Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery - Paperback

by Patricia Bjaaland Welch (Author)

With over 630 striking color photos and illustrations, this Chinese art guide focuses on the rich tapestry of symbolism which makes up the basis of traditional Chinese art.

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery includes detailed commentary and historical background information for the images that continuously reappear in the arts of China, including specific plants and animals, divine beings, mortals and inanimate objects. The book thoroughly illuminates the origins, common usages and diverse applications of popular Chinese symbols in a tone that is both engaging and authoritative.

Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery is an essential reference for collectors, museum-goers, guides, students and anyone else with a serious interest in the culture and history of China.

Author Biography

Patricia Bjaaland Welch, MA, is a former lecturer in Chinese philosophy and art at Boston University and has been a docent for over two decades in prominent museums in Boston, Bangkok, and Singapore. She has written several in-house training manuals for docents and is passionate about bringing people into museums and helping them to appreciate what they are seeing. She is a frequent lecturer on subjects relating to Chinese art and history. An avid collector and researcher, she is also the author of five published works, including Chinese New Year. She currently lives in Singapore.