There Are Only Two Or Three Branches

In the long history of Chinese traditional painting, Flower-bird sketch painting has reached a peak of artistic achievement in Song Dynasty. The present paper will explore how the flower-bird sketch painting flourished under the historical conditions of Song Dynasty in aspects of social economy, artist training, public aesthetic and painting and calligraphy Trade. Then a specialized discussion will be given to the influence from Lao Zhuang Philosophy and Cheng Zhu thought in an aesthetic perspective. And another emphasis will be laid on understanding its achievements in art in terms of form, pattern, color, and artistic conception. In conclusion, the present paper will draw inspiration for the development of contemporary flower painting from the preceding study on the flower-bird sketch painting of Song Dynasty.