What is the value of Zhang Zeduan's Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in the history of painting?

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is 25.2 cm wide and 528.7 cm long, and it is in silk color. The works, in the form of long scrolls, vividly record the city appearance of Bianjing in China during the Northern Song Dynasty12nd century and the living conditions of people from all walks of life at that time. It is the witness of Bianjing's prosperity in that year, and it is also a portrayal of the urban economic situation in the Northern Song Dynasty.

This is unique in the history of painting in China and even in the world. In this five-meter-long picture scroll, * * * depicts a large number of characters, cattle, mules, donkeys and other livestock, cars, sedan chairs, large and small ships, houses, bridges, towers and other features, reflecting the characteristics of architecture in the Song Dynasty. It has high historical value and artistic value. Although the scene of The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is lively, it is not a bustling city scene, but a "bustling and dangerous picture" with a sense of urgency. Officers and men are lazy and pay heavy taxes.

Centered on the tall towers, there are rows of houses on both sides, including teahouses, restaurants, foot shops, meat shops, temples, public halls and so on. Silk, jewelry, spices, incense, paper horses and so on all have specialized businesses. In addition, there are medical clinics, car repair, fortune telling, shaving and plastic surgery, and all walks of life have everything. Large-scale shops are also tied up with "colorful buildings and happy doors", and banners are hung to attract business, and pedestrians in the market are jostling with each other. There are businessmen who do business and people who look at street scenes. There are monks walking around with baskets on their backs, tourists asking for directions from other places, street children who have heard of books, children of rich people who drink heavily in restaurants, disabled elderly people begging on the edge of cities, men, women and children, scholars, farmers, workers and businessmen, and so on. Means of transportation: sedan chair, camel, ox cart, rickshaw, flat car and various vehicles, which vividly show people the bustling scene of a commercial city.