The perception of art history is one of the most contentious issues facing artists in China today. On the one hand, traditional artists and the state culture system emphasize the importance of traditional values and the so-called Chineseness of Chinese art, and on the other hand contemporary artists work in an international artistic language developing out of Western art history. Accordingly, the role of Chinese traditional culture and its iconography in contemporary works of art has become the subject of fierce debate. Since Chinese cultural iconography can generate both commercial and