spired the Northern school, of which Kuo Hsi and Li
Ch'eng were famous among many others. Muh Ki was one of the greatest
masters of the ink sketch; Chao Tan Lin was famed for his tigers; Li
Ti for his flowers as for his landscapes; Mao I for still-life: to
name a few among a host.

Yuen dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368).

The Mongol dynasty continues in art the Sung tradition. Chao Meng-fu,
the greatest master of his time, belongs to both periods, and ranks with
the highest names in Chinese painting. A landscape by him, copied from
Wang Wei, has been already mentioned as in the British Museum, which
also has two specimens of Yen Hui, a painter less known in his own
country than in Japan. He painted especially figures of Taoist legend.
The portrait by Ch'ien Shun-chue (Plate I. fig. 5) is a fine example of
purity of line and lovely colour, reminding us of Greek art.

Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644).

The simplicity of motive and directness of execution which had been the
strength of the Sung art gradually gave way during the Ming era to
complicated conceptions and elaborate effects. The high glow of life
faded; the lyrical temper and impassioned work of the Sung time were
replaced by love of ornament and elegance. In this respect Kiu Ying is
typical of the period, with his richly coloured scenes from court life
(Plate I. fig. 6). None the less, there were a number of painters who
still upheld the grander style of earlier ages. The greatest of these
was Lin Liang (Plate I. fig. 7), whose brush work, if somewhat coarser,
is as powerful as that of the Sung masters. But though individual
painters of the first rank preserved the Ming age from absolute decline,
it cannot be said that any new development of importance took place in a
vitalizing direction.

Tsing dynasty (from A.D. 1644).

The present dynasty prolongs the history of Ming art. The literary
school of the South became more prominent, sending out offshoots in
Japan. There has been no movement of national life to be reflected in
art, though a great body of admirable painting has been produced, down
to the present day. The four landscape masters known as the "four
Wangs," Yuen Shou-p'ing and Wu Li are pre-eminent names.

SOURCES AND AUTHORITIES.--While the designs on porcelain, screens,
&c., have long been admired in the West, the paintings of which these
are merely reproductions have been utterly ignored. Ignorance has
gained authority with t