"Art served several purposes in China, functioning as magical objects, emblems of authority, signs of superior cultural refinement, mechanisms for the preservation of information, and vehicles for self-expression. As the worlds first art historian, Zhang Yan Yuan (847), stated succinctly, art helped human relations and explored the mysteries of the universe. Art, he wrote, completes culture. Patrons included members of the imperial court, noble families, high-ranking bureaucrats, and Buddhist and Daoist monasteries. However, the percentage of the population having access to visual imagery was small, not to mention the miniscule number of people who commissioned or owned works of art."
--- Mackenzie, Lynn.
Non-Western Art: A Brief Guide. 2nd edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2001. (86)
