A Record of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties by Tang dynasty painter Zhang Yanyuan believes that there are four Chinese Buddhist art styles respectively created by four famous painters that have proven particularly influential in the history of the art. The author of this paper notes, however, that there are significant differences between them in terms of patterns and styles. Fine art history in the modern humanities is different in nature from ancient art history since their concepts and categories are different. Among the four types mentioned above, the two exemplified by Wu Daozi and Cao Zhongda are representative styles both focusing on the description of the folds in clothes, whereas the third style of Zhou Fang, represented by paintings of the Water-and-Moon Avalokitesvara, focuses on patterns. To clarify such problems is of important significance for understanding ancient Buddhist art history.
