My image of chinapainting stemmed from a visit long ago to an arts and crafts exhibition where sternlooking greyhaired ladies demonstrated how to cover a teacup with delicate flowers using a series of deft brushstrokes The spectacle was riveting because each stroke formed a perfect petal or leaf Their hands never wobbled the paint never smudged and the observer might have concluded that these women had either been practising their art for decades or had been born with an extraordinary talent for steady precision