The Three Planes - To represent depth, most Chinese landscape paintings contain three individual vertical planes, like three pictures hanging one in front to the other: Foreground, Middle Ground and Background. The foreground usually consists of “earthy bound” objects like people, animals, buildings and forest. The middle plane often represents emptiness in the form of clouds, mist or water. The background plane often includes “heavenly” elements such as hills and mountains as well as sky. The Chinese landscape painters did not use singular perspective with one vanishing point like in western painting, but instead show depth with the three planes. The negative/unpainted space – emptiness – plays a key compositional role.
Literati Sentiment - During the early Song dynasty, visions of the natural hierarchy became metaphors for the well-regulated state. At the same time, images of the private retreat proliferated among a new class of scholar-officials. These men extolled the virtues of self-cultivation — often in response to political setbacks or career disappointments — and asserted their identity as literati through poetry and calligraphy. The result was a new style of painting that employed calligraphic brushwork for self-expressive ends. The monochrome images of old trees, bamboo, rocks, and retirement retreats created by these scholar-artists became emblems of their character and spirit.
