, anxiety, laughter, crying, shouting—because of how the images unfold before us. This is the effect of image thinking.

Materialistic thinking, on the other hand, is direct, one-dimensional, and instinct-driven: one is one, two is two. It operates on basic impulses— when the wind blows, tree branches sway; this signals the arrival of cold, so one puts on a cotton coat; hunger strikes, so one searches for food; desire arises, so one takes action. There is little need for conscious thought—it is simply, I have no choice but to do this. Their daily actions are mechanical, passive, and obligatory, often accompanied by self-loathing, aversion, or a sense of resignation. They remain confined within a limited space or domain, repeating the same tasks daily, even for a lifetime, much like their ancestors—without creativity, independence, or autonomy.

However, those who engage in image thinking are different. They use their minds actively. Their thought process is not I have no choice but to do this but rather I choose to do this. They transcend the physical world and enter the realm of spirit, breaking free from the constraints of time and space. They transform fleeting moments, phenomena, or events into something relatively eternal, thus leading a freer existence than those governed solely by materialistic thinking.

It can be said that artistic creation is a process of image thinking. Painting, composing music, cartography, photography, acting, and literary writing all fall within its scope.

Image elements transcend reality, the mundane, time and space, and even personal worries. They have a profound effect on the human spirit, elevating one's state of mind. For instance, young fans who decorate their rooms with large posters of their idols experience a form of emotional and spiritual regulation. Similarly, when we internalize Lifechanyuan as our spiritual and emotional home, we can free ourselves from the suffering and burdens caused by worldly attachments, thus achieving a higher level of spiritual refinement.

This is the transformative effect of elevating one’s mode of thinking—it directly influences our lives and our very existence.