This essay argues that mountain and water painting (shanshui hua) is the most significant expression of the ecological wisdom of ancient Chinese culture and embodies a non-anthropocentric approach to nature. Grounded in the concept of tianren heyi, the unity of heaven and humanity traceable to the Yijing and articulated by Zhuangzi, it describes how Confucian and Daoist thought frame humans as one part of an interconnected cosmos in which every element, including rocks and mountains, has its own principle (li). The author links this to Xie He’s principle of qiyun shengdong and to Jakob von Uexküll’s notion of Umwelt, suggesting that the painter must grasp the inner reality of each element rather than impose a human-centred view. Texts by Su Dongpo, Shitao, Guo Xi, Huang Gongwang and Jing Hao’s distinction between truth (zhen) and resemblance (si) in the Bifaji are discussed, together with a Chan aphorism on seeing mountains as mountains. Texture strokes, the placement of dots and painting manuals such as the Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual show how technique follows natural growth. The essay concludes that shanshui painting offers a positive, conciliatory form of environmental criticism.