How to Read Chinese Paintings

The Chinese often use the expression du hua, “to read a painting,” in connection with their study and appreciation of such works. This volume closely “reads” thirty-six masterpieces of Chinese painting from the encyclopedic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to reveal the major characteristics and themes of this rich pictorial tradition. The book examines mul...

The Chinese often use the expression du hua, “to read a painting,” in connection with their study and appreciation of such works. This volume closely “reads” thirty-six masterpieces of Chinese painting from the encyclopedic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to reveal the major characteristics and themes of this rich pictorial tradition. The book examines multiple layers of meaning—style, technique, symbolism, past traditions, and the artist’s personal circumstances—through accessible texts and numerous large color details. A dynastic chronology, map, and list of further readings supplement the text.

Spanning a thousand years of Chinese art, these landscapes, flowers, birds, figures, religious subjects, and calligraphies illuminate the main goal of every Chinese artist: to capture not only the outer appearance of a subject but also its inner essence.

何慕文 (Maxwell K. Hearn)是美国大都会艺术博物馆亚洲艺术部主任、道格拉斯·狄龙研究员，著有：《中华瑰宝：台北故宫博物院的珍藏》（1996），《溪岸漫步：王季迁家藏中国绘画》（1999，与方闻合著），《文人山水：玛丽-海伦和盖·维尔夫妇的中国画收藏》（2002）。