"Poetry is painting without form, painting is poetry with form." Quote from, Kuo Hsi, Northern Sung Landscape Painter
Connections between painting and poetry: The arts of Chinese painting and poetry have always been closely related. Both painters and poets break down complex ideas or emotions into their basic elements. Through the use of symbolism they make visible the otherwise enigmatic mysteries of the universe. The similarities between Chinese painting and poetry are not simply in the manner in which information is synthesized. The Chinese use a pictographic method of communication, so their words, symbols and images meld together making the art forms almost indistinguishable. A Chinese poet not only needed the ability to create interesting content, but also needed to have mastered the art of calligraphy, an art that combines both painting and writing.
