Chinese paintings are unique as the artist has to combine his skill in painting with a flair for calligraphy, a knowledge of Chinese writing characters with the skills of a poet and the art of seal engraving.
All these 5 aspects appear in a Chinese painting. Thus, unlike Western art, a non – literati can never excel in Chinese paintings. For this reason, it is tougher to be recognised as a great painter in the Chinese tradition than under western art.
The practice of annotating a painting with a poem originated among the literati of the Song dynasty. {see p 3 Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting}.
This book is a must for anyone interested in Chinese paintings. It has informative essays by both Chinese and Western art scholars. The paintings are reproduced clearly and in a good size. There is also a useful list of artists by period.
This book is a joint undertaking by China International Publishing Group, Foreign Language Press Beijing and Yale University Press. It is part of the Culture and Civilization of China series. Do get the rest of this excellent series. The series was generously funded by The Henry Luce Foundation, Patricia Mellon, John and Cindy Reed and The Starr Foundation.