The origins of painting in China are mingled with the origins of writing.
Written characters are, in fact, derived from pictography or picture
writing, those in use at the present time being only developed and
conventionalized forms of primitive drawings. The early books and
dictionaries give us definite information regarding this evolution. But
while history bears witness to this ancient connection, we do not come
into contact with actual evidence until the third century of our era,
through the bas-reliefs of the Han dynasty, and in the fourth century
through the paintings of Ku K'ai-chih. Here we find by no means the origin
of an evolution but, on the contrary, the last traces of an expiring
tradition.