In the Chinese painting , the plan and the composition are not limited to specific time and space , and the brushwork and the ink application are well taken care of . Likeness is not considered as essential , but “the charm lies between likeness and unlikeness” . In a painting , while the painting itself is the chief concern , the organic integration of poetry , calligraphy , seal and the painting is stressed . It is also advocated to “express both the external nature and the inner mentality” . Also , a high regard is given to the cultural attainments of the painter besides his painting skills .
The Chinese landscape painting is a branch of the traditional painting with natural landscapes as its main objects .
Although it has only two subbranches, the landscape painting and the house and plants painting (known also as bounded painting ) , yet it portrays any mountains and rivers , scenery , fields and villages , towns and gardens , buildings , ships and bridges , and historic relics . It not only expresses the diverse natural beauty but also the Chinese views on nature and the Chinese aesthetic concepts , reflecting the Chinese social life indirectly . It has been a preeminently developed branch in the history of Chinese painting , particularly since the Yuan Dynasty .
The Chinese landscape painting is devoted to discovery and portrayal of the aesthetic objects . The persons in the land
scape painting may be neglected or only as embellishment . The landscape painting is not made passively , but is for expressing the painter’s own ideals , sentiments and wishes . In the landscape is imbued the painter’s feelings for the homeland . According to the techniques there are several categories of landscape paintings as the following :
A. Blue and green landscape (known also as gold-and-green landscape) : resplendent in gold and green , good for decoration .
B. Ink and wash landscape (known also as brush and ink landscape): paints purely with ink and wash .
C. Light crimson landscape (known also as light color landscape) : chiefly painted with ink and wash , complemented by light green color and light brown color , good for portraying morning glow and sunset .
D. Small blue and green landscape : with outlines delineated chiefly with ink and wash and with a light bottom color , and with blue and green colors as the covering colors .
E. Boneless landscape : Almost no wash-and –ink is used , but is painted purely in color .
