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The period of theThreeKingdoms, Jin Dynasty and Northern and Southern Dynasties (220-581) were called the embryonic stage of Chinese landscape painting. But, unfortunately, very few works from that era exist today.

TheSpring Excursionby Zhan Ziqian of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) is the gem of Chinese landscape painting. Born into a noble family, Zhan served as an official and was later known as a professional painter. Records indicate that Zhan's works contain theImperialGarden,Hunting,Beijixunhaitu, and many others.

TheSpring Excursiondepicts nobles playing in the mountains. This painting was mainly composed using blue and green hues and by adding powdered gold and white powders, giving it a magnificent look and lofty ambience. From the mountain rocks in distance to the nearby trees, the painting techniques are almost all the same. The mountains, made to appear more majestic by nearby trees, and water became the main themes of the painting. Wide rivers and white clouds among hills create the semblance of a soft, singing voice. The figures in the painting, though very small, are remarkable in the way they highlight the work's motif -- a spring excursion. Brush strokes and color fillings are also elaborate.

Early Chinese paintings before the Sui Dynasty gave prominence to human figures by embellishing them, making the mountains and forests small in comparison. Although unique landscape painting emerged in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, most of them were still quite naive. This phenomenon can be seen even in the famousLuoshen Appraisal Paintingby Gu Kaizhi. Unlike western paintings, Chinese paintings understand space and distance in another way. Western paintings use a geometrical perspective to express space, which is almost scientific; Chinese paintings, on the other hand, determine distance through perception, which basically adheres to the rules of perspective but include many subjective elements. Chinese paintings, by comparison, are more unrestrained. As an important component in traditional Chinese painting, the unique method of understanding perspective laid down a foundation for later long-scroll paintings depicting mountains, rivers and the sky.