They were never content to copy flowers, faces, or figures as we do
to-day. Instead they aimed to catch the spirit of the object from
which they were working, and then with freedom and boldness to execute
a design that should have something more than mere reproduction in
it. It did not matter in the least to them if a flower in one of their
pictures was sometimes larger than a man; or a boat many sizes bigger
than the bridge beneath which it sailed. They were making a sort of
fairyland decoration where anything they pleased was possible; it was
not a world of fact. As a result they got an imaginative quality in
their decoration which none of our more prosaic and literal western
nations have ever equaled."
Mr. Croyden took a pull at his pipe.
"Much of their design was symbolic, and much of the coloring they used
had a national significance. For example, the Dragon was a symbol of
empire and power; the Dog, a sacred animal, was often used; but it was
no ordinary dog. Instead it had great teeth, a curling mane, and claws
like a lion. A Chinese artist would have scorned to copy a real dog,
for that would not have been considered art; nor would a picture of
any living type of dog be half as imposing as was this imaginary
creature with its fierce teeth, mane, and claws.
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