Abstract
The six conditions for good painting set by Hsieh Ho 
in the fifth century a.d. were apparently the first Chinese attempt at a systematic approach to the theory of the art. Their primacy ensured them the respect of later centuries; and since they satisfied the general requirements of classical lore by being at once ancient, terse, and superficially simple about a core of mystery, they came as early as T'ang to acquire a unique weight of authority. The emphasis given them, by quotation and long discussion, in the theoretical sections of the first two grand histories of Chinese painting–Chang Yen-yüan's 
in the ninth century and Kuo Jo-hsü's 
in the eleventh–is an obvious sign of high esteem. To these instances might be added countless others, throughout the later literature of the art, in which the Six Laws or the name of their author appear in a place of honor.
