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Natural History and Chinese Painting

What can bird-and-flower paintings tell us about early scientific thought in China? Help us find out!

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In our first workflow, we ask volunteers to identify bird families and species in the paintings.

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About Natural History and Chinese Painting

This collaborative research project considers the intersections between natural science and visual culture in traditional China (10th - 19th centuries) by investigating the species of plants and animals depicted in paintings.

  • How many of these species can we identify today?
  • Might any pictures of extinct species lurk in these paintings?
  • Why did artists render animals and plants with so much naturalism?
  • What patterns can we detect in the combinations of specific birds and plants?

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