Chin ese painti ng  Neolithic Age, Paleolithic Age  Pottery ware, Bronze ware  Oracle  Inscription on tortoise shells  Chinese painting  Line sketches, stroke  Ink and wash  Subject matter,  Landscape, flowers and birds, human figures  Scorched, opaque, heavy, light, translucent

 Artistic conception, image  Ideographic language  Inscription, signature, seal character/ archaic character  classic/ official script  Cursive hand, running script  typo-graphic/ regular script  the four stationary treasures of the Chinese study, including writing brushes, ink sticks, ink stones and paper,

 Goat ’ s hair brush  Weasel ’ s hair brush  Xuan Paper,, a high quality rice paper made in Xuancheng  Duplicate,  Pine, bamboo, plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, peony  Leaf stem, leaf vein  The gongbi school ( a school of meticulous brushwork and close attention to detail )  the xieyi school ( the impressionistic school, free hand )

 You have just visited the historical relics at the Neolithic Age “ Banpo ” Village near Xi ’ an, where you have seen the unearthed Neolithic pottery ware, with fairly exquisite sheep, birds and human beings patterns.  In the Palace Museum in Beijing you have also seen pieces of bronze ware of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, with paintings and sculpture there on.

 The Chinese Painting, or Classical Chinese Painting greatly flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasties, and developed the unique style of its own.  In contrast to Western paintings, one may say that earlier traditional Chinese painters used color very sparingly or abandon it altogether, and rely mainly on “ line sketches ” and “ ink and wash ” for effect.

 As for subject matter, Chinese traditional paintings can be classified into several genres, such as, landscape,..  Chinese painters, particularly painters of landscapes, have always laid special emphasis on artistic conception.  As Chinese is an ideographic language, it ’ s calligraphy has its infinite variations and is in itself an art.

 So, the calligraphy of the inscription and signature on Chinese paintings should be directly linked with the image themselves. / a perfect combination with image.  This is a duplicate of the painting Portrait of Emperors by Yan Liben, a 7 th century artist. You know, human figure painting preceded that of landscapes, flowers and birds.

 This is a painting of Li ke ran, a renown landscape painter, who has a simple and dignified style. Artists like Fu bao shi, Qian shongyan, Ya ming reproduce scenes of the countryside south of the Yangtse River in paintings that are bright in color and brisk in style. Guan Shan ye excels at well-knit composition.

 In the 18 th century, a group of painters such as Jin nong and Zheng Banqiao mainly took plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums and bamboo as their subjects, and reproduced them in paintings with innovated techniques. They nourished the growth of such contemporary masters as Wu Changshuo and Qibaishi

 This is a painting of the gonbi school, a school of meticulous brushwork and close attention to detail. Look, in the painting every leaf and even every stem and vein of peonies is drawn in minute detail.  The other school is Xieyi or the impressionistic school. Painters of this school use broad, dashing strokes on Xuan paper and strive to render spirit and rhythm instead of faithfulness to detail.

 Chinese paintings are divided into two major categories: free hand brushwork and detailed brushwork. The former is characterized by simple and bold strokes intended to represent the exaggerated likenesses of the objects, while the latter by fine brush work and close attention to detail. Employing different techniques, the two schools try to achieve the same end, the creation of beauty. It is difficult to tell how long the art of painting has existed in China. Pots of 5,000-6,000 years ago were painted in color with patterns of plants, fabrics, and animals, reflecting various aspects of the life of primitive clan communities. These may be considered the beginnings of Chinese painting.

 Among the various tools for calligraphy, writing brush is peculiar to China. The brushes are varied, and white goat ’ s hair, black rabbit ’ s hair and yellow weasel ’ s hair are three major types. On the basis of the function of tip, the brushes are classified into three groups: Hard, Soft and Both.