《中國文人畫之研究》是在談到二十世紀文人畫理論時，無法忽視的一部著作，內容包含陳師曾所著的〈文人畫之價值〉與其翻譯日本大村西崖的《文人畫之復興》。陳師曾與大村西崖這兩篇論述的目的無非是想要捍衛遭受攻擊的文人畫，讓文人畫可以繼續在畫壇佔有一席之地。二十世紀以前中國文人畫享有數百年崇高的地位，但是到了二十世紀初，在五四運動檢討傳統文化並且崇尚西方文化的氛圍下，文人畫因不如西洋繪畫寫實而遭受抨擊。日本文人畫以南畫的名稱於江户時代從中國傳入，成為日本繪畫派別之一，其逸筆草草而不重寫實的風格於1882年遭到費諾羅沙在其經典的「美術真說」演講中攻擊。來自清末維新派家族的陳師曾除了接受西學的教育，也同時擁有深厚的國學素養，能文能詩，當文人畫遭受攻擊時選擇挺身捍衛。愛好文人畫的大村西崖在日本知音難覓，但其著作對陳師曾等中國文人畫家而言，是如獲至寶。由於有共同的目標，多數論者較強調他們的相似之處，但是畢竟文人畫在中國與日本的歷史與內涵都不同，陳師曾與大村西崖對文人畫也有不同的認知，所以他們這兩篇文人畫的著作也存在著有趣的相異之處。

The Study of Chinese Literati Painting is too important a publication to ignore when discussing literati painting theory of the 20th century. The basic contents of Chen Shizeng's ＂The Value of Literati Painting＂ and his translation of The Revival of Literati Painting by the Japanese scholar Ōmura Seigai. The purpose of both Chen and Ōmura's theses is to defend literati painting under criticism so that it could continue to achieve the high status in Art. Literati painting had developed into a esteemed status through long course of history in imperial China. However, when it came to the early 20th century, in the atmosphere of revisiting traditional culture and embracing Western culture, literati painting was criticized for not being as realistic as Western painting. During the Edo period, literati painting, called Nanga, spread to Japan from China, which developed into one of the painting schools in Japan. Japanese literati painting was criticized by Ernest Fenollosa for its loose brushwork and less realistic style in his 1882 classic lecture ＂The True Theory of Art＂ (Bijustu Shinsetsu). Chen Shizeng of the late Qing reformer (Weixinpai) family received Western style education and at the same time was learned in Chinese classics. He was able to write classical prose and poetry. When literati painting was criticized, he stood up to defend it. Ōmura Seigai who loved literati painting was not able to find a large audience in Japan but his thesis was a treasure for Chinese literati painters such as Chen Shizeng. Because Chen and Ōmura had the same goal, most scholars tend to discuss more on their similarities. However, the history and nature of literati painting are different in China and Japan. Therefore, Chen Shizeng and Ōmura Seigai had different notions on literati painting. In the end, there are interesting differences between their works on literati painting.