When you come into contact with a Chinese painting, the style is almost instantly recognizable. The attention to detail, craftsmanship and vast depictions of elaborate landscapes seem to pay homage to Mother Earth in an attempt to achieve a state of eternal balance with nature and life. Before this balance can be achieved, internal discipline must be achieved. This was necessary before they began to master their brushwork in Chinese culture. In “The Way of Chinese Painting” by Mai Mai Sze, 1959, New York: Vintage Books, Random House, Sze discusses the philosophy known as Taoism/Tao, or “the way.” Before becoming a talented painter, one trained in the personal disciplines of poetry, art, calligraphy and inner reflection/realization. Only after achieving this internal state of tranquility between the brushstrokes and the idea (i.e. symbolism) can one begin the next journey to achieve a state of harmony /global balance between life and nature. Over the centuries, the concept of Tao has remained relatively constant, although political judgments such as that of Confucius have caused the idea of ​​philosophy to emerge as a distinct entity among religious ideals. This contrasted with the traditional principle that religion was the central point of life. The idea of ​​balance between nature and man is abstract and encompasses thoughts of a heaven and earth intertwined through mathematics. Sze presents several points of view: that of yin and yang, of de, li and “the way” (Tao). Chinese values ​​teach a way of living and bringing ideas together. It involves deep concentration from an early age, focusing on calligraphy and discipline, which is transmitted through painstaking precision in the execution of brush work to represent ideas (i.e. representation from...... middle of paper...... m: "...he didn't know if it was Zhuangzi who dreamed that he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuangzi." (Zhuangzi, The Zhuangzi: Chapter 2 “The Butterfly's Dream”, 300 BC) These are the questions that Taoism helps us better understand, gaining a better understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live. . Bibliography/SourcesHoff, Benjamin and Ernest H. Shepard London: Methuen, 1998. Print.Tzu, Lao Te Ching. Print.Little, Stephen and Shawn Eichman. Institute of Chicago, 2000. Print.Sharot, Stephen A Comparative Sociology of World Religions: NYU Press, 2001Zhuangzi, The Zhuangzi: Chapter 2 “The Butterfly's Dream”, 300 BC “Taoism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wikipedia. , Web. April 17. 2011.