It is unnecessary to go into a history of the art,which followed about the same periods of advancement and decline as porcelain making.Developed without any outside influence,Chinese painting is entirely different from European,and foreigners,until they adapt themselves to the Chinese point of view,find in it much to be desired.Chinese painting is an art of lines,rather than of colors and one in which imagination and poetry are more important than technical details. Landscapes,the symbolic figures of Buddhism and Taoism and famous figures of Chinese history make up the principal subjects of the pictures.The painter always strives for harmony of composition and subtlety of conception.If a beautiful female character is to be portrayed,she must be surrounded by graceful animals,billowy clouds or swaying reeds,If it is a stern warrior who makes up the principal figure in the picture,the artist will probably paint massive mountain peaks in the background.The first thing the foreigner notices in Chinese paintings is the lack of perspective.The Chinese reply to this criticism is that it is unreal and therefore inartistic to represent space and distance on a flat surface where it cannot exist.It is unnecessary to go into a history of the art, which followed about the same periods of advancement and decline as porcelain making. Developed without any outside influence, Chinese painting is entirely different from European, and foreigners, until they adapt themselves to the Chinese point of view, find in it much to be desired. Chinese painting is an art of lines, rather than of colors and one in which imagination and poetry are more important than technical details. Landscapes, the symbolic figures of Buddhism and Taoism and famous figures of Chinese history make up the principal subjects of the pictures. The painter always strives for harmony of composition and subtlety of conception. If a beautiful female character is to be portrayed, she must be surrounded by graceful animals, billowy clouds or swaying reeds, If it is a stern warrior who makes up the principal figure in the picture, the artist will probably paint massive mountain peaks in the background. The first thing the foreigner notices in Chinese paintings is the lack of perspective. The Chinese reply to this criticism is that it is unreal and therefore inartistic to represent space and distance on a flat surface where it cannot exist