Chinese traditional painting dates back to the Neolithic Period about 6 thousand years ago. The coloured pottery with painted animals, fish, deer and frogs excavated in the 1920’s indicates that during the Neolithic Period the Chinese had already started to use brushes to paint.
Chinese traditional painting is highly regarded throughout the world for its theory, expressions, and techniques. Different from western paintings, a Chinese painting is not restricted by the focal point in its perspective. The artistic may paint on a long and narrow piece of paper or silk all the scenes along the Yangtse River. The picture “Mulan Returns Home” provides an example. It is based on an old story in which Mulan, disguised as a boy, joined the army in her father’s stead and returned home after the war was won. In the picture one can see what people are doing both outside and inside the courtyard and the house. It can be said that the adoption of shifting perspective is one of the characteristic of Chinese paiting.
According to the means of expression, Chinese painting can be divided into two catergories; the xieyi school and the gonbi school. The xieyi school is marked by exaggerated forms and freehand brush work. The gongbi school is characterized by close attention to detail and fine brush work.
Traditional Chinese painting is a combination in the same picture of the arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal engraving. In ancient times most artists were poets and calligraphers.

Calligraphy is regarded in China as the art of writing, beautiful handwriting with the brush, or the study of the rules and techniques of this art. As a traditional art, calligraphy occupies the same position as painting in the history of Chinese art and constitutes an indispensable part of the heritage of national culture. In China many people can write a good hand, but only a few can become calligraphers. It takes painstaking efforts and years of assiduous practise to qualify oneself as an artistic in this field. Like script, Chinese calligraphy began with the hieroglyphs and, over the long ages evolution, has developed various styles and schools. Chinese scripts are classified into five categories: the seal character, the official or clerical script, the regular script, the running hand and the cursive hand.