What are the differences between traditional Chinese painting and Western painting？

In the West，the human form has been the point of central interest throughout most of history，from the sculpture of the Greeks through Medieval and Renaissance paintings of the Holy Family and the 17th and 18th century portraiture in the French and English schools.Landscape as a ma jor theme emerged comparatively late，in association with the Romantic Movement.In China it was otherwise.Landscape painting came to assume the highest place as the classical art par excellence.

Although man was the main focus of philosophy，artists in ancient China from the eighth century or earlier found their inspiration in nature；and landscape painting was the most satisfying way to represent nature as a whole，feel a sense of communion with nature，and know oneself as a part of an orderly cosmos.

The other important difference is related to the viewpoint and perspective of the painter in Western and Chinese art.The eye of the Western artist takes in thescene from the level of an average-sized man，five or six feet above the ground.Th Chinese artist works from a raised viewpoint，on a hillside opposite the scene.He has no fixed viewpoint，and that his gaze can rove at will，both horizontally and vertically.

Classic Western art works are executed in oil on canvas，whereas Chinese paintings are done by means of water-soluble ink on silk or highly absorbent paper.

When oil paints are employed，it is possible to paint out a portion of the canvas and redo it in a new version，but with ink and watercolors，the stroke once drawn is beyond recall and can not be altered.

hancheng

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