The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival shows us the ancient capital 800 years ago and how to understand the life of ordinary people at that time.

The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival records the architecture and people's livelihood in the suburbs of Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) and on both sides of the Bianhe River in the city in the late Northern Song Dynasty and Hui Zong era with exquisite brushwork. Zhang Zeduan's "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" Full Volume

The picture actually depicts autumn scenery, and the word "Qingming" depicts the political clarity and peace of the world at that time, not the Qingming Festival. Because Zhang Zeduan is a court painter, his paintings serve the court. There are two origins of the word "Qingming": First, Zhang Zeduan added the word "Qingming" when presenting his paintings to win the appreciation of the emperor; Second, Zhang Zeduan did not have the word "Qingming" when he presented the painting, so he called it "Riverside Map". Seeing the prosperity in the painting, the emperor liked to whitewash the world in the Song Dynasty, so he added the word "Qingming" to the name of Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. For the prosperous scenery and natural scenery on both sides of the Bianliang River and Bianhe River in the Northern Song Dynasty, the works, in the form of long scrolls, use the composition method of scattered perspective to bring complicated scenery into a unified and changeable picture. There are 865,438+05 people in the painting, with different clothes and expressions, interspersed with various activities, paying attention to drama, dense composition, changing rhythm and rhythm, and delicate brushwork. The whole picture is divided into three sections. In the first paragraph, the spring scenery of Bianjing village: in the mist of sparse forest, there are several huts, grass bridges, running water, old trees and boats, and two porters are driving five loads of charcoal.

Donkey, come 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, the bustling urban 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. These shops specialize in silk, jewelry, spices, incense, paper horses and so on. In addition, there are medical clinics, cart repairs, fortune-telling visits, shaving and plastic surgery.

All walks of life, everything, big shops are also tied with "colorful buildings and happy doors", hanging city flags to attract business, pedestrians in the market, side by side, businessmen doing business, gentry watching the street view, officials riding horses, hawkers, people sitting in sedan chairs, monks carrying baskets, foreign tourists asking for directions, and means of transportation: sedan chairs, camels, ox carts. Vividly displayed in front of people. A total of more than five meters long picture scroll, a total of more than 550 people of all colors, including cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other livestock, 50 or 60 horses, more than 20 cars and sedan chairs, 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 City in the Northern Song Dynasty, which has high historical value and artistic level.