Who is the author of the Chinese painting The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival? Which dynasty, where and what life scene did it reflect?

Author: Zhang Zeduan. Reflects the life scene of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty.

The picture depicts the bustling scene of Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, during the Qingming period. The riverside scene on Qingming Festival was a folk custom at that time, such as today's holiday party, where people took part in business activities. The whole picture is large in scale and rigorous in structure. It is roughly divided into three sections: the first section is the suburban landscape, the second section is the Bianhe River, and the third section is the urban market.

First, the scene on the outskirts of Bianjing. Farmers farm in the fields, and rich people come back from sweeping graves. On the way, people carrying teams, porters and cyclists are rushing to the city. Next is the most wonderful part-Bianhe. The arch bridge on the Bianhe River is like a rainbow. Pedestrians on the bridge are like a tide, bustling, jostling shoulder to shoulder, and ships under the bridge compete for beauty. Many small plots are very interesting. If a frightened horse on the bridge causes danger, the donkey is also frightened, and curious people are watching. Then describe the Bianjing market. Bianjing, as the political, economic and cultural center at that time, was full of yamen, houses, workshops, restaurants, scattered houses, downtown, nine schools and three religions. The picture unfolds a leisurely scene with tension and relaxation, forming an interesting contrast and rhythm. By describing the architecture, commerce and transportation of Bianjing, the painter reproduces the prosperity and development of the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty.

There are more than 550 people, more than 60 kinds of livestock, more than 20 wooden boats, more than 30 pavilions and more than 20 wheelbarrows on the Riverside Map at Qingming Festival. Such rich and colorful contents are rare in ancient paintings of past dynasties. What is commendable is that every figure, scene and detail in the painting are arranged reasonably, and the relationship between the pictures such as density, complexity, movement, gathering and dispersion is properly handled, so that it is complicated but not messy. It fully shows the painter's profound insight into social life and high artistic accomplishment and expression ability.

The Riverside Scene on the Qingming Festival is not only a treasure of realistic painting art, but also provides us with rich video materials such as commerce, handicrafts, folk customs, architecture and transportation in the metropolis of the Northern Song Dynasty. Therefore, it also has the value of historical documents.