Yellow River is the cradle of Chinese Civilizations. On the fertile lands along . this mother River, tribes settled, clans formed, civilization developed and art emerged. Chinese painting can be dated back to prehistoric times and the earliest paintings of art were found on pottery pieces unearthed from several early civilizations in the Yellow River Valley. For example, Yangshao Civilization around 5000 BC t0 3000 BC was a great and influencial society with its geographic area reaching today’s Hubei Province to the south and Mongolia to the north and was a civilization in a transition period from matriarchal to patriarchal society. Cultivation and agriculture were already extensively used by this civilization. Fine pottery pieces unearthed demonstrated a unique characteristic of their own.
The colorful pottery of Majiayao Civilization of early Neolithic time in the upper region of the River around 3000 BC t0 2000 BC was considered to be the finest in that period and had achieved unprecedented level of sophistication. Another important civilization was Dawenkou Civilization, which was in the lower region of the River around 2300 BC t0 500 BC and a typical society in late period of Neolithic time. Collectively they are called color pottery civilizations and many pottery pieces unearthed from the sites associated them have remarkable and colorful paintings and patterns. Composition of the paintings includes human figures, fishes and insects, birds and animals, flowers and plants, and abstract patterns. The advancement of ceramic pottery laid the foundation for the development of bronze civilization and perhaps foretold the arrival of porcelain pottery. Ceramic, bronze and porcelain were all the important carriers of the new art form, paintings. However paintings were only used to decorate their carriers. Artists were anonymous and many of them were tribe women who just settled. Even in bronze and porcelain periods, artists were still craft painters and they were very low in their social rankings. It was very difficult to make a name in history books even for those with finest skills and who served in the imperial court.
