Why is color usually less structural in Chinese painting than in Western painting?

In Chinese painting, color is typically less structural than in Western painting because Chinese art is fundamentally a linear tradition, deeply rooted in the aesthetics of calligraphy.12

The Chinese painter uses the same tools as the calligrapher—brush, ink, and silk or paper—and judges their work by the vitality and expressiveness of the brushstroke rather than by the creation of three-dimensional mass through shading or perspective. Because the primary goal is to transmit the inner life of things through the rhythmic movement of the line, color is often used sparingly or as a decorative accent rather than as a foundational element of design.13

In contrast, Western painting—particularly from the Renaissance onward—developed systems of tonal modeling and shading to represent volume, space, and light. While Western artists have historically used color to define form and structure, Chinese artists have traditionally prioritized the "structural method in use of the brush" (gufa yongbi) to achieve harmony and unity.453