Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders. Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk arts and performance arts.

Today, new forms of Chinese art are heavily influenced by the New Culture Movement, which adopted Western techniques and employed socialist realism. The Cultural Revolution shaped Chinese art in the 20th century like no other event in history with the Four Olds destruction campaign. Contemporary Chinese artists continue to produce a wide range of experimental works, multimedia installations, and performance "happenings" which have become very popular in the international art market. Learn more of Chinese art in the following topics:

Textiles and Fashion Chinese textile art began 5000 years ago with invention of sericulture. The motifs and designs in Chinese textiles refer to ancient philosophies and cultural concepts in the form of puns and plays on words.		Calligraphy With a history of 4000 years, calligraphy or "beautiful writing" is a rich, thoughtful, and far-reaching high art form. Ancient Chinese calligraphy is unparalleled with a brilliant tradition, as ancient as the culture itself.		Literary Arts Literature dating to the Zhou Dynasty (256-770 BCE), woodblock printing in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and invention of movable type in the Song Dynasty led to a rapidly spreading Chinese literary culture.		Pottery and Ceramics After the invention of pottery in the Neolithic period, (5000-2200 B.C.), years of experience in kiln firing led China entering into a new ceramic age in the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.)
Painting and Brush Arts Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions and prized. The extraordinary characteristic of Chinese painting is that a painting is never quite finished. A painting remains "open-ended," and viewed like an ongoing conversation.		Sculpture and Carvings Chinese have attained great achievements in the history of sculpture. Chinese sculpture and carvings are rich in subject matter and diversified in style, presenting strong and vivid flavor of the country as well as the age.		Opera and Theater One does not begin to understand the Chinese drama without knowledge of the religious doctrines and the demonolatry of the Chinese people. The theatre god is the likeness of Ming Huang, the eighth century emperor who established a school for actors in the garden of his palace		Music Chinese music dates back to the 9000 year old bone flutes that are believed to be the oldest playable musical instruments ever found and provide evidence that in ancient times there was a well-developed musical culture in acncient China.
Architectural Design The beginings of architecture in China is as old as Chinese civilization itself with strong evidence testifying that the Chinese have always employed an indigenous system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present day.		Garden Design The ancient Chinese garden has a centuries old cultural history rich in unique features. Infinitely varied in type and artistic arrangement, the Chinese garden system is considered to be the best among the three most renowned systems of garden construction in the world.		Paper Arts Paper folding and cutting became a traditional art form since the Chinese invention of paper. It became widely popular as a folkart, even enjoyed and appreciated in royal families where ladies of the court were judged by their ability in the paper arts.		Metalwork Ancient Chinese came into the Iron Age, Bronze Age in 3000 B.C. The Shang and Zhou dynasties ushered China into the height of the Bronze Age. During this period the making of bronze ware reached its zenith.