A Comparative Study of the Concept of “Time” in Chinese and Western Painting
Abstract
This study compares how “time” is conceived and represented in Chinese and Western painting through pictorial narration, viewing mode, and cultural temporality. Using comparative visual analysis of representative Chinese handscroll/landscape traditions and Western Renaissance-to-modern works, the paper identifies two dominant patterns: Chinese painting tends to articulate temporality through unfolding sequences and mobile viewing that integrate time and space, while Western painting more often concentrates temporality into a framed instant through composition and perspectival organization. The study argues that these pictorial differences correspond to broader cultural orientations toward cyclical/continuous versus linear/eventful temporality. It concludes that the two traditions are complementary and offers implications for contemporary cross-cultural visual practice.
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References
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