The chapter on basic techniques is clearly explained with many illustrations showing you how to produce the brush strokes needed to begin a painting. This is followed up with applying washes.

The remainder of the book is divided into chapters on flowers and plants, birds, fish and aquatic creatures, animals, people and landscapes. Of these, I enjoyed the sections on flowers and plants, birds and animals the most.

Painting individual flowers is clearly explained from stalks, leaves and petals to a demonstration of a complete painting of an iris.

Small birds are also clearly demonstrated, as are some of the animals. I found the demonstration of the simple depiction of a cat and a horse particularly helpful.

I personally don't find illustrations of fish, people and landscapes in chinese painting as appealing as flowers, birds and animals and so these chapters were a little wasted on me, but this is a very personal view and many may well disagree with me.

As a beginner in Chinese painting,overall I found this a very useful book.