From Neolithic era painted petroglyphs, early paintings on silk, and landscapes by 12th-century literati to the traditional handscrolls being produced today, this book recounts the history of Chinese painting over a span of some 3000 years. Drawing on museum collections, archives, and archaelogical sites in China - including many resources never before available to western scholars - as well as on collections in other countries, the authors present and analyze examples of Chinese painting: nearly 300 of them are reproduced here in colour. Both accessible to the general reader and useful for the scholar, the book provides an up-to-date and detailed history of China's pictorial art.