Along the River During the Qingming Festival

This is a masterpiece that only Zhang Zeduan, a painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, has seen. It is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Zhang Zeduan was born in Wu Dong (now Zhucheng). He studied in Bianjing in his early years, then studied painting, and worked in Hanlin Painting Academy during the reign of Song Huizong Evonne (11-1124). Chinese painting uses a marker and ruler to draw lines, which is used to express themes such as palaces, terraces and houses, especially boats, cars, shops, bridges, streets and battlements. His paintings are unique and unique. Most of Zhang Zeduan's paintings are scattered, and only The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is well preserved. This painting is 24.8 cm high and 525 cm long. This painting depicts the prosperity of Bianjing in the Qingming period. It is a witness to the prosperity of Bianjing in that year and a portrayal of the economic situation of the city in the Northern Song Dynasty. Through this painting, we learned about the city appearance of the Northern Song Dynasty and the life of people from all walks of life at that time. In a word, The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is of great historical value.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Bianjing was extremely prosperous, with four rivers passing through the city and four land routes. It used to be the national land and water transportation center, ranking first in the country in commercial development, with a population of more than 654.38+0 million. There are many lively markets, shops and even night markets in Bianjing City. On holidays, the capital is even more lively. In order to show the prosperity of Beijing, Zhang Zeduan chose the scene of Qingming, an important festival, and gave 59 performances. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival shows the land and water transportation and busy market in the capital of Northern Song Dynasty.

The center of the Riverside Map on Qingming Festival consists of a rainbow-shaped bridge and the street surface of Qiaotou Street. At first glance, crowded and chaotic; A closer look shows that these people are from different industries and engage in various activities. There are some vendors and many tourists on the west side of the bridge. There are knives, scissors and groceries on the stall. There are tea sellers and fortune tellers. Many tourists lean against the railings by the bridge, or point at them, or watch the ships coming and going in the river. On the sidewalk in the middle of the bridge, there are bustling people; There are people who ride cars, ride horses, carry loads, drive donkeys, transport goods and push unicycles ... The south side of the bridge is connected with the street. On both sides of the street are teahouses, pubs, pawn shops and workshops. There are many vendors with big umbrellas in the open spaces on both sides of the street. The street extends eastward and westward to the quiet suburb outside the city, but there are still pedestrians on the street: some are carrying goods, some are driving ox carts to deliver goods, some are driving donkeys to pull trucks, and some stop to watch the scenery of Bianhe River.

There are many boats coming and going on the Bian River, which can be described as a race in Qian Fan. Some are parked near the dock, and some are driving in the river. Some big ships were overloaded, and the owners hired many trackers to tow them. A big ship carrying goods has passed under the bridge and will soon cross bridge opening. At this time, the boatman on this big ship is very busy. Some people stood at the top of the canopy and put down their sails; Some people are struggling to support the pole by the boat; Some people hold the ceiling of bridge opening with long poles, so that the boat can pass safely with the water. This tense scene attracted the attention of tourists on the bridge and nearby boatmen, who stood by and cheered. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival vividly depicts the busy and tense traffic scene on the Bianhe River, adding more vitality to the painting.

Zhang Zeduan has a high artistic generalization, which makes The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival reach a high artistic level. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is unprecedented in its rich content, numerous characters and grand scale. The picture of Riverside Scene on Qingming Festival is dense and orderly, from quiet suburbs to bustling city streets, attracting people everywhere.

Before the Northern Song Dynasty, China's figure painting was dominated by religion and aristocratic life. Although Zhang Zeduan worked in the Hanlin Painting Academy, his works were all called "courtyard paintings" or "courtyard paintings", but he extended his brush to the lives of people from all walks of life and created social genre paintings describing urban and rural life. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival draws a large number of various figures. Moreover, the movements and expressions of each character in Zhang Zeduan are vivid. This fully shows that Zhang Zeduan's life is very rich and his creative skills are very skillful.

Detailed introduction of Qingming Riverside Map

The Northern Song Dynasty genre painting Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. A masterpiece handed down from generation to generation, a first-class national treasure. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is one of the most famous works in China's painting history. It is not only of superb artistic level, but also has many interesting stories circulating around it.

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival records the architecture and people's livelihood in the suburbs of Bianjing (now Kaifeng), the capital of Hui Zong era, and on both sides of Bianhe River in the city with exquisite brushwork. This painting depicts the bustling scene and natural scenery on both sides of Bianliang and Bianhe, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, during the Qingming period. In the form of a long scroll, the work uses the composition method of scattered perspective to bring complicated scenery into a unified and changeable picture. There are more than 500 people in the painting, with different clothes and expressions, interspersed with various activities, paying attention to drama, dense composition, changing rhythm and rhythm, and ingenious brushwork. The whole picture is divided into three sections.

The first paragraph, Bianjing rural spring:

In the sparse forest mist, there are several huts, grass bridges, running water, old trees and boats. Two porters are driving five donkeys loaded with charcoal. They are going to town. A willow forest, with faint green branches, makes people feel that although it is chilly in spring, it is already spring back to the earth. In the sedan chair on the road, a woman sat in it. The top of the sedan chair is decorated with willows and flowers, followed by riders and bearers, returning from a walk in the suburbs of Beijing to sweep the grave. The description of the environment and characters points out the specific time and customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day, which opens the curtain for the whole painting.

In the middle section, the busy Bianhe Wharf:

Bianhe River is the hub of national grain transportation in the Northern Song Dynasty, and it is also the main road of commercial traffic. As can be seen from the picture, the population is dense and there are many grain ships. Some people are resting in the teahouse, some are telling fortune, and some are eating in the restaurant. There is also the "Wang's Paper Horse Shop", which is a grave sweeper selling sacrifices. Ships in the river come and go, end to end, pulled by trackers or rowed by boatmen. Some are full of goods, going upstream, and some are nervously berthing to unload. Across the Bianhe River is a large wooden arch bridge with exquisite structure and beautiful shape. Such as flying rainbow, hence the name Hongqiao. There is a big ship waiting to cross the bridge. The boatman is supported by bamboo poles; Hook the bridge with a long pole; Lead the boat with hemp rope; Several people are busy lowering the mast so that the ship can pass. People in the neighboring ship are also pointing, as if shouting something. Both inside and outside the ship are busy crossing the bridge for this ship. People on the bridge are also sweating over the tense ferry scene. This is the well-known Hongqiao pier, which is full of traffic and bustling, and is really the intersection of land and water transportation.

In the second half, busy city streets:

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, flatbed, flatbed, all kinds of things. Vividly displayed in front of people.

More than 550 people of various colors were painted in the picture scroll with a total length of more than five meters, including fifty or sixty cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other livestock, more than 20 vehicles and bridges, and more than 20 ships. Houses, bridges, towers, etc. They also have their own characteristics, reflecting the characteristics of architecture in the Song Dynasty. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan is a realistic genre painting depicting a corner of Bianjing in the Northern Song Dynasty, which has high historical value and artistic level.