BEI Futsu in the Northern Sung Dynasty described in his work, 'Gashi (the history of paintings)' that the significance of viewing calligraphic works and paintings was in 'doing Seigan (appreciating something beautiful),' which showed that artistic quality of calligraphic works and paintings came to be recognized in society.
北宋の米芾は『画史』において書画鑑賞の本質的な意義は「清玩」することにあると述べているが書画の芸術性が社会に認識されたことを示している。