Landscape painting formed the main tradition in Chinese painting. Most people believe that there was a strong literary influence of seclusion and meditation among the forests. Misty mountains supplemented by Taoism's and Buddhism's love for nature provided further impetus for development of landscape art.
一般以為，這種專門表達峰巒林木、煙雨雲霞的中國山水畫，是人們受佛教、老莊思想及隱逸的山林文學的影響，酷愛大自然而發展出來的。