Chinese painting
![A wall scroll painted by Ma Lin on or before 1246. Ink and color on silk, 226.6x110.3 cm.](/Images/godic/202501/16/Ma_Lin_0104737.jpg")
![Loquats and a Mountain Bird, by an anonymous painter of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279); small album leaf paintings like this were popular amongst the gentry and scholar-officials of the Southern Song.](/Images/godic/202501/16/Loquats_and_Mountain_Bird4738.jpg")
![Painting from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston](/Images/godic/202501/16/Gentlemen_in_conversation,_Eastern_Han_Dynasty4738.jpg")
![Animalistic guardian spirits of midnight and morning wearing Chinese robes, Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE) on ceramic tile](/Images/godic/202501/16/Guardians_of_Day_and_Night,_Han_Dynasty4738.jpg")
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guóhuà (simplified Chinese:国画; traditional Chinese:國畫), meaning 'national' or 'native painting', as opposed to Western styles of art which became popular in China in the 20th century. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black ink or coloured pigments; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.