Liberalism is not only a political and social idea, but a psychological state as well. There appeared in art history two types of elite liberalism: one is the ancient Chinese theory of "qi-yun", another is the concept of "avant-garde" expounded by the American art critic Clement Greenberg. They seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but they do provide us with a theoretical reference tha is fit for us to make an observation of the Chinese abstract art.

(Abstract from preface by Huang Zhuan)