Once Cherrett starts getting into the various subjects of Chinese Brush Painting, she also gets into the trivial tidbits and cultural information that I expected.
These details are given directly in short, chapter-ending sections that are about 1/5 of a page. Though, these direct tellings are so straightforward that you'd easily be able to organize what the subjects Cherrett describes symbolize into a table. No extra detail is given aside from various subjects and what they symbolize - whether it's a specific month, season, emotion, or state of being.
However, as Cherrett writes about painting birds and insects, and animals, she continually emphasizes the importance of making them appear lively. In so doing she'll often mention things like sparrows being loud and cheeky, or how elephants need to appear heavy and strong. Some of these references to culture are similar enough to Western ideas that their distinct Chinese qualities are obscured (like the elephants being heavy and strong), but others offer an indirect look at Chinese attitudes towards various creatures (such as sparrows being cheeky).
Along with this trickle of information, Cherrett includes a wealth of fabulous brush paintings that vividly show lively, animated subjects.
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