Huazhi 畫旨

Huazhi 畫旨 "The aims of painting" is a book on painting written by Dong Qichang 董其昌 (1555-1636), who also wrote Huachanshi suibi 畫禪室隨筆.

The short text is a compilation of notes (ti-ba 題跋) on Dong's own paintings and of older artworks discussing a wide range of subjects, including methods of painting, criticism, appreciation and instruction to students. The influence of Dong's statements on later theories of painting was considerable, as he clearly discerned between the southern school and the northern school of painters and argued that artworks could only be created by "men of the letters" (wenren 文人) who were trained in painting. The term "Southern School" (Nanzong 南宗) referred to such private artists (which Dong rated as the better one), while the word "Northern School" (Beizong 北宗) denoted court painting. Dong also repudiated "hobby painters" who had not sufficient experience, instruction or education. Landscape painters, for example, had to be inspired by the study of nature, and were thus forced to travel a lot, taking "Heaven and Earth as teachers" (yi tiandi wei shi 以天地為師).

The text is included in one of Dong's collected writings, Rongtai bieji 容臺別集. Some statements correspond to those found in two other writings of Dong Qichang, Huachanshi suibi and Huayan 畫眼. A revised version of the text was produced by Yu Anlan 于安瀾 (1902-1999) and is found in the periodical Hualun congkan 畫論叢刊 (1957).