To counter criticisms of redundancy and lack of innovation often launched at traditional Chinese painting, Chiang points to the evolution of Chinese painting.
江兆申認為，完成一幅畫，心中必先有意境。而意境怎麼來？它乃是將畫家眼中看過的山水，腦中想像過的情景，加以消化，重新結構而來。