“Less is more”. This is a popular motto quoted by graphic designers and lots of other professionals. The opposite is also a good one: “More is less.”

Flowers are beautiful as they are, over decorating them only make them ugly; things should be done appropriately, no more, no less. Overdoing a thing only diminishes it.

In the ancient times, Miaodao Islands are known as “Three (Penglai, Wanzhang, Yingzhou) Fairy Mountains on the Sea”. According to “Records of the Grand Historians”, great emperors such as Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han had endure the long journey to come here and worship towards the fairy mountains and beg for longevity. And its famous sea mirage attracts lots of tourists.

The painting topics at that time could be divided into three categories: one is classic stories, second is folk realistic stories, and the third is mythology stories. Royal and noble families specially emphasize on classic stories in order to educate and civilize people. So most of figure paintings in these families have such content. Screens are also a great platform for such stories. This lacquer painting is a typical example, showing most stories about exemplar women.