Chinese bird-and-flower painting is the greatest contribution Chinese artists have made to the world of art. Apart from being an independent genre with its aesthetic values, Chinese bird-and-flower painting can be taken as a basic course for studying composition, brushwork and ink ? a necessary preparation for the creation of all genres of Chinese painting. Specially prepared for Western readers, this manual with 250 colour illustrations is a step-by-step course of Chinese bird-and-flower painting. A brief history of this great art tradition is included in the manual.