"Essential Terms of Chinese Painting provides a comprehensive coverage of the broad spectrum of Chinese painting. Through an array of some 900 terms, it exhibits the history of Chinese culture, as interpreted by artists and portrayed in their work. In masterful detail, it describes not only the artistic implements and drawing styles, but also how these are influenced bu changing cultural considerations over time such as religion, philosophy, intellectual ideas, and political developments. From the broad view of how the change of dynasties affected painting trends in bot format and subject, to the smallest detail of the methods used to paint different styles of tree branches, this is a full compendium of the scope and depth of artwork from China." -- Provided by publisher