How to read The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Adam Cheng?

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival records the architecture and people's livelihood in the suburbs of Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan), the capital of Hui Zong era, and on both sides of the 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 long scrolls, the composition method of scattered perspective is adopted to bring complicated scenery into a unified and changeable picture. There are more than 1000 people in the painting, with different clothes and expressions, interspersed with various activities, paying attention to drama, dense composition, rhythm and rhythm changes, and ingenious brushwork. The whole picture is divided into three sections.

The first paragraph, Bianjing rural spring:

In the mist of the sparse forest, there are several huts, grass bridges, running water, old trees, boats and two porters driving five donkeys carrying charcoal to the city. 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, either pulled by trackers or paddled 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, flat car and flatbed car. 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.

Artistic feature

From The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival, we can see several very distinctive artistic features:

First, it is rich in content. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival adopts the method of constantly moving the viewpoint, that is, "scattered perspective" to capture the required scene. From the vast Yuan Ye, the vast rivers, the towering battlements, to the nails and rivets on ships and cars, the small commodities on vendors, and the words on the market, they are all harmoniously organized into a unified whole. There are officials, farmers, businessmen, doctors, monks, Taoist priests, petty officials, women, children, teachers, laborers and so on, as well as donkeys and horses. There are fairs, trading, hanging out, drinking, parties, pushing boats, pulling carts, riding cars, riding horses and so on. There are many shops, hotels, teahouses and dim sum shops in the street, as well as towers, river ports, bridges, cargo ships, government buildings and thatched cottages. There are 8 15 people, more than 60 kinds of livestock, more than 20 wooden boats, more than 30 pavilions and more than 20 trolleys on the riverside map at Qingming Festival. Such rich and colorful contents are rare in ancient paintings of past dynasties. People of all colors engage in various activities, not only with different clothes and facial expressions, but also with various activities, full of dramatic plot conflicts, which make viewers look at the industry with endless aftertaste.

Second, the structure is rigorous, complicated but not chaotic, long but not redundant, and the paragraphs are clear. What is commendable is that such rich and colorful content, prominent theme, echo from beginning to end, the whole volume is seamless. Every figure, scene and detail in the painting are arranged reasonably, and the relationship between the pictures, such as density, simplicity, movement, gathering and dispersion, is handled properly, so as to be complex but not miscellaneous, but not chaotic. It fully shows the painter's profound insight into social life and superb ability to organize and control pictures.

Thirdly, in terms of techniques, the combination of big brushwork and meticulous brushwork is good at choosing vivid and poetic things, scenes and plots with essential characteristics to express. Observe life very carefully and portray every character and prop. Everyone has his own identity, way and plot. Buildings, bridges and other buildings are rigorous in structure and detailed in description. Cars, horses and boats cover all aspects, so be careful not to lose sight of the whole picture or the situation. For example, the objects on the ship, the way of nailing and riveting, and even the method of tying the rope are all explained clearly and magically.

Evaluation by all parties.

Bai Shouyi's General History of China (Color Picture Book) Comments on Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. There are more than 500 people, more than 50 livestock, more than 20 vehicles, many houses, countless props, huge scenes, clear paragraphs, tight structure and orderly. Skilled technique, meticulous pen, vigorous lines, dignified and sophisticated. It embodies highly pure painting skills and outstanding artistic achievements. At the same time, because the painting was a social record at that time, it provided important historical materials for future generations to understand and study the urban social life in the Song Dynasty.

The Concise Encyclopedia of Britain's evaluation of the section "Zhang Zeduan" in The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is a custom picture scroll with important historical value. The painter successfully described the life scenes of all walks of life in Bianjing City and its suburbs during the Qingming period. Mainly for workers and ordinary citizens. The handling of the relationship among people, buildings, cars, trees and water is very clever, with a strong sense of integrity and great historical value. Since then, the urban genre paintings painted in previous dynasties have been influenced by it.

Picture dialogue

Open this picture gently, and you can see a pack team coming from the capital of song dynasty in the northeast on the road beside the stream, with five mules and horses carrying loads. The groom in front is driving the leading livestock to the bridge at the corner, and the pack man behind is driving the pack team with a whip, and the destination will arrive soon. From the way the packers skillfully control the packers, we can know that they are old horses that have been walking for many years.

A small sampan is tied to the stump beside the bridge, and several small farmhouses are scattered on the tree in an orderly way. There are four crow's nests on several tall branches, which look the same as the crow's nests now. There are several stone mills on the threshing floor, which are used for threshing in autumn harvest, and they are still idle there at this time. There are some sheep in the sheepfold, and there seems to be a chicken and duck pen next to the sheepfold, as if a large group of chickens and ducks were raised in the pen. What a peaceful rural scene. What is particularly amazing is that 1000 years ago in the Song Dynasty, agriculture and aquaculture were the most developed in the world.

Look at the picture again, it is the junction of agriculture and commerce. On the right is a married couple, turning slowly from the north. The groom in the back is riding a bordeaux horse. Behind the horse is a porter carrying the bride's dowry, and in front of the horse is a man with a bride's dressing box. The sedan chair in front should be the bride's seat, because the surface of the sedan chair is decorated with various plants and flowers, which can be described as a "sedan chair"; The word "sedan chair" comes from this folk custom because it is the means of transportation for the bride when she gets married. Behind the sedan chair, a porter carried a load of fish, indicating that her family wished her husband good fortune, and the fish (surplus) (According to folklore, tomb sweeping at Qingming Festival only rose in the era of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang's story: Zhu was a monk and a beggar, then joined the rebel army and finally became the leader of the rebel army. When the rebels passed through their hometown, Zhu Yuanzhang thought of sweeping the graves for his parents. When he reached the mountain, he left home for too long because there were many graves. I don't know which grave belongs to my parents, and I can't afford to delay too long because I am busy with military affairs. Then I had an idea. At that time, it was Tomb-Sweeping Day who gave an order to Tomb-Sweeping Day, a common people, to sweep the grave. Within a few days, all the graves were visited, but only two graves were not visited. At first glance, it really is my parents' grave. It is said that from then on, it has become a folk custom to worship ancestors on Qingming Festival and to sweep graves on foot. Before the Ming Dynasty, this kind of activity could be held on any day of the year, so I think it is inappropriate to say that this team came back from the grave because of the word Qingming in this Song painting.

The wedding procession gradually entered the scene, and the artists in front immediately sang and danced to attract people's attention, making it more lively. I don't know if this scene caught the attention of several tea doctors in the teahouse, or what happened made them dumbfounded. Nearby, the wonderful performance of a shirtless and skilled acrobat was ignored, and Dr. Cha turned his head here. It turned out that a donkey just unloaded the goods not far from the opposite side saw the donkey tied in front of the teahouse opposite. At this time, he immediately issued a call for courtship. The opposite sex asked the donkey in front of the teahouse to respond immediately, twisting the donkey's front hoof to fly and trying to respond, but the reins were tied too tightly and could not escape. The donkey also tried to run to the donkey in the direction of the teahouse. Just then, a child ran not far in front of the donkey, and the danger was in sight. At this critical moment, the driver next to the car tried to run forward and hug the child, but how can people run so fast? At this time, another coachman stepped forward and grabbed the reins of the donkey. People breathed a sigh of relief by avoiding a serious traffic accident. (Note: It is said that the donkey cart was originally damaged, but it was later repaired. It is worth considering that the bust in front should be between the donkey and the donkey cart. The donkey cart covered his lower body and held a donkey whip in his hand. He reached for the donkey's reins, but the driver reached for the reins, which was the author's ingenious pen. ).

A farmer near the teahouse has two cows. Although such an earth-shattering event happened nearby, the two cows were indifferent. They are still ruminating leisurely. The seedlings in the distant fields are thriving and farmers are watering and fertilizing them.

A couple in the south traveled and hired two animals and a porter. A porter slowly walked southeast with what they needed for their trip.

There is a hotel across the street in front of the teahouse. Because breakfast is not served, it is very slow to hold up banners to attract customers. The hotel is located in the bulk cargo terminal, and the business is naturally booming. It's just that the guests are busy with business and have no time to eat or drink. You see that the owner of the dock is counting the goods to be sent to a certain place, and the dock workers are stacking the goods, ready to arrange loading and unloading in time according to the distance of the goods. It is said that the ship will get on first and then get off. Another ship is also unloading. Thick masts and ropes can be seen in the cracks in the branches and leaves of this 200-year-old tree. It should also be a large ship with a displacement of about 60 to 70 tons. In the middle of the street between the hotel and the teahouse, a man is calling a fortune teller. It may make him count something, whether it is marriage, family or business. When Mr. Shugua heard about this business, his brisk pace showed his joy. Looking into the street, people in a bag shop are talking to a buyer and seller, as if they can hear them talking about when to order oil, salt, sauce and vinegar to check out tomorrow. In the past, there were several shop names, and another avenue extended into the distance, where pedestrians and horses walked.

In the past, several shops were the main roads of Bianliang Avenue. There are many shops on both sides of the main road, all around the freight station and goods warehouse. The location of this goods warehouse is very superior, and the surrounding streets extend in all directions. The south is close to the deep water port. Several ships are berthing in the harbor to take turns loading and unloading goods, and one is unloading goods like a dock. Several dockworkers are carrying sacks of food off the ship, and someone in the cabin is rummaging through the boxes to load them. The ship to be loaded and unloaded is moored near the warehouse dock. After the boatswain gets on board, he eats and sails. The boatswain in front of the warehouse has just finished the bill and is about to board the ship. On the way, he met an acquaintance by chance, thinking about sailing forward, but he couldn't slow down his acquaintance or friend. He was humble and homely with him in his eagerness, and finally made a fist salute and left. At this time, the footsteps have turned and the appearance of rushing to the boat has been detached.

In the main channel of the dock, a cargo ship goes upstream, and the sailors on the right side of the ship are watching closely to avoid colliding with the moored ships. Working safely in the river is very important. A ship is moored on the dock in front of the bow. I'm glad a sailor came out, always pay attention to the movement of the ship and prepare to eliminate the collision between the ships. The moving ship seems to be berthed, and the "head fiber" on board (the first tracker of the fiber pulling team) has turned around to greet the partners to collect the fiber. Looking further upstream, there are eight boatmen rowing on a boat, which shows that the speed of water flow is very fast, and a helmsman keeps a close eye on the water situation and ship situation in the forward direction. A passenger ship ahead is busy docking. This is the passenger station. There are more than 20 people working nervously on the passenger ship. Several boatmen on the top of the ship are closing the sails and lowering the mast. Some boatmen are receiving the cables dropped from the Bianhe Bridge, ready to tow the passenger ship to the dock, and then firmly tie it to the anchor post on the shore to increase the stability of the passenger ship. Left-handed sailors use wormwood to support the boat to the dock, increasing the power to approach the dock. He turned his head to pay attention to the bow of the dock and used it to adjust the shoring strength of the passenger ship. Another boatman waved his right hand forward to command the boatman at the dock to meet him. It seems that he should be the boatswain of this passenger ship. The passenger ship is big and stable, and the boatmen have their own duties and their actions are very coordinated. It seems to be a group of boatmen with very high quality. The cabin and deck are closed, and there are warehouse doors for guests to enter and leave. The door of the warehouse will never be opened until the ship stops, and the security measures are quite strict. It can be concluded that it is a long-distance passenger ship with good safety performance.

There are still many people on the dock greeting the passenger ship. They are greeting their families or relatives and friends. Some of them even went to the Bianhe Bridge early to meet their relatives. On a smaller passenger ship next to it, someone is waving and shouting, in order to attract business and call the guests who need to go to the Fenhe waterway terminal. It can be imagined how developed the traffic in the Bianhe River basin was at that time, and the road of flood and drought constituted a huge passenger and cargo transportation network.

The Bianhe Bridge is magnificent, and the largest ships in the Bianhe River Basin can pass smoothly. It is wide and strong, and can parallel several animal-drawn carts full of goods. Judging from the structure of the bridge, it is also a great creation. The whole bridge is made of wood. It may be that when the river flows rapidly, it is not conducive to the construction of piers in the riverbed. At that time, the engineers and technicians used their wisdom to put the whole root into practice. The bridge deck is fastened with rows of wooden chains to form a huge and solid whole, and the load is distributed to make the wood across the river bear uniform force. Just imagine, more than a thousand years ago, without construction machinery, it was difficult to build such a large river-crossing timber, and the project was so magnificent. There are solid guardrails beside the bridge to ensure the safety of pedestrians, which makes the performance and quality of the project reach an impeccable level.

Bianhe Bridge is the throat of two cities, and the bridge deck is full of traffic. Because there were many pedestrians in the past, vendors seized the opportunity to occupy the road, some set up stalls, some sold food, and there was a stall selling hardware such as knives, scissors and oxtail locks. In order to make the goods more eye-catching, the booth is designed as an inclined plane, which extends to the bridgehead to form a characteristic business circle.

A boat under the bridge goes upstream and seems to be berthing. The boatman at the bow is testing the depth of the river, because some big stones are usually placed in the riverbed at the bridge head to prevent the water from washing the slope at the bridge head and preventing it from collapsing. When moving the ship in this position, you should be especially careful to avoid grounding and damaging the ship.

Not far from the upstream, several ships have been moored on the shore in turn, and two others are sailing in the main channel. Two chorus songs, chants of engineers in Bian Jiang and chants of fiber engineers in Bian Jiang, echoed in the air, drifting away and drifting away. These cultural landscapes and beautiful rivers and mountains constitute a beautiful picture of customs, so some literati and dignitaries are looking for a good place, on the other side of the river bend buffer zone.

The picture of the past is already a bustling market business circle outside the city. It is the middle zone between Bianhe Wharf and the city gate, which is especially beneficial to commercial activities. With the absence of war for many years, hotel teahouses have gradually developed, and various shops are lined up, and all kinds of cars and horses are busy. The picture clearly shows that two technicians in a wooden workshop are nervously driving a mule-horse cart, a cargo owner rents a donkey on the street corner, and a porter is loading goods on the ground. There is also a lady who is going to rent a sedan chair to walk, and she won't go. From another point of view, it is a small labor square and the only way to enter the city. Therefore, business activities are frequent. A fortune teller lost no time in building a house here, and many people who look for his fortune-telling calculations are doing very well. There are many workers in front of the footbridge crossing the Xigou Bridge. Some sit and rest, some doze off, and some simply lie down and rest. Mules and horses are tied to the footbridge. It seems that they are saving energy in order to work energetically after work. Although they have nothing to do yet, they will not steal other people's business. They abide by the rules of footbridges very much. You see, the business of the laborers in the square is very good. One sedan chair has been lifted and the other sedan chair has been taken. A peddler on the bridge has sold out and gone home. Farmhouse Bridge also has some residents and some donkeys. There is a woman holding a baby next to the house, and some huge fat pigs are lying not far away.

At the corner of the labor square is the moat bridge. Businessmen lost no time in setting up a peddler's rattan and bamboo basket here. This kind of goods is light and durable, and lantern manufacturers have a thriving business. This kind of goods is bright and windproof after lighting candles, and it is a good partner for night lighting. You see someone buying one and leaving, and the seller is recruiting another buyer. Pedestrians on the bridge are like shuttles. There are still many people watching the river on both sides of the guardrail. Is it true?/You don't say. There is a stall in front of the city gate, which is more interesting. He is standing up and kicking around with a rider. It seems that every pedestrian is selling his shit, and several people behind him are also paying attention to his business trends, which is a bit like commercial child care.

The gate is tall and majestic, and several camels slowly walk out of the city. This kind of animal can't be found on the mainland. It is a special product of Gobi desert and is used as a means of transportation. It should be that businessmen from the western regions came to Bianliang to do business, and they were international trade groups traveling between the Silk Roads.

Cities are more distinctive. It seems that one company is transporting another shipment. Freight logistics has begun to take shape. There is a sesame oil processing workshop next door. The sales of sesame oil are very good. There are also chariots and horses, and the supply is sufficient. Has begun to take shape. A multi-storey inn is bustling with guests in front of it, and there are also many guests inside. It must be a wealthy businessman living in Dajia. A shop across the street also has a shave, so it pays special attention to the appearance in the city. The functions of the city are really complete, with everything from food, clothing, housing and transportation. A silk shop is very wide and full of colorful silk scenes. It can be seen that sericulture brocade was quite developed at that time, and the business of water delivery was also very good. Groundwater, like mineral water, is sweet and refreshing. There are two clinics in this small area of the city. Wang Dafu is good at sore surgery, and Zhao Dacheng is better at medical skills. Male and female pediatrics are very proficient in all kinds of pills. At that time, the medical level was quite high.

Coming from the direction of the inner city, there is a group of people, escorted by ceremonial ceremonies in front, which is very imposing. As the saying goes, civil servants sit in sedan chairs and military officers ride horses. He is indeed a military attache, and someone behind him gave him a guard knife. The other two people are holding hands at the dock for fear of scaring the horse or losing his front hoof. This is the most effective way. The picture here has a discordant sound compared with the last one. How can such a military attache fight and be pampered? The civil and military officials and dignitaries in the inner city still don't know what it is, and the painter thinks it is really difficult to paint in the future. Let's stop here!