The Northern Song took the figure paintings, bird-and-flower paintings and blue-and-green landscapes of the Tang dynasty and brought each of them to new heights. They made the transition from the rich colors of palace ornament to the world of literati paintings.
它把唐代以來的人物畫、花鳥畫、青綠山水，都總結式地推向高峰，又從宮廷裝飾性濃厚的色彩，過度到文人畫的境界。