It wasn't as if great landscapes hadn't been produced before the Five Dynasties and Song era, but whereas painters had previously relied on outlining, now they were using two new kinds of brushstrokes to show texture: cun (" wrinkle "strokes) and dian (dots).
山水畫不僅在五代、北宋達到高峰，過去以線條勾勒的技巧，在這個時候更發展出「皴、點」筆法。