Final answer:
Chinese landscape paintings were deeply influenced by political transitions and intellectual traditions, focusing on brushwork and spirituality rather than direct observation, contrasting with the Western evolution of landscape art.
Step-by-step explanation:
In traditional Chinese landscape paintings, political factors significantly influenced the subject and style. During transitions between dynasties, such as from the Ming to the Qing, artists often retreated into personal or imaginative realms, focusing on calligraphy and metaphysical aspects of landscape representations. Dong Qichang, a scholarly painter, reinforced this trend by advocating the value of brushwork over the direct imitation of nature, thus shaping traditionalist styles followed by the elite.
These landscapes did not typically showcase human life, display wealth, or include royal castles but were instead deeply connected to Chinese intellectual and spiritual traditions.
These Chinese artistic traditions contrasted with European and North American approaches, where landscapes often had different motivations, such as national pride or the celebration of God's creation, and were only considered a legitimate genre in their own right much later. In England, for instance, landscape painting evolved from being merely backgrounds in portraits to expressing a new appreciation for the countryside, especially during the shifts induced by the onset of industrialization.