Chinese painting

Chinese painting and calligraphy distinguish themselves from other cultures' arts by emphasis on motion and change with dynamic life. The practice is traditionally first learned by rote, in which the master shows the "right way" to draw items. The apprentice must copy these items strictly and continuously until the movements become instinctive. In contemporary times, debate emerged on the limits of this copyist tradition within modern art scenes where innovation is the rule. Changing lifestyles, tools, and colors are also influencing new waves of masters. ==Early periods==

, 5th century BCE. mural, c. 2nd century BCE The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals. It was only during the Eastern Zhou (770–256 BC) that artists began to represent the world around them. In imperial times (beginning with the Eastern Jin dynasty), painting and calligraphy in China were among the most highly appreciated arts in the court and they were often practiced by amateurs—aristocrats and scholar-officials—who had the leisure time necessary to perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great brushwork. Calligraphy and painting were thought to be the purest forms of art. The implements were the brush pen made of animal hair, and black inks made from pine soot and animal glue. In ancient times, writing, as well as painting, was done on silk. However, after the invention of paper in the 1st century AD, silk was gradually replaced by the new and cheaper material. Original writings by famous calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's history and are mounted on scrolls and hung on walls in the same way that paintings are. Artists from the Han (206 BC – 220 AD) to the Tang (618–906) dynasties mainly painted the human figure. Much of what we know of early Chinese figure painting comes from burial sites, where paintings were preserved on silk banners, lacquered objects, and tomb walls. Many early tomb paintings were meant to protect the dead or help their souls to get to paradise. Others illustrated the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius or showed scenes of daily life. During the Six Dynasties period (220–589), people began to appreciate painting for its own beauty and to write about art. From this time we begin to learn about individual artists, such as Gu Kaizhi. Even when these artists illustrated Confucian moral themes – such as the proper behavior of a wife to her husband or of children to their parents – they tried to make the figures graceful. . File:Warring States Silk Painting Replica, Chu State (10162703463).jpg|Chu (state) silk painting of woman with phoenix File:Mujeres Sabias y Benevolentes (detalle) por Ku K'ai-chih - Duque Yi de Wey.jpg|Close-up on another scroll by Gu Kaizhi. File:Dahuting tomb banquet scene with jugglers, Eastern Han Dynasty, mural.jpg|Wall painting from Dahuting tomb, c.2nd century AD File:Funerary panels, from the tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE. Datong, Shanxi Province.jpg|Lacquer screens from the tomb of Sima Jinlong (420–484) File:Mural Worshipping Bodhisattva.jpg|Mural from the Mogao caves, Western Wei, (535–556 A.D.) File:Dunhuang mural flying apsarasa.jpg|Dunhuang mural, mid-6th century Six principles Buddha'', by Zhang Shengwen, 1173–1176 CE, Song dynasty by Zhao Mengjian, 13th century The "Six principles of Chinese painting" were established by Xie He, a writer, art historian and critic in 5th century China, in "Six points to consider when judging a painting" (繪畫六法, Pinyin: Huìhuà Liùfǎ), taken from the preface to his book "The Record of the Classification of Old Painters" (古畫品錄; Pinyin: Gǔhuà Pǐnlù). Keep in mind that this was written circa 550 CE and refers to "old" and "ancient" practices. The six elements that define a painting are: • "Spirit Resonance", or vitality, which refers to the flow of energy that encompasses theme, work, and artist. Xie He said that without Spirit Resonance, there was no need to look further. • "Bone Method", or the way of using the brush, refers not only to texture and brush stroke, but to the close link between handwriting and personality. In his day, the art of calligraphy was inseparable from painting. • "Correspondence to the Object", or the depicting of form, which would include shape and line. • "Suitability to Type", or the application of color, including layers, value, and tone. • "Division and Planning", or placing and arrangement, corresponding to composition, space, and depth. • "Transmission by Copying", or the copying of models, not from life only but also from the works of antiquity. ==Sui, Tang and Five dynasties (581–979)==

(706–783 AD) . . c. 7th century from Dunhuang During the Tang dynasty, figure painting flourished at the royal court. Artists such as Zhou Fang depicted the splendor of court life in paintings of emperors, palace ladies, and imperial horses. Figure painting reached the height of elegant realism in the art of the court of Southern Tang (937–975). Most of the Tang artists outlined figures with fine black lines and used brilliant color and elaborate detail. However, one Tang artist, the master Wu Daozi, used only black ink and freely painted brushstrokes to create ink paintings that were so exciting that crowds gathered to watch him work. From his time on, ink paintings were no longer thought to be preliminary sketches or outlines to be filled in with color. Instead, they were valued as finished works of art. Beginning in the Tang dynasty, many paintings were landscapes, often shanshui (山水, "mountain water") paintings. In these landscapes, monochromatic and sparse (a style that is collectively called shuimohua), the purpose was not to reproduce the appearance of nature exactly (realism) but rather to grasp an emotion or atmosphere, as if catching the "rhythm" of nature. A considerable amount of literary and documentary information about Tang painting has survived, but very few works, especially of the highest quality. A walled-up cave in the Mogao Caves complex at Dunhuang was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein, which contained a vast haul, mostly of Buddhist writings, but also some banners and paintings, making much the largest group of paintings on silk to survive. These are now in the British Museum and elsewhere. They are not of court quality, but show a variety of styles, including those with influences from further west. As with sculpture, other survivals showing Tang style are in Japan, though the most important, at Nara, was very largely destroyed in a fire in 1949. The rock-cut cave complexes and royal tombs also contain many wall-paintings. Court painting mostly survives in what are certainly or arguably copies from much later. ==Song, Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties (907–1368)==

, Kansas City (Missouri). and a Mountain Bird'', by an anonymous painter of the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279); albums of small leaf paintings like this were popular amongst the gentry and scholar-officials of the Southern Song. Painting during the Song dynasty (960–1279) reached a further development of landscape painting; immeasurable distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. The shan shui style painting—"shan" meaning mountain, and "shui" meaning river—became prominent in Chinese landscape art. The emphasis laid upon landscape was grounded in Chinese philosophy; Taoism stressed that humans were but tiny specks in the vast and greater cosmos, while Neo-Confucianist writers often pursued the discovery of patterns and principles that they believed caused all social and natural phenomena. The painting of portraits and closely viewed objects like birds on branches were held in high esteem, but landscape painting was paramount. By the beginning of the Song dynasty a distinctive landscape style had emerged. Artists mastered the formula of intricate and realistic scenes placed in the foreground, while the background retained qualities of vast and infinite space. Distant mountain peaks rise out of high clouds and mist, while streaming rivers run from afar into the foreground. There was a significant difference in painting trends between the Northern Song period (960–1127) and Southern Song period (1127–1279). The paintings of Northern Song officials were influenced by their political ideals of bringing order to the world and tackling the largest issues affecting the whole of society; their paintings often depicted huge, sweeping landscapes. During the Northern Song, landscape paintings had political significance and were used by the court to emphasize its strength and authority with the symbolism of grand landscapes. Ever since the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589), painting had become an art of high sophistication that was associated with the gentry class as one of their main artistic pastimes, the others being calligraphy and poetry. During the Song dynasty there were avid art collectors that would often meet in groups to discuss their own paintings, as well as rate those of their colleagues and friends. The poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101) and his accomplice Mi Fu (1051–1107) often partook in these affairs, borrowing art pieces to study and copy, or if they really admired a piece then an exchange was often proposed. They created a new kind of art based upon the three perfections in which they used their skills in calligraphy (the art of beautiful writing) to make ink paintings. From their time onward, many painters strove to freely express their feelings and to capture the inner spirit of their subject instead of describing its outward appearance. The small round paintings popular in the Southern Song were often collected into albums as poets would write poems along the side to match the theme and mood of the painting. During the Northern Song (960–1126 CE), a new class of scholar-artists emerged who did not possess the tromp l'œil skills of the academy painters nor even the proficiency of common marketplace painters. The literati's painting was simpler and at times quite unschooled, yet they would criticize these other two groups as mere professionals, since they relied on paid commissions for their livelihood and did not paint merely for enjoyment or self-expression. The scholar-artists considered that painters who concentrated on realistic depictions, who employed a colorful palette, or, worst of all, who accepted monetary payment for their work were no better than butchers or tinkers in the marketplace. They were not to be considered real artists. During the Southern Song period (1127–1279), court painters such as Ma Yuan and Xia Gui used strong black brushstrokes to sketch trees and rocks and pale washes to suggest misty space. (1094–1172); depictions of common life became a popular motif during the prosperous years of the Song Dynasty During the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), painters joined the arts of painting, poetry, and calligraphy by inscribing poems on their paintings. These three arts worked together to express the artist's feelings more completely than one art could do alone. Yuan emperor Tugh Temur (r. 1328, 1329–1332) was fond of Chinese painting and became a creditable painter himself. File:Three Friends of Winter by Zhao Mengjian.jpg|Three Friends of Winter depicting plum, pine and bamboo, still used for decoration during new year's by countries in the sinosphere File:Guo Zhongshu-Traveling on the River in Snow.jpg|Traveling on the River in Snow. Extremely intricate details give historians insight into medieval Chinese shipbuilding. File:北宋 徽宗 竹禽圖 卷-Finches and bamboo MET DP151504.jpg|Emperor Huizong of Song was a prolific painter File:Li Anzhong's Bird on a Branch.gif|Li Anzhong's Bird on a Branch; it has a circular shape because this was initially painted for a circular fan. File:名绘集珍册 9 宋 李迪 春潮带雨.jpg|The Spring Tide Brings Rain by Li Di File:Ma Lin Guests.jpg|Circular-fan painting by Ma Lin File:Ma Yuan-Banquet by Lantern Light.jpg|Ma Yuan's Banquet by the Lanterns File:雪景图轴.传宋.马远.画.纸本设色.台北故宫博物院藏.jpg|Snowscape by Ma Yuan File:Ma Yuan - Dancing and Singing- Peasants Returning from Work.jpg|Dancing and Singing Peasants Returning from Work File:Ma Yuan - Dancing and Singing- Peasants Returning from Work - Detail 1.jpg|Architectural details of the previous work File:Li Di-Shrike on a Winter Tree.jpg|Shrike on a tree in winter; 1187 AD. File:Cui Bai - Wintry Sparrows.jpg|Wintry Sparrows by Cui Bai File:One Hundred Children Playing in the Spring.jpg|"One Hundred Children Playing in the Spring" by Su Hanchen((1094–1172)) File:The Knickknack Peddler.jpg|The Knickknack Peddler by Su Hanchen; depictions of common life became a popular motif during the prosperous years of the Song dynasty File:宋人博古圖 軸 Depiction of Ancient Artifacts.jpg|Depiction of Ancient Artifacts, unknown painter. ==Late imperial China (1368–1895)==

Beginning in the 13th century, the tradition of painting simple subjects—a branch with fruit, a few flowers, or one or two horses—developed. Narrative painting, with a wider color range and a much busier composition than Song paintings, was immensely popular during the Ming period (1368–1644). s, Shuilu ritual painting from Baoning Temple, Shanxi, China. , like many contemporaries of his during the early Qing he spent much of his career in Japan and left a huge influence on Japanese art. In his case, by creating the Nanpin school of Nagasaki. The first books illustrated with colored woodcuts appeared around this time; as color-printing techniques were perfected, illustrated manuals on the art of painting began to be published. Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden), a five-volume work first published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook for artists and students ever since. Some painters of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) continued the traditions of the Yuan scholar-painters. This group of painters, known as the Wu School, was led by the artist Shen Zhou. Another group of painters, known as the Zhe School, revived and transformed the styles of the Song court. During the early Qing dynasty (1644–1911), painters known as Individualists rebelled against many of the traditional rules of painting and found ways to express themselves more directly through free brushwork. In the 18th and 19th centuries, great commercial cities such as Yangzhou and Shanghai became art centers where wealthy merchant-patrons encouraged artists to produce bold new works. However, similar to the phenomenon of key lineages producing, many well-known artists came from established artistic families. Such families were concentrated in the Jiangnan region and produced painters such as Ma Quan, Jiang Tingxi, and Yun Zhu. It was also during this period when Chinese trade painters emerged. Taking advantage of British and other European traders in popular port cities such as Canton, these artists created works in the Western style particularly for Western traders. Known as Chinese export paintings, the trade thrived throughout the Qing dynasty. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, Chinese painters were increasingly exposed to Western art. Some artists who studied in Europe rejected Chinese painting; others tried to combine the best of both traditions. Among the most beloved modern painters was Qi Baishi, who began life as a poor peasant and became a great master. His best-known works depict flowers and small animals. {{Panorama ==Modern painting==

Beginning with the New Culture Movement, Chinese artists started to adopt using Western techniques. Prominent Chinese artists who studied Western painting include Li Tiefu, Yan Wenliang, Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Fang Ganmin and Liu Haisu. Early PRC After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party's Propaganda Department organized networks of cultural workers' associations which were headed by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In this period, critics took a negative stance towards the guohua painting style. As part of this Movement, peasant artists decorated village walls with Great Leap Forward-themed murals. Since 1978 Following the Cultural Revolution, art schools and professional organizations were reinstated. Exchanges were set up with groups of foreign artists, and Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and techniques. One particular case of freehand style (xieyi hua) may be noted in the work of the child prodigy Wang Yani (born 1975) who started painting at age 3 and has since considerably contributed to the exercise of the style in contemporary artwork. After Chinese economic reform, more and more artists boldly conducted innovations in Chinese painting. The innovations include: development of new brushing skill such as vertical direction splash water and ink, with representative artist Tiancheng Xie, creation of new style by integration traditional Chinese and Western painting techniques such as Heaven Style painting, with representative artist Shaoqiang Chen, and new styles that express contemporary theme and typical nature scene of certain regions such as Lijiang Painting Style, with representative artist Gesheng Huang. A 2008 set of paintings by Cai Jin, most well known for her use of psychedelic colors, showed influences of both Western and traditional Chinese sources, though the paintings were organic abstractions. Contemporary Chinese art Chinese painting continues to play an essential role in Chinese cultural expression. Starting in the mid-twentieth century, artists begin to combine traditional Chinese painting techniques with Western art styles, leading to the style of new contemporary Chinese art. One of the representative artists is Wei Dong who drew inspirations from eastern and western sources to express national pride and arrive at personal actualization. Another key figure is Liu Dan, known for his ink painting. == Iconography in Chinese painting ==

Water Mill As the landscape painting rose and became the dominant style in North Song dynasty, artists began to shift their attention from jiehua painting, which indicates paintings of Chinese architectural objects such as buildings, boats, wheels and vehicles, towards landscape paintings. Intertwining with the imperial landscape painting, water mill, an element of jiehua painting, though, is still used as an imperial symbol. Water mill depicted in the Water Mill is a representation for the revolution of technology, economy, science, mechanical engineering and transportation in Song dynasty. It represents the government directly participate in the milling industry which can influence commercial activities. Another evidence that shows the government interfered with the commercial is a wineshop that appears beside the water mill. The water mill in Shanghai Scroll reflects the development in engineering and growing knowledge in hydrology. Furthermore, a water mill can also be used to identify a painting and used as a literature metaphor. Lately, the water mill transform into a symbolic form representing the imperial court. A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng, celebrates the imperial patronage and builds up a bridge that ties the later emperors, Huizong, Shenzong with their ancestors, Taizu and Taizong. The water mill in this painting, unlike that is painted in previous Shanghai scroll to be solid and weighted, it is painted to be ambiguous and vague to match up with the court taste of that time. The painting reflects a slow pace and peaceful idyllic style of living. Located deeply in a village, the water mill is driven by the force of a huge, vertical waterwheel which is powered by a sluice gate. The artist seems to be ignorance towards hydraulic engineering since he only roughly drew out the mechanism of the whole process. A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountainspainted by Wang Ximeng, a court artist taught directly by Huizong himself. Thus, the artwork A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountainsshould directly review the taste of the imperial taste of the landscape painting. Combining richness bright blue and turquoise pigments heritage from Tang dynasty with the vastness and solemn space and mountains from Northern Song, the scroll is a perfect representation of imperial power and aesthetic taste of the aristocrats. Image as Word: Rebus There is a long tradition of having hidden meaning behind certain objects in Chinese paintings. A fan painting by an unknown artist from North Song period depicts three gibbons capturing baby egrets and scaring the parents away. The rebus behind this scene is interpreted as celebrating the examination success. Since another painting which has similar subjects—gibbons and egrets, is given the title of San yuan de lu三猿得鹭, or Three gibbons catching egrets. As the rebus, the sound of the title can also be written as 三元得路, meaning "a triple first gains [one] power." 元represents "first" replaces its homophonous 猿, and 路means road, replaces 鹭. Sanyuan is firstly recorded as a term referring to people getting triple first place in an exam in Qingsuo gaoyi by a Liu Fu, and the usage of this new term gradually spread across the country where the scenery of gibbons and egrets is widely accepted. Lately, other scenery derived from the original paintings, including deer in the scene because in Chinese, deer, lu is also a homophonous of egrets. Moreover, the number of gibbons depicted in the painting can be flexible, not only limited to three, sanyuan. Since the positions in Song courts are held by elites who achieved jinshi degree, the paintings with gibbons, egrets or deer are used for praising those elites in general. Emperor Huizong personally painted a painting called Birds in a blossom wax-plum tree, features with two "hoary headed birds," "Baitou weng" resting on a tree branch together. "Baitou" in Chinese culture is allusion to faithful love and marriage. In a well-known love poem, it wrote: "I wish for a lover in whose heart I alone exist, unseparated even our heads turn hoary." During Huizong's rule, literati rebus is embedded in court painting academy and became part of the test routine to enter the imperial court. During Song dynasty, the connection between painters and literati, paintings and poem is closer. The Donkey Rider "The country is broken; mountains and rivers remain." The poem by Du Fu (712–770) reflects the major principle in Chinese culture: the dynasty might change, but the landscape is eternal. This timelessness theme evolved from Six Dynasties period and early Northern Song. A donkey rider travelling through the mountains, rivers and villages is studied as an important iconographical character in developing of landscape painting. The donkey rider in the painting Travelers in a wintry forest by Li Cheng is assumed to be a portrait painting of Meng Haoran, "a tall and lanky man dressed in a scholar plain robe, riding on a small horse followed by a young servant." Except Meng Haoran, other famous people for example, Ruan Ji, one of the seven sages of the Bamboo Grove and Du Fu, a younger contemporary of Meng are also depicted as donkey rider. Tang dynasty poets Jia Dao and Li He and early Song dynasty elites Pan Lang, Wang Anshi appears on the paintings as donkey rider. North Song poets Lin Bu and Su Shi are lately depicted as donkey rider. In this specific painting Travelers in a wintry forest, the potential candidates for the donkey rider are dismissed and the character can only be Meng Haoran. Meng Haoran has made more than two hundred poems in his life but none of them is related with donkey ride. Depicting him as a donkey rider is a historical invention and Meng represents a general persona than an individual character. Ruan Ji was depicted as donkey rider since he decided to escape the office life and went back to the wilderness. The donkey he was riding is representing his poverty and eccentricity. Du Fu was portrayed as the rider to emphasis his failure in office achievement and also his poor living condition. Meng Haoran, similar to those two figures, disinterested in office career and acted as a pure scholar in the field of poem by writing real poems with real experience and real emotional attachment with the landscape. The donkey rider is said to travel through time and space. The audience are able to connect with the scholars and poets in the past by walking on the same route as those superior ancestors have gone on. Besides the donkey rider, there is always a bridge for the donkey to across. The bridge is interpreted to have symbolic meaning that represents the road which hermits depart from capital city and their official careers and go back to the natural world. Realm of the Immortals During Song dynasty, paintings with themes ranging from animals, flower, landscape and classical stories, are used as ornaments in imperial palace, government office and elites' residence for multiple purposes. The theme of the art in display is carefully picked to reflect not only a personal taste, but also his social status and political achievement. In emperor Zhezong's lecture hall, a painting depicting stories form Zhou dynasty was hanging on the wall to remind Zhezong how to be a good ruler of the empire. The painting also serves the purpose of expressing his determination to his court officers that he is an enlightened emperor. The main walls of the government office, also called walls of the "Jade Hall," meaning the residence of the immortals in Taoism are decorated by decorative murals. Most educated and respected scholars were selected and given the title xueshi. They were divided into groups in helping the Instituted of Literature and were described as descending from the immortals. Xueshi are receiving high social status and doing carefree jobs. Lately, the xueshi yuan, the place where xueshi lives, became the permanent government institution that helped the emperor to make imperial decrees. During Tang dynasty reign of Emperor Xianzong (805–820), the west wall of the xueshi yuan was covered by murals depicting dragon-like mountain scene. In 820–822, immortal animals like Mount Ao, flying cranes, and , a kind of immortal birds were added to the murals. Those immortal symbols all indicate that the xueshi yuan as eternal existing government office. During Song dynasty, the xueshi yuan was modified and moved with the dynasty to the new capital Hangzhou in 1127. The mural painted by Song artist Dong yu, closely followed the tradition of the Tang dynasty in depicting the misty sea surrounding the immortal mountains. The scenery on the walls of the Jade Hall which full of mist clouds and mysterious land is closely related to Taoism tradition. When Yan Su, a painter followed the style of Li Cheng, was invited to paint the screen behind the seat of the emperor, he included elaborated constructed pavilions, mist clouds and mountain landscape painting in his work. The theme of his painting is suggesting the immortal realm which accord with the entire theme of the Jade Hall provides to its viewer the feeling of otherworldliness. Another painter, Guo Xi made another screen painting for emperor Shenzong, depicting mountains in spring in a harmonized atmosphere. The image also includes immortal elements Mount Tianlao which is one of the realms of the immortals. In his painting, Early Spring, the strong branches of the trees reflects the life force of the living creatures and implying the emperor's benevolent rule. Images of women Female characters are almost excluded from traditional Chinese painting under the influence of Confucianism. Dong Zhongshu, an influential Confucian scholar in the Han dynasty, proposed the three-bond theory saying that: "the ruler is Yang and the subject is Yin, father is Yang and son is Yin…The husband is Yang, and the wife is Yin," which places females in a subordinate position to that of males. Under the three-bond theory, women are depicted as housewives who need to obey to their husbands and fathers in literature. Similarly, in the portrait paintings, female characters are also depicted as exemplary women to elevate the rule of males. A hand roll Exemplary Womenby Ku Kai Zhi, a six Dynasty artist, depicted woman characters who may be a wife, a daughter or a widow. During the Tang dynasty, artists slowly began to appreciate the beauty of a woman's body (shinu). Artist Zhang Xuan produced a painting named palace women listening to music that captured women's elegance and pretty faces. However, women were still being depicted as submissive and ideal within the male system. During the Song dynasty, as the love poem emerged, the images associated with those love stories were made as attractive as possible to meet the taste of the male viewers. ==Landscape painting==

. This piece shows a scene of deep and serene mountain valley covered with snow and several old trees struggling to survive on precipitous cliffs. Paradigm shift in representation Northern Song landscape painting differs from Southern Song painting because of its paradigm shift in representation. If Southern Song period landscape painting is said to be looking inward, Northern Song painting is reaching outward. During the Northern Song period, the rulers' goal is to consolidate and extend the elites value across the society. Whereas Southern Song painters decided to focus on personal expression. Northern Song landscapes are regarded as "real landscape", since the court appreciated the representation relationship between art and the external world, rather than the relationship between art and the artists inner voice. The painting, A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains is horizontally displayed and there are four mountain ranges arranged from left to right. Similar to another early Southern Song painter, Zhou Boju, both artists glorified their patrons by presenting the gigantic empire images in blue and green landscape painting. The only difference is that in Zhou's painting, there are five mountain ranges arranged from right to left. The scenes in the Southern Song paintings are about north landscape that echo the memory of their lost north territory. However, ironically, some scholars suggested that Wang Ximeng's A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains depicts the scenes of the south not the north. Buddhist and Taoist influences The Chinese landscape painting are believed to be affected by the intertwining Chinese traditional religious beliefs, for example, "the Taoist love of nature", and "Buddhist principle of emptiness," and can represent the diversification of artists attitudes and thoughts from previous period. The Taoist love of nature is not always present in Chinese landscape painting but gradually developed from Six Dynasties period when Taoists Lao-tzu, Chuang-tzu, the Pao-p'u tzu's thoughts are reflected in literature documents. Apart from the contemporary Confucian tradition of insisting on human cultivation and learning to be more educated and build up social framework, Taoist persist on going back to human's origin, which is to be ignorant. Taoists believe that if one discard wise, the robbery will stop. If people abandon expensive jewelry, thieves will not exist. From the Han dynasty, the practice of Taoism was associated with alchemical and medicine made. To better pursuit Taoism belief, Taoist need to go on pilgrim into specific mountains to connect themselves with the spirits and immortals that lived in those mountains. In the third and fourth century, the practice of escaping society and going back to nature mediating in the countryside is further enhanced by a group called Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove who would like to escape from the civil unrest. The wise men fleet the world and wonder in the countryside and enjoy the tranquil landscape and forgot to return. The Taoism ideology of forgetfulness, self-cultivation, harmonizing with nature world, and purifying soul by entering the isolated mountains to mediate and seek medicine herbs create the scene of landscape painting. During the Han dynasty, the mountains appeared in the design of the artworks shows the prevalence role of mountain in Han society. The emperor would climb on to the mountain to sacrifice and religion practice because mountains are thought to have connection between earth and heaven and can link human with spirits and immortals. And sometimes, mountains are depicted as mystical mountains" (shenshan), where sages and legendary animals settled. Hence, landscape painting is used as an object for Taoism practice which provide visualize form for religious ritual. During the Six Dynasties period, the landscape painting experienced a stylistic change which myth and poem depiction were introduced into the painting. For example, in Ku Kai-chih's "Nymph of the river" scroll and "The Admonitions of the Court Preceptress", audience are able to read narrative description and text accompanied by visualized images. , Taipei Furthermore, in Buddhism, the mountain also has an important role in religious practice. From an iconographical point of view, a Buddha's image is used in helping a believer to practice meditation. For instance, Buddha's reflection image, or shadow, is assimilated with the image of a mountain, Lushan. This assimilation is also recorded in a poem by poet from the Six Dynasties period who pointed out that the beauty and numinosity of the mountain can elevate the spiritual connection between human being and the spirits. Thus, the landscape painting come into display Buddha's image in people's everyday ritual practice. Hui-yuan described in his poem that "Lushan seems to mirror the divine appearance" which unifies the two images—the true image and the reflection of Buddha. Moreover, spiritual elevation can be achieved by contemplating in front of landscape painting which depict the same mountain and path those old sages have been to. The painting contains both the spiritual force (ling) and the truth (li) of Buddha and also the objects that no longer physically presence. Hui-Yuan's famous image is closely relation with its landscape scene indicating the trend of transformation from Buddha image to landscape painting as a religious practice. Early landscape painting In Chinese society, there is a long-time appreciation of natural beauty. The early themes of poems, artworks are associated with agriculture and everyday life associates with fields, animals. On the other hand, later Chinese painting pursuits majesty and grand. Thus, mountain scenery become the most popular subject to paint because it's high which represent human eminence. Also, mountain is stable and permanent suggests the eminent of the imperial power. Furthermore, mountain is difficult to climb showing the difficulties human will face through their lives. Landscape painting evolved under the influence of Taoist who fled from civil turbulence and prosecution of the government and went back to the wilderness. However, the development of Taoism was hindered by Han dynasty. During Han dynasty, the empire expanded and enlarged its political and economic influence. Hence, the Taoism's anti-social belief was disfavored by the imperial government. Han rulers only favored portrait painting which enabled their image to be perpetuate and their civilians to see and to memorize their great leaders or generals. Landscape at that time only focus on the trees for literary or talismanic value. The usage of landscape painting as ornament is suspects to be borrowed from other societies outside Han empire during its expansion to the Near East. Landscape and animal scene began to appear on the jars, but the decoration has little to do with connection with the natural world. Also, there is evidence showing that the emerging of landscape painting is not derived from map-making. During the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties, landscape painting began to have connection with literati and the production of poems. Taoism influence on people's appreciation of landscaping deceased and nature worshipping superseded. However, Taoist still used landscape painting in their meditation just as Confucius uses portrait painting in their ritual practice. (Ku Kai Chih's admonitions) During this time period, the landscape painting is more coherence with variation trees, rocks and branches. Moreover, the painting is more elaborated and organized. The evolution in landscape painting during the Six Dynasties is that artists harmonized sprit with the nature. (Wu Tao-tzu) Buddhism might also contribute in affecting changes in landscape painting. The artists began to show space and depth in their works where they showed mountain mass, distanced hills and clouds. The emptiness of the space is helping the believers meditating to enter the space of emptiness and nothingness. The most important development in landscape painting is that people came to recognize the infinity variation of the nature world, so they tended to make each tree individualized. Every landscape painting is restricted by storytelling and is dependent on artists memory. Dyads Chinese landscape painting, "shanshui hua" means the painting of mountains, rivers, and cliffs which are the two major components that represents the essence of the nature. Shanshui in Chinese tradition is given rich meaning, for example mountain represents Yang and river indicates Yin. According to Yin Yang theory, Yin embodies Yang and Yang involved in Yin, thus, mountain and river is inseparable and is treated as a whole in a painting. In the Mountains and rivers without end, for example, "the dyad of the mountain uplift, subduction, and erosion and the planetary water cycle" is consistent with the dyad of Buddhism iconography, both representing austerity and generous loving spirit. == Art as cartography ==

"Arts in maps, arts as maps, maps in arts, and maps as arts," are the four relationships between art and map. Making a distinction between map and art is difficult because there are cartographic elements in both paintings. Early Chinese map making considered earth surface as flat, so artists would not take projection into consideration. Moreover, map makers did not have the idea of map scale. Chinese people from Song dynasty called paintings, maps and other pictorial images as tu, so it's impossible to distinguish the types of each painting by name. Artists who paint landscape as an artwork focus mainly on the natural beauty rather on the accuracy and realistic representation of the object. Map on the other hand should be depicted in a precise manner which more focus on the distance and important geographic features. The two examples in this case: The Changjiang Wan Li Tu, although the date and the authorship are not clear, the painting is believed to be made in Song dynasty by examining the place names recorded on the painting. Only based on the name of this painting, it is hard to distinguish whether this painting is painted as a landscape painting or as a map. The Shu Chuan Shenggai was once thought as the product done by North Song artist Li Gonglin, however, later evidence disapproved this thought and proposed the date should be changed to the end of South Song and artist remains unknown. Both those paintings, aiming to enhance viewers appreciation on the beauty and majesty of landscape painting, focusing on the light condition and conveying certain attitude, are characterized as masterpiece of art rather than map. == Traditional Restoration Processes ==

Traditional Chinese painting restoration generally consists of four stages: “Xi, Jie, Bu, and Quan” (洗，揭，补，全）, correspond to washing the painting, removing the old backing paper, mending the missing parts, and completing the color. Xi Stage - Washing Soak the painting in water and use a brush and towel to remove the stains. Before separation, use a flat brush dipped in clean or warm water to wet the painting, then cover it with a new sheet of paper. Place it face down on the table and wait for separation. Jie Stage - Separating Remove the residue from old paper or silk. If the separation cannot be completed in one day, evenly place some moist paper balls on the areas already separated, then cover with a layer of plastic film. Bu Stage - Mending Select appropriate repair paper, align the fibers properly, and apply the patch. Rub the edges of the patch to thin them out, so the joint is of suitable thickness. When repairing damaged silk-based calligraphy or paintings, one method is to wait until the separation is complete and dry, then use a knife to trim the damaged area into a thin edge. Apply paste to attach the repair silk, and after the paste dries, trim the edges of the repair silk to ensure a seamless joint. Another method is to mount a thin layer of silk beneath that closely matches the original silk in texture and weave. Quan Stage - Completing Paint the missing parts of the painting. This is done on the damaged areas by carefully matching the colors and artistic intent, using various traditional Chinese mineral pigments. The colors are applied meticulously, stroke by stroke, sometimes requiring seven or eight layers, until the retouched areas are indistinguishable from the original. == See also ==