Says Yuan: "Every accomplished painter in the history of Chinese painting has been able to reflect his own time, bringing something new to the established form." He cites the example of the Tang dynasty painter Wu Daozi, who "wielded his brush with the force of a whirlwind," reflecting the abandoned, all-drinking all-singing spirit of Li Bai's age, the high Tang period.
他指出，「中國繪畫史上每一位有成就的畫家，都能反映自己的時代，並且推陳出新」，例如唐朝畫聖吳道子「立筆揮掃，勢若旋風」，反應的即是盛唐時期李白縱酒高歌吟詩的狂放年代。