Four fan pictures painted by artists of the Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) were selected from the National Palace Museum collection. They are briefly described as follows：1.00　　Cherry-apple Blossoms by Lin Chun： Lin Chun (flourished ca. 1174) was a native of Chien`tang, the modern Hangchou in Chekiang.He was a member of the Painting Academy in the Chun-hsi period (1174-1190) of the Emperor Hsiao- tsung.His paintings depict flowers and birds, animals, and fruit. He followed the pattern of Chao Chang, using color very thinly on his paintings, and catching the wonder of creation.2.00　　Spring Blossoms and a Colorful Butterfly by Ma Kuei： Ma Kuei was a native of Ho-chung.He was the son of Ma Shih-jung and the elder brother of Ma Yuan.His skill equalled that of the other Ma family members.During the first year of the Ching-yuan era (1195-1200) of Ning-tsung's reign (Southern Sung) he entered the Painting Academy as a Painter-in-Attendance.He painted landscapes, figure paintings, fruit and flowers, animals and birds.His light application of color was very skillful, and his paintings of birds and animals were very brilliant. Their poses, whether flying or calling, were extremely lifelike and were not equalled by other painters.5.00　　Monkeys and Deer by I Yuan-chi： I Yuan-chi (flourished ca. 1066), whose familiar name was Ching-chih, was a native of Chang-sha in Hunan.Of great skill and intelligence, he specialized at first in flowers and fruit, but after seeing the paintings of Chao Chang, he became ambitious to gain fame in an area not attempted by previous painters. For this reason he took up the painting of deer and apes, travelling deep into the hills of South China to observe them.After he had established a home, he laid out a garden and pool in which he arranged rocks, shrubbery and flowers . He stocked his garden with waterfowl and wild animals to observe their behavior in order to use them as subjects for paintings. The perfection of his drawings from natural life was nmatched in his time.8.00　　Tame Sparrows among Bamboo by an Anonymous Artist