Chinese Arts and Crafts Chinese arts and crafts have been admired by many countries for centuries. Painting has been an honored art in China for more than two thousand years. The paintings are usually made with simple lines, but much thought and skill are put into each line. According to Swann, "Much of the vitality of Chinese painting springs from their constant search for life balance and beauty of line in this most abstract of all arts" (37). Most of these paintings show the beauties of nature. Sullivan says, "The forms of Chinese art are beautiful because they are in the wildest and deepest sense harmonious, and we can appreciate them