Why does China's ancient landscape painting look less realistic than western oil painting?

The traditional landscape paintings in ancient China are often said to be less realistic and unreal than western oil paintings, mainly because most of the ancient paintings in China are painted in black and white ink, while landscape paintings are actually more about depicting the scenery with simple strokes, and more about expressing the scenery you really want to express in the simplest way. The two styles of painting want to pursue different things. Western painting styles actually want to pursue realism and rich colors, so the paintings they present are really colorful and more gorgeous. Their oil paintings are very colorful, so they can perfectly represent the colors of human beings or landscapes. After all, the world is colorful, and black and white alone looks unreal, so western painting has such advantages.

Moreover, most of China's paintings pursue freehand brushwork, and more pursue the verve and thoughts he wants to express, rather than painting real scenery by copying. So at that time, many painters were trying to draw their own themes. They are grand or majestic, and they care more about the connotation of painting than really showing vivid scenery.

This is actually related to the admiration between the two places. The cultures of the West and China are very different. For example, most westerners at that time were more open, and they expressed their feelings more directly. Therefore, their paintings should not only express their own connotation, but also express the real scene through gorgeous colors. They use the diversity of colors to express their inner thoughts.

China's culture is introverted, and their feelings are implicit, which is not so direct in any works. Therefore, it is understandable to use freehand brushwork and blank space in painting, which is even more unreal.