Art collection, art is generally based on painting, sculpture and architecture, and has no function, which is different from ceramic kiln, bronze ware and jade carving. These are generally called decorative arts or practical functional arts in the framework of art history. Painting, architecture and sculpture are pure art or high-end art in the definition of western market, which emphasizes the so-called useless use and has no specific function. Of course, China defined art as pure education and helping others, and strengthening education by the ruling class is also a part of literati's self-cultivation.

As a cultural relic country, China's most important category is China's paintings and calligraphy. In this sense, it is a national treasure, alongside the well-known archaeological cultural relics such as prehistoric jade, three generations of bronzes and Tang and Song ceramics.

Among the national treasures, from the perspective of our museum collection and market circulation, there is a special category-Song and Yuan paintings.

Painting in Song and Yuan Dynasties is completely different from other art categories. Because of the scarcity and fragility of paper materials, Song and Yuan paintings are generally not exhibited abroad. Even if they are exhibited in museums, they should be scheduled regularly, with emphasis on preservation. At the same time, Song and Yuan painting is the source and foundation of contemporary painting, which can be said to be the unattainable peak of later painting, and it has been sought after and cared for by cultural relics systems, museum systems and collectors in various countries. The circulation policy, cultural relics policy and even the price in the history of traditional collection of paintings in Song and Yuan Dynasties are completely different from those in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Before talking about the paintings of this period, let's briefly talk about the paintings of the next five generations. The Five Dynasties after the Tang Dynasty, about 50 or 60 years, is a historical period in which the history of painting in China developed and changed rapidly. The next two periods are the Song and Yuan Dynasties, which are the development periods connecting the past and the future in the history of China. Next, it introduces its major schools, great painters, great scenery and clues.

The Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty lasted almost 300 years. The Northern Song Dynasty was an era of rapid development of landscape painting, which inherited the tradition of Beijing official school. One is Li Cheng and the other is Fan Kuan. Li Cheng, a nobleman in the Southern Tang Dynasty, is unwilling to paint for others, so there are few paintings now. Some of his descendants made Kaifeng magistrate and took back all his paintings. So Mi Fei, a great calligrapher in the Northern Song Dynasty, lamented that his paintings were gone.

Now there are scattered controversies, such as "Early Spring Map" and "Journey to the West Mountain", which are China's early representative works.