Ink and wash painting, one of the unique traditional art forms of China,
is representative of Chinese painting. It began around the time of the Tang Dynasty,
and then prospered in the Song and Yuan dynasties. With a history of
over one thousand years, it has experienced constant development,
improvement and perfection. The tools and materials used to create ink and wash painting,
i.e. brushes, rice paper, and ink, are characteristic of Chinese culture and closely
related to the features of the paintings. For example, the mixing of water and ink
creates different shades of dryness, wetness, thickness and thinness.
The integration and infiltration of water, ink, and rice paper enables such
paintings to convey rich images, and hence to achieve unique aesthetic effects.
Ink and wash painting holds a high status in the history of Chinese painting,
and it is even regarded as the criterion to evaluate the artistic level
of Oriental paintings.