What is the life scene depicted in Zhang Zerui's The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty?

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival depicts the situation of Tokyo (now Kaifeng, Henan Province), the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, mainly focusing on the natural scenery and prosperity of Bianjing and its two sides.

The riverside scene on the Qingming Festival was a folk custom at that time, just like today's holiday party, people took part in commercial activities by it. The whole map is roughly divided into three parts: the spring scenery on the outskirts of Bianjing, the scenery of Bianhe and the market in the city.

dock

Bianhe River was an important transportation hub and commercial artery in the Northern Song Dynasty. As can be seen from the picture, the population is dense and merchant ships gather. Some people are resting in the teahouse, some are reading fortune-telling, and some are eating in the restaurant. There is also the "Wang Paper Horse Shop" selling grave-sweeping 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 sweating over the tense ferry scene. This is the well-known Hongqiao pier, with knife and scissors stalls, food stalls and various grocery stalls all over the bridge. Two stall owners are scrambling to greet a passer-by to see their goods. It is the intersection of land and water transportation, which is the climax of the picture.

street

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.

Picture association

Open this picture gently, and you will see a camel team on the road beside the stream, coming from Bianjing City in the northeast, and five donkeys are carrying loads. The groom in front drives the leading livestock to the bridge at the corner, and the porter behind drives the wolves forward 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 was bolted to the stump beside the bridge, and several small peasant houses were scattered among the trees in an orderly way. There are four crow's nests on a few tall branches, which look the same as the crow's nests in the way and height. 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! It is amazing that in the Song Dynasty more than 1000 years ago, agriculture and aquaculture were as developed as 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. Behind the horse, the groom is riding a bordeaux horse. There is a porter carrying the bride's dowry behind the horse, and there is a man holding the bride's dressing box in front of the horse. 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 to get married. Behind the sedan chair, a porter carried a load of fish, indicating that the woman's family wished her husband rich fish (the rest).