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 encyclopaedic collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to reveal the major characteristics and themes of this rich pictorial tradition. Using accessible texts and numerous large colour details, this book examines multiple layers of meaning: style, technique, symbolism, past traditions, and the artist`s personal circumstances. 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.