It is typically monochrome, using only shades of black, with a great emphasis on virtuoso brushwork and conveying the perceived "spirit" or "essence" of a subject over direct imitation.

[3][10] East Asian writing on aesthetics is generally consistent in saying that the goal of ink and wash painting is not simply to reproduce the appearance of the subject, but to capture its spirit.

In his classic book Composition, American artist and educator Arthur Wesley Dow (1857–1922) wrote this about ink wash painting: "The painter... put upon the paper the fewest possible lines and tones; just enough to cause form, texture and effect to be felt.

Thus, in its original context, shading means more than just dark-light arrangement: It is the basis for the nuance in tonality found in East Asian ink wash painting and brush-and-ink calligraphy.

As a result, ink and wash painting is a technically demanding art form requiring great skill, concentration, and years of training.

[13][2] The Four Treasures is summarized in a four-word couplet: "文房四寶: 筆、墨、紙、硯," (Pinyin: wénfáng sìbǎo: bǐ, mò, zhǐ, yàn) "The four jewels of the study: Brush, Ink, Paper, Inkstone" by Chinese scholar-official or literati class, which are also indispensable tools and materials for East Asian painting.

[15][16] The earliest intact ink brush was found in 1954 in the tomb of a Chu citizen from the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) located in an archaeological dig site Zuo Gong Shan 15 near Changsha.

[19] An artist puts a few drops of water on an inkstone and grinds the inkstick in a circular motion until a smooth, black ink of the desired concentration is made.

Prepared liquid inks vary in viscosity, solubility, concentration, etc., but are in general more suitable for practicing Chinese calligraphy than executing paintings.

[4] Ink wash painting appeared during the Tang dynasty (618–907), and its early development is credited to Wang Wei (active in the 8th century) and Zhang Zao, among others.

[27] Wang Wei (王維; 699–759), Zhang Zao (张璪 or 张藻) and Dong Yuan (董源; Dǒng Yuán; Tung Yüan, Gan: dung3 ngion4; c. 934–962) are important representatives of early Chinese ink wash painting of the Southern School.

They were revered during the Ming dynasty and later periods as major exponents of the tradition of "literati painting" (wenrenhua), which was concerned more with individual expression and learning than with outward representation and immediate visual appeal.

[46] Other notable painters from the Yuan period include Gao Kegong (高克恭; 髙克恭; Gaō Kègōng; Kao K'o-kung; 1248–1310), also a poet, and was known for his landscapes,[47] and Fang Congyi.

[49] Li Tang (Chinese: 李唐; pinyin: Lǐ Táng; Wade–Giles: Li T'ang, courtesy name Xigu (Chinese: 晞古); c. 1050 – 1130) of the Northern School, especially Ma Yuan (馬遠; Mǎ Yuǎn; Ma Yüan; c. 1160–65 – 1225) and Xia Gui's ink wash painting modeling and techniques have a profound influence on Japanese and Korean ink wash paintings.

He forms a link between earlier painters such as Guo Xi, Fan Kuan and Li Cheng and later artists such as Xia Gui and Ma Yuan.

[5] Xu Wei, other department "Qingteng Shanren" (青藤山人; Qīngténg Shānrén), was a Ming dynasty Chinese painter, poet, writer and dramatist famed for his artistic expressiveness.

[26]: 757 Bada Shanren (朱耷; zhū dā, born "Zhu Da"; c. 1626–1705), Shitao (石涛; 石濤; Shí Tāo; Shih-t'ao; other department "Yuan Ji" (原濟; 原济; Yuán Jì), 1642–1707) and Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou (扬州八怪; 揚州八怪; Yángzhoū Bā Guài) are the innovative masters of ink wash painting in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

[61] Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters active in the 18th century, who were known in the Qing dynasty for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist.

[67] Huang Binhong (黃賓虹; Huáng Bīnhóng; 1865–1955) was a Chinese literati painter and art historian born in Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

[55]: 2056 Important painters who have absorbed Western sketching methods to improve Chinese ink wash painting include Gao Jianfu, Xu Beihong and Liu Haisu, etc.

He was also regarded as one of the first to create monumental oil paintings with epic Chinese themes – a show of his high proficiency in an essential Western art technique.

[72] Pan Tianshou, Zhang Daqian and Fu Baoshi are important ink wash painters who stick to the tradition of Chinese classical Literati Painting.

His works of landscape painting employed skillful use of dots and inking methods, creating a new technique encompassing many varieties within traditional rules.

[75] Shi Lu (石鲁; 石魯; Shí Lǔ; 1919–1982), born "Feng Yaheng" (冯亚珩; 馮亞珩; Féng Yàhéng), was a Chinese painter, wood block printer, poet and calligrapher.

[8][3][78] Ink wash painting was most likely brought to Korea during the Goryeo dynasty, although no confirmed examples are extant; a number of works preserved in Japanese Buddhist temples are possibly by Korean authors, but this is limited to speculation.

He entered royal service as a member of the Dohwaseo, the official painters of the Joseon court, and drew Mongyu dowondo [ko] (몽유도원도) for Prince Anpyeong in 1447 which is currently stored at Tenri University.

[24][2] A Japanese innovation of the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600) was to use the monochrome style on a much larger scale in byōbu folding screens, often produced in sets so that they ran all round even large rooms.

[77] Kanō school, a Japanese ink wash painting genre, was born under the significant influence of Chinese Taoism and Buddhist culture.

Sesson Shukei (雪村 周継, 1504–1589) and Hasegawa Tōhaku (長谷川 等伯, 1539 – 19 March 1610) mainly imitated the ink wash painting styles of the Chinese Song dynasty monk painter Muqi.

As a bunjin (文人, literati, man of letters), Ike was close to many of the prominent social and artistic circles in Kyoto, and in other parts of the country, throughout his lifetime.