Bird-and-flower painting

Bird-and-flower painting, called Huaniaohua () in Chinese, is a kind of Chinese painting with a long tradition in China and is considered one of the treasures of Chinese culture. The huaniaohua was named after its subject matter. It originated in the Tang dynasty where it gained popularity, matured by the end of that period and during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and fully reached its peak during the Song dynasty. Most huaniaohua paintings belong to the scholar-artist style of Chinese painting. The huaniaohua gained popularity and spread throughout with impact of East Asian cultural spheren painting. It also had an influence on Iranian painting in the golomorgh genre of illustration for book covers and illuminated manuscripts List of Chinese symbols, designs, and art motifs According to Chinese tradition, the huaniaohua covers "flowers, birds, fish, and insects" (); thus, it can deal with a wide range of natural topics, including flowers, fish, insects, birds, pets (dogs, cats), etc. The huaniaohua paintings are inspired by the resilience and the beauty of the flowers and birds found in nature. The intended purpose of the huaniaohua was not simply imitate nature, but to use different painting styles to convey the personality and ideas of the artist. In Chinese culture, different types of birds and flowers held their own symbolic meanings; with some of them even holdings auspicious meanings, scholarly and human virtues, as well as principles. Scholars-artists, in particular, developed a freehand-style painting as a mean to express their emotions and considered Chinese calligraphy and poetry as being an integral component of their huaniaohua painting by giving their ares with a deeper spiritual meaning. The huaniaohua is proper of 10th century China; and the most representative artists of this period are Huang Quan () (c. 900 – 965), who was an imperial painter for many years, and Xu Xi () (937–975), who came from a prominent family but had never entered into officialdom.