The earliest flower and bird paintings had excellent colors and beautifully delicate and detailed brush work, as can be seen in the work of the court painter Huang Chuan of the Western Hsu in the period of the Five Dynasties. The album he left for his son is just like today's illustrations with the subjects scattered on the paper with no apparent relationship, as though waiting to supply people with information.
早期的花鳥畫風中，善於設色、華麗的工筆花鳥畫派，開宗祖師是五代西蜀的宮廷畫家黃筌，他留給兒子黃居寀的「寫生珍禽圖」，就如今天的圖鑑一般，圖上的主角們，一隻隻站立紙上，彼此沒有關係，像等著供人辨識。