I'm not entirely sure, but I've heard from a taiwanese teacher once that Chinese ink and wash paintings (shui-mo) are usually painted straight from the imagination. No references whatsoever. Straight from the mind. And they do it using the same techniques they use for their character calligraphy. Should have paid more attention to her :p
But when you talk about chinese art, it kinda includes a lot of different kinds of art. Like chinese paintings, calligraphy, pottery, sculptures, carvings, embroidery, poems, martial arts, chess... etc. I find all of them amazing. Like how they sculpted the terracotta, how the girls do the embroidery, the designs for china plates, cups, teapots, and how they manage to carve on jade, wood and other stones and gems. I'd recommend you google all of those ^^
And definitely good luck on your homework :D
