Any traveler to Europe would be at a great loss if they had never heard of Michelangelo's David or Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Of course, China too has its own masterpieces, works of art that form a crucial part of the nation's culture and are instantly recognizable to nearly any native Chinese, from museum curators to grocery store cashiers. They play an important role not only in China's history but also in everyday life, reproduced countless times in TV ads, propaganda posters, and cheap knickknacks. Any visitor to China is sure to have seen many of them, even without ever realizing what they were looking at. Here are four classic works of art that every China expat should be able to recognize.
1) The Orchid Pavilion Preface (兰亭序, Lántíng xù)

For centuries, the Orchid Pavilion Preface has been considered the greatest of China's many masterpieces of calligraphy. Written in the 4th century by the Jin Dynasty "Calligraphy Sage" Wang Xizhi, it was intended as an introduction to a collection of poems composed by a gathering of scholars and artists during a drinking party at Wang's home. The text begins with an account of the party and drifts into an occasionally sombre meditation on the fleeting nature of life's pleasures and a wish for the evening's poems to serve as a testament outlasting their authors' brief lives. But it is the style of the writing rather than the content that has made the Orchid Pavilion Preface a classic, and scholars and connoisseurs have long been enthralled by the gentle elegance and rich emotion evident in the characters' brushstrokes.

Reproductions of the Orchid Pavilion Preface have therefore long been a staple of bookstores and art galleries throughout China. Copies are treasured by calligraphy enthusiasts not only as objects to be admired, but as models to be studied and imitated in their own writing. Outside these rarefied circles, the Preface can also be found as one of the most common designs adorning the cheap paper fans sold as souvenirs at China's major tourist attractions.

2) Galloping Horse Treading on a Flying Swallow (马踏飞燕, Mǎ tà fēi yàn)

Also known more simply as the "Galloping Bronze Horse" or the "Flying Horse," this statue was crafted during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220) and buried in the tomb of Zhang Ye, a general stationed at the empire's western frontier, in modern day Gansu Province. Excavated in 1969, the horse quickly became celebrated as an outstanding example of Chinese metalworking, both for the realism of the animal's figure and the careful design which allows the statue to remain supported on only one leg. 

In 1983, the Flying Horse was adopted as the official logo of the Chinese tourism industry. The statue's discovery along the path of the Silk Road made it a suitable symbol of international exchange. From simple plaques at the entrances of major attractions to massive statues marking places that have been awarded the honour of "Outstanding Chinese Tourism City," the Flying Horse has become an inescapable part of the sightseeing experience.

3) Along the River During the Qingming Festival (清明上河图, Qīngmíng Shànghé Tú)

As the name suggests, this painting depicts scenes from daily life along the banks of a river, set during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival (Qingming) in and around the city of Kaifeng. The original work was painted in the early 12th century during the Song Dynasty by the artist Zhang Zeduan. But in the following centuries, dozens of new versions of the painting were produced, depicting similar scenes but with details such as architecture, clothing, and activities conforming to contemporary norms. As scroll paintings, the different versions of Along the River are also notable for their length: the Song Dynasty original measures 5.28 metres across, while a notable Qing reproduction is over 11 metres long.

Despite the wide variety of scenes depicted in Along the River, the most famous and easily recognizable depicts the bustling city traffic centred around a tall bridge arched across the river, occasionally with a boat passing underneath or – in some versions – on the brink of crashing into the bridge. This scene can be found reproduced in nearly any art gallery and souvenir shop in China, appearing on folding screens, porcelain vases, embroidery, stone carvings, or almost any medium imaginable.

4) Old Summer Palace Zodiac Heads (圆明园生肖兽首, Yuánmíngyuán shēngxiào shòu shǒu)

Like the Galloping Bronze Horse, the zodiac heads were sculpted hundreds of years ago but have only recently achieved their current fame. The set of twelve animal heads originally served as decorations on an elaborate fountain in Beijing's European-style Old Summer Palace. Constructed in the early 18th century and expanded by a succession of Qing emperors, the palace was destroyed in 1860 by British and French troops during the Second Opium War. The heads survived and drifted into the collections of various European art collectors, but over the past ten years China has made a concerted effort to bring all twelve back to their original home. 

The repatriation of the animal heads has been portrayed as a restoration of China's national dignity after the humiliations and injustices of a previous age. So far, only five have been successfully recovered, often at the cost of several millions of US dollars. But replicas of all twelve can be seen in many places throughout China. As a symbol both of past imperial grandeur and modern national pride, the heads are especially popular among the country's nouveau riche, adorning accessories ranging from gold jewelry to luxury housing developments.

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Keywords: masterpieces in Chinese art most famous Chinese art pieces Chinese art and history Art in China