A translator can have but one aim--to present the thought of the author
faithfully. In this case an added responsibility is involved, since one
who had so much to give to the world has been taken in his prime. M.
Petrucci has written at length of art in the Far East in his exhaustive
work _La Philosophie de la Nature dans l'Art d'Extreme Orient_ and
elsewhere, and has demonstrated the wide scope of his thought and
learning. The form and style in _Peintres Chinois_ are the result of much
condensation of material and have thus presented problems in translation,
to which earnest thought has been given.
In deference to the author's wish the margin has not been overladen and
only a short tribute, by one able to speak of him from personal knowledge,
has been included, together with a few footnotes and a short bibliography
of works of reference indispensable to the student who will pursue this
absorbing study. The translator takes this opportunity to make grateful
acknowledgement of her debt to the authors named, who have made such
valuable information available, and to those friends who have read the
manuscript and made many helpful suggestions.