论述了中国古代画论中理的内涵、美学背景及其在中国画形→神→意的发展过程中的独特作用。主要论及理作为事物的内在本质、客观规律这一层面。一方面由于先秦理性和儒家绘画为现实服务的观点 ,画家一直在为写实而究物之理 ;另一方面 ,中国早期艺术中就有重表现的特质。魏晋时期玄佛兴起 ,理沟通了形与神。随着禅宗在唐宋时期兴起 ,穷物之理又开始使形依理而幻化为抒情服务。明清两代 ,随着重笔墨和主观精神的表现 ,理成为形与意的桥梁 ,为沟通中国画中的物我之意作出独特贡献。文章还点明了理的现实意义 Discusses the connotation, aesthetics background and its unique role in the development of Chinese painting form → God → Italy in ancient Chinese painting theory. It deals mainly with the inner essence of things as the objective law. On the one hand, because of the pre-Qin rationalism and Confucianism’s view of serving the reality, the painter has always been realistic and materialistic; on the other hand, there is a characteristic of re-expression in early Chinese art. The rise of Wei and Jin dynasties, Li and shape communication with God. With the rise of the Zen in the Tang and Song dynasties, the reason of the poor things began to make the form dependent and turned into a lyric service. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the expression of heavy ink and subjective spirit, Li became a bridge between form and meaning and made a unique contribution to the communication of the meaning of things in Chinese painting. The article also points out the practical significance of reason