书画 (shūhuà): painting and calligraphy

Meanings

1 painting and calligraphy
2 Chinese ink art

Characters

书

Examples

爷爷一辈子喜欢书画。

Yéye yībèizi xǐhuān shūhuà.

Grandpa has loved calligraphy and painting his whole life.

这次展览展出了很多名家书画。

Zhè cì zhǎnlǎn zhǎnchūle hěnduō míngjiā shūhuà.

This exhibition displays works by many master calligraphers and painters.

Tips

culture

书 (calligraphy) and 画 (painting) are treated as sister arts in Chinese aesthetics — both use brush, ink, and paper/silk, and many masters (e.g., 苏轼, 齐白石) practiced both. The phrase 书画同源 ('calligraphy and painting share one source') expresses this unity.