History of Chinese Flower Painting

Chinese Paint is very famous in the world. We know from textual and archaeological sources that painting was practiced in China from very early times and in a variety of media. Wall paintings were produced in great numbers in the early period of China 's history, but because so little early architecture in China remained intact over the centuries, few of these large-scale paintings have survived. Paintings were also often done on screens, which served in a sense as portable walls, but these too have not survived. From the Song dynasty onwards, paintings in a variety of other more portable formats, such as the hanging scroll and the handscroll, were collected and passed on to later generations in significant quantities. In their details of everyday life and social customs, these paintings often provide information unavailable from written texts. Many paintings are especially interesting to historians because they can help us imagine what life looked like in earlier periods. Furthermore, because paintings of this period have come to be viewed as one of the highest cultural achievements in China 's history, they provide valuable insight into aesthetic values and tastes that would have lasting impact on later artists and connoisseurs.

Chinese painting developed and was classified by theme into three genres: figures, landscapes, and birds-and-flowers.

The birds-and-flowers genre has its roots in the decorative patterns engraved on pottery and bronze ware by early artists. Among the common subjects in this genre, which reached its peak during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), are flowers, bamboo, birds, insects, and stones. The genre flourished under Emperor Huizong (1082 - 1135), who was an artist himself and excelled at both calligraphy and traditional painting, especially paintings of exquisite flowers and birds.