Shan Shui, Mountain Water

Shan Shui Mountain|Water is the term we generally associate with the school of Chinese landscape art that many art historians around the world believe to be China’s most important contribution to the art of painting. Rooted in the philosophy of Daoism, the Shan Shui art movement - which first gained prominence during the waning years of the Tang dynasty (618-907) - actualizes its central precept that humans are but one of myriad manifestations of the Dao, and are therefore no more nor less significant than any other beings, and our destiny lies in abiding by the Way of Nature and living in harmony within it with humility, compassion and moderation. Using the three compositional principles of Shan Shui painting - Paths, Threshold and Heart - as his structure, Basil Pao assembled this collection of landscapes gathered during more than twenty years of travelling around the world into his latest book.