How Can Chinese Children Draw so Well

Chinese children do not draw childish drawings. Young children in China make drawings that seem to challenge theories of the developmental course of drawing skill (e.g., Gardner, 1980; Kellogg, 1969; Winner, 1982). Instead of the large, messy, semi-expressionist paintings seen in American preschools and elementary schools, in which children reveal their own invented ways of representing, one sees in China small, neat paintings in which children display their precocious ability to master adult ways of representing the world. Chinese children learn to paint in two styles that at first glance appear very different-"Western-style" watercolors and traditional Chinese ink paintings. Western-style paintings are typically colorful scenes in which the entire space is filled with small figures engaged in a dazzling variety of activities-walking, sitting, jumping, shown from the back and looking up, running with one leg going back and in foreshortening, holding umbrellas, etc. (figs. 1 and 2). These postures (never seen in drawings by such young children in the West) are no mean feat to depict, and it is quite breathtaking to encounter such a repertoire in children even as young as six. The figures depicted are almost always children, and they all look the same-a round head, two big black dots for eyes, and a smiling mouth. The brush is used with great skill: the figures are outlined in black, and the colors are bright. For some colors the brush is applied directly from the paint jar, while for others the paint is thinned with water to create a translucent effect.