The Pine Trees

Ever wondered why some of the most important developments in landscape ink painting happened during a period of decline?

Though few paintings from the middle and late Tang Dynasty have survived, this era was pivotal for the genre. Records show a surge in artists focusing on landscapes, pine trees, and rocks, with masters like Jing Hao and Li Cheng refining monochrome ink techniques. This period's artistic explosion, driven not by prosperity but by the era's decline, highlights how cultural shifts can profoundly impact artistic innovation. Discover how this crucial transformation laid the groundwork for future landscape painting.

Tang Dynasty (618-907). Photographed from a Stanford University Press publication.

This piece is compiled from the Chinese edition of Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting by Foreign Languages Press and Yale University Press, translated by Chen Ying.