Detailed explanation in sections
"Along the River During Qingming Festival" records the architecture and architecture on both sides of the Bianhe River in the suburbs and the city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan) in the late Northern Song Dynasty and Huizong era people's livelihood. This picture depicts the bustling scene and natural scenery of Bianliang, the capital city of the Northern Song Dynasty, and both sides of the Bianhe River during the Qingming Festival. The work is in the form of a long scroll, using the composition method of scattered perspective to incorporate complex scenery into a unified and varied picture. There are more than 1,000 characters in the painting, with different clothes and expressions, interspersed with various activities, focusing on drama and composition. It is dense and dense, pays attention to the changes in rhythm and rhyme, and the writing and ink composition are very clever. The whole picture is divided into three paragraphs.
The first paragraph, the spring scenery in the countryside of Bianjing:
In the mist of the sparse forest, there are several huts, grass bridges, flowing water, old trees, small boats, and two porters driving. He walked towards the city with five donkeys carrying charcoal. In a willow forest, the branches have just turned green, making people feel that although the spring is cold and harsh, spring has returned to the earth. There was a sedan on the road, with a woman sitting in it. The top of the sedan was decorated with willows and miscellaneous flowers. Behind the sedan were horsemen and burden bearers, returning from an outing in the suburbs of Beijing to sweep graves. The description of the environment and characters highlights the specific time and customs of the Qingming Festival, which is the prelude to the whole painting.
In the middle section, the busy Bianhe River wharf:
The Bianhe River was a national water transport hub in the Northern Song Dynasty and an important commercial transportation thoroughfare. From the picture, you can see that it is densely populated, with grain ships gathered, and people have Some were resting in the teahouse, some were fortune-telling, and some were dining in restaurants. There is also the "Wang's Paper Horse Shop", which is used to sweep tombs and sell sacrifices. Boats come and go in the river, connected end to end, either pulled by trackers or rowed by boatmen. Some are loaded with goods and sail upstream, and some are anchored on the shore. Nervously unloading. Across the Bianhe River is a large-scale wooden arch bridge with exquisite structure and graceful form. It looks like a flying rainbow, hence the name Hongqiao. There is a large ship waiting to cross the bridge. The boatmen used bamboo poles to support them; some used long poles to hook the bridge; some used hemp ropes to hold the boat; and a few people were busy lowering the mast to allow the boat to pass. The people on the neighboring boats were also pointing and shouting something. Everyone inside and outside the boat was busy with the boat crossing the bridge. People on the bridge also stretched their heads and sweated at the tense scene of crossing the ship. This is the famous Hongqiao Wharf area, bustling with traffic and hustle and bustle. It is truly a meeting point for land and water transportation.
The back section, the lively urban streets:
With the tall tower as the center, there are rows of houses on both sides, including teahouses, wine shops, foot shops, butcher shops, temples, and public houses. Wait. The shop specializes in silk and satin, jewelry and spices, incense, paper horses, etc. In addition, there are medical clinics, cart repairs, fortune telling, face shaping and cosmetic surgery. "Louhuanmen" hangs market banners to solicit business. People in the market are crowded with each other, and there is a constant flow. There are merchants doing business, gentry watching the street scene, officials riding horses, hawkers, and family members riding in sedan chairs. There are walking monks carrying baskets on their backs, tourists from other places asking for directions, children in the streets listening and reading, children from rich families drinking heavily in restaurants, disabled old people begging on the edge of the city, men, women, old and young, scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, three religions and nine streams, all Unprepared. Transportation means: sedans, camels, oxen and horse-drawn carriages, rickshaws, peace cars, flat-head cars, all kinds of things are available. Paintings and shapes are displayed in front of people's eyes.
In total, in the five-meter-long scroll, *** painted more than 550 people of various colors, 50 to 60 cattle, horses, mules, donkeys and other livestock, as well as two carts and bridges. More than ten vehicles and more than twenty ships of various sizes. Houses, bridges, towers, etc. also have their own characteristics, reflecting the characteristics of Song Dynasty architecture. Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" is a realistic genre painting depicting a corner of Bianjing City in the Northern Song Dynasty. It has high historical value and artistic level.
Artistic Features
From "Along the River During Qingming Festival" we can see several very distinctive artistic features:
First, it is rich in content. In terms of expression technique, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" uses the method of constantly moving the point of view, that is, the "scattered point perspective method" to capture the desired scene. The vast wilderness, the vast river, the towering city walls, the rivets on the boats, the small commodities on the vendors, and the words on the market posters are all harmoniously organized into a unified whole. In the painting, there are officials, farmers, merchants, Doctors, divination, monks, Taoists, minor officials, women, children, pole masters, cable pullers and other people as well as donkeys, horses, cattle, camels and other livestock.
There are scenes such as going to the market, buying and selling, hanging out, drinking, gathering, pushing boats, pulling carts, riding in sedan chairs, and riding horses. The streets and alleys in the painting are lined with shops, hotels, teahouses, snack shops, etc., as well as towers, river ports, bridges, cargo ships, government residences and thatched cottages. "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" depicts 815 people, more than 60 various livestock, more than 20 wooden boats, more than 30 houses and pavilions, and more than 20 carts and sedan chairs. Such rich and colorful content is rarely seen in ancient paintings of all ages. Various characters engage in various activities, not only with different clothes, but also with different expressions and temperaments, and various activities are interspersed with them. They are full of dramatic plot conflicts, leaving viewers with endless aftertaste.
Second, the structure is rigorous, complex but not chaotic, long but not redundant, and the paragraphs are clear. What is valuable is that such rich and colorful content has a prominent main body, echoes from beginning to end, and the whole volume is integrated. Every character, scene, and detail in the painting is arranged in a reasonable manner, and the relationship between density, complexity, movement, stillness, gathering and dispersion, etc., is handled just right, so that it is complex but not complicated, and numerous but not chaotic. It fully demonstrates the painter's profound insight into social life and his high ability to organize and control pictures.
Thirdly, in terms of technique, he combines large-scale and meticulous techniques, and is good at selecting things, scenes and plots that are not only vivid and poetic, but also have essential characteristics to express them. Very meticulous observation of life, describing every character and prop. Everyone has their own identity, their own demeanor, and their own plot. The structures of houses, bridges and other buildings are rigorous and meticulously painted. The carriages, horses, and boats are all present, and the details are kept without losing the overall appearance and power. For example, the objects on the ship, the riveting methods, and even the knotting and fastening of ropes are all explained clearly, which is breathtaking.
Evaluations from all parties
The "General History of China (Color Illustration)" written by Bai Shouyi as a consultant commented on "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". There are more than 500 characters and livestock depicted in the whole volume. There are more than fifty people, more than twenty vehicles and boats of various kinds, numerous houses and countless props. The scene is huge, with clear sections, tight structure and orderly structure. The technique is skillful, the brushwork is meticulous, the lines are strong, dignified and sophisticated. It reflects the highly pure painting skills and outstanding artistic achievements. At the same time, because what is depicted in the painting is a real record of society at that time, it provides important historical data for later generations to understand and study urban social life in the Song Dynasty.
"The Concise Encyclopedia Britannica" evaluates "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" in the article "Zhang Zeduan" as a long custom scroll with important historical value. The painter successfully depicted the life scenes of all classes of society in Bianjing city and its suburbs during the Qingming Festival. The main manifestations are laborers and small citizens. The handling of the interrelationships between characters, buildings, vehicles, trees, and water flows is very ingenious, has a strong sense of integrity, and has great historical value. All the urban genre paintings drawn in subsequent dynasties were influenced by it.
Look at the picture to speak
Open this picture gently and see a pack team on the road next to the creek. They are coming from the northeast to Bianliang in the distance, with five mules and horses carrying heavy loads. Tired, the horseman in front drove the leading livestock to the bridge at the corner, and the packman behind used his horse whip to drive the pack team forward. The destination was about to arrive, and it was clear from the look on the faces of the pack workers that they were skillfully driving the pack team. It is an old caravan that has been traveling for many years.
Next to the bridge, a small sampan is tied to a tree. Several small farmhouses are scattered in an orderly manner among the trees. There are four crows' nests on several high branches, which look similar to Crows now build their nests in exactly the same way and height. There are several stone rollers on the wheat field, which are used for threshing during the autumn harvest. They are still idle at this time. There are several sheep in the sheepfold. Next to the sheepfold, there seems to be a chicken and duck pen. It seems that a large group of chickens and ducks are raised in the pen. It is such a peaceful rural scene. It is amazing to see such a scene in the Song Dynasty more than a thousand years ago. Developed agriculture and breeding industry.
The scene you look at now is the junction of agriculture and commerce. On the upper right is a team of brides and grooms, slowly turning from the north. The groom behind him is riding a bay-red horse. Behind the horse is a porter carrying the bride's trousseau, and in front of the horse is a person holding the bride's dressing box. The bride should be riding in a sedan in front, because the sedan is decorated with various plants and flowers. "Sedan"; the word "Sedan" refers to the means of transportation that the bride takes when she gets married. It probably comes from this folk custom.
A porter behind the sedan carries a load of fish, which means that the bride's family wishes her husband wealth and plenty of fish (according to folklore: tomb sweeping during the Qingming Dynasty was only started in Zhu Yuanzhang's time. "The Story of Zhu Yuanzhang": At that time, Zhu Wuzhang was a monk and begged for food. Later, he joined the rebel army and finally became the leader of the rebel army. When the rebel army passed through his hometown, Zhu Yuanzhang thought of sweeping the graves of his parents. When he reached the mountain, because there were many graves, he had been away from home for too long and did not know which grave belonged to his parents. Since I was very busy with military affairs and could not afford to miss it for too long, I later came up with an idea. It was the Qingming Festival at that time, and I issued an order that the common people must sweep tombs during the Qingming Festival. Within a few days, there would be memorials and sweepers at every tomb. There were only two tombs that no one paid homage to, and it turned out to be the tombs of my parents. It is said that from then on, it became a folk custom to pay homage to ancestors and go out to visit tombs during the Qingming Dynasty. Before the Ming Dynasty, such activities could be done on any day of the year, so I think it is inappropriate to say that this Song Dynasty painting is a team returning from a tomb-sweeping activity just because it has the word Qingming. It should be a team from a wedding ceremony).
As the wedding procession entered the market, the artists in front immediately started singing and dancing to attract people's attention and make the scene even more lively. I don't know whether this situation attracted the attention of several tea doctors in the teahouse, or it was Another thing that was happening made them stunned. The wonderful performance of a shirtless and superb acrobat next to them was ignored. Dr. Tea and the others all turned their heads to look here. It turned out that not far away, an acrobat had just unloaded his clothes. The donkey who bought the goods saw the donkey tied in front of the teahouse opposite, and immediately made a mating cry. The donkey in front of the teahouse responded immediately, twisted its front hooves and jumped into the air, trying to respond, but the reins were too tight. Prison, unable to break free. The braying donkey also tried to run towards the donkey in the direction of the teahouse. At this time, a child was running not far in front of the donkey. A danger was right in front of him. At this critical moment, the driver next to the car was about to run forward and get out of his arms. Driving a kid, but how can a human run so fast? At this time, another driver stepped forward and grabbed the donkey's reins. A serious traffic accident was avoided, and people heaved a sigh of relief. (Note: It is said that the donkey cart was originally damaged and was repaired later. It is worth considering: the half-length figure in the front should be between the donkey and the donkey cart. The donkey cart covers his lower body and there is a donkey in his hand. Whip, reaching out to pull the donkey's reins hard, but the driver's reaching out to pull the reins and averting a life-or-death danger was the author's stroke of genius).
There are two cows raised in a farmhouse next to the teahouse. Although such a world-shattering event happened nearby, the two cows were indifferent. They were still ruminating leisurely. In the distance The seedlings in the field are growing vigorously, and the farmers are watering and fertilizing the seedlings.
A family of two traveling in the south hired two animals and a packman, and a porter slowly walked toward the southeast carrying the items they needed for their trip.
There is a hotel directly across the street in front of the teahouse. Since it does not serve breakfast, it has been slow to put up flags to attract customers. The hotel is located at the bulk cargo terminal, so business is naturally booming, but the customers are busy with business. It’s not time for dinner and drinks yet. You can see that the cargo owners on the dock are counting the goods to be shipped to a certain place. The dock workers are stacking the goods, preparing to arrange loading and unloading in a timely manner according to the distance of the delivery place. As the saying goes, go up first. The slope rises behind the boat. Another ship is also unloading. In the gaps between the branches and leaves of the two hundred-year-old trees, you can see thick sails and ropes. It should be a large ship with a displacement of about six to seventy tons. In the middle of the street between the hotel and the teahouse, someone was calling a fortune teller, maybe asking him to predict something, whether it was marriage, family or business. When the fortune teller heard that business was coming, his brisk steps showed his joy. Affection. Looking into the street, I saw a person from a bakery shop and a businessman talking about things. It seemed like I could hear them talking about what oil, salt, soy and vinegar they would order tomorrow and when they would pay the bill. , then there are several shop names, and another avenue stretches into the distance with pedestrians, mules and horses walking.
A few shops away is the main road Bianliang Avenue. There are busy shops on both sides of the main road, all surrounding the cargo terminal and freight warehouse of this Feng Shui treasure land. The geographical location of this freight warehouse is very advantageous. The surrounding streets are connected in all directions, and the south is close to the deep-water harbor. There are several ships moored in the harbor loading and unloading goods in sequence. A ship docked at the dock is unloading goods. Several dock workers are carrying sacks containing grain and the like off the ship. In the ship's warehouse Someone was rummaging through the warehouse and loading goods, and it seemed that the sound of labor chants could be heard coming from the ship's warehouse as people were loading sacks of goods onto their shoulders. Ships waiting to be unloaded and loaded were moored close to the warehouse dock. After the ship's boss boarded the ship, they would eat and sail. The ship's boss in front of the warehouse had just finished paying and was about to board the ship. He happened to meet an acquaintance on the way and was thinking of rushing on the boat. But you can't treat your acquaintances or friends too slowly, treat them in a shabby manner in their eagerness, and finally say goodbye with clasped fists and a salute. At this time, the steps had already turned, and the appearance of rushing to the boat was as if it were now.
A cargo ship was sailing upstream in the main channel of the dock. The sailors on the right side of the ship were paying close attention to avoid colliding with the anchored ships. Safety work is very important when walking on a river. The ship in front of the ship is moored at the dock. A sailor has already come out of Xinzuo. He is always paying attention to the movement of the ship and is ready to eliminate collisions between ships. The ship in progress seems to be about to dock. , the ship's "head tracker" (the first tracker in the fiber pulling team) has turned around to greet his partners to collect fiber. Looking further upstream of the river, there are eight oarsmen on a boat rocking the oars. It can be seen that the speed of the water is very fast. A helmsman is closely watching the water conditions and the condition of the boat in the direction of travel. A passenger ship in front is busy docking. This is the passenger terminal. There are more than 20 people on the passenger ship working intensively. Several boatmen on the top of the ship are furling the sails and raising the mast. Some boatmen are receiving the boats thrown from the Bianhe River Bridge. The cable is lowered to pull the passenger ship to the dock, and then fastened to the anchor stone on the shore to increase the stability of the passenger ship. The sailor on the left string uses boatgrass to prop the ship towards the dock to increase the power to approach the dock. There are two sailors on the bow of the ship holding the ship to the right while turning their heads to pay attention to the pier to align the passenger ship with the pier and adjust the strength of the punting. Another boatman holds the prop in his hand and waves his right hand forward to direct the boatmen at the pier to respond. It seems that he must be the boatswain of this passenger ship. The passenger ship has a wide body and good stability. The boatmen are very skilled in performing their duties and their movements are very coordinated. It seems that they are a group of very high-quality boatmen. The cabin body and the cabin surface are closed and blocked, and there are doors to facilitate the entry and exit of guests. , the warehouse door will never be opened until the ship has stopped, and the safety measures are quite strict. It can be concluded that it is a long-distance passenger ship with good safety performance.
There are many people on the pier greeting the passenger ship. They are to greet their families or relatives and friends. Some even go up to the Bianhe River Bridge to use the height of the bridge to greet their relatives so that they can see their relatives as soon as possible. There were also people waving and shouting on a smaller passenger boat next to them. They were soliciting business and calling for guests who needed to go to Fenhe Channel Pier. You can imagine how developed the transportation in the Bianhe River Basin was at that time. Floods and droughts constituted a large passenger transport. Freight transportation network.
The Bianhe River Bridge is very impressive. It is so tall that even the largest ships in the Bianhe River Basin can cross smoothly. It is wide and strong enough to drive several animal-drawn carts filled with goods side by side. Judging from the structure of the bridge, it is also A great creation, the entire bridge was built entirely of wood. Perhaps when the Bianhe River flow was very fast and the river bed was not conducive to building bridge piers, the engineering and technical personnel at that time used their ingenuity to build the entire bridge. The timbers are riveted and tenoned side by side to support the span of the bridge. The bridge deck is fastened with rows of timber chains to form a large and solid whole, and the load is distributed so that the timber across the river is evenly stressed. Imagine that in a thousand Many years ago, without construction machinery, it was easy to imagine how difficult it was to lay such a large piece of wood across the river, and how majestic the project was. There are solid barriers beside the bridge to ensure the safety of vehicles, horses and pedestrians, making the performance and quality of the project impeccable.
The Bianhe River Bridge is the choke point between the two. The bridge is bustling with traffic. Due to the large number of pedestrians passing by and the strong popularity, vendors seize the opportunity to occupy the road. Some set up street stalls, some sell food, and there is also a restaurant. Stalls selling knives, scissors, oxtail locks and other small hardware are designed to be inclined in order to make the products more eye-catching. This scene extends all the way to the bridge to form a unique business area.
A boat under the bridge is going upstream, as if it is about to moor. The boatman on the bow is testing the depth of the river, because some large stones are usually placed in the river bed at the bridge head to prevent the water from washing the bridge head slope. To prevent collapse, special care must be taken when moving the ship in this location to avoid grounding and damaging the ship.
There are several ships moored on the shore not far upstream, and there are two ships sailing in the main channel. The chorus echoed in the air, gradually going away, gradually going away. These humanistic scenes and the beautiful rivers and mountains formed a beautiful custom picture, so some literati and dignitaries were looking for a good place to buffer in the river bend on the other side. In the area, the businessmen lost no time in setting up two cruise boats for them to drink, sing tea and enjoy the scenery of the Bian River.
Looking past, the scene is already a prosperous market and commercial area outside the city. This is the area between the Bianhe River Pier and the city gate, which is especially conducive to business activities. With the absence of war for many years, hotels and teahouses have gradually developed. , various shop names are lined up in rows, and various cars, sedans, and mules are busy. The picture clearly shows two technicians in a carpentry workshop nervously working on a mule carriage. On the turning street, a cargo owner rented a donkey and carried it. The workers were loading the goods on the ground, and there was also a lady who was going to rent a sedan to travel around. Looking over there was a small labor square, which was also the only way into the city. Therefore, there were frequent business activities. A fortune teller He took the opportunity to build a house here, and many people came to him to predict their life expectancy and fortune, and their business was very prosperous. There are many workers in front of the footpath gate across the creek bridge. Some are sitting and resting, some are dozing, and some simply lie down to rest. There are mules and horses tied there inside the footpath. It seems that they I am recharging my energy so that I can work energetically when the business comes. Although I have nothing to do yet, I will not snatch other people’s business. I am very abiding by the rules. You can see that the business of the laborers in the square is very good. , one sedan has already been loaded onto the sedan, another sedan is also waiting for rent, a vendor on the small bridge has sold his goods and goes home, there are some residents there, there are a few donkeys at the farmhouse bridge, and there is a tree next to the house. The woman was holding a child, and several large fat pigs were lying nearby.
Just around the corner from the Labor Square is the Moat Bridge. Businessmen lost no time in setting up vendors here. One vendor set up a woven rattan and bamboo basket, which is light, strong and durable. A lantern maker also had a prosperous business. This kind of item is bright and windproof when lit with a candle. It is a good partner for night lighting. You see someone bought one and turned around to leave. The vendor is recruiting another buyer. There are many pedestrians on the bridge. On both sides of the bridge There were many people at the barrier looking into the river to see if anyone had caught any big fish or something in the river. There is a stall in front of the city gate that is even more interesting. He is getting up and half-stepping to greet a man on horseback. He seems not to let every pedestrian pass by to sell his weird stuff. The few people behind him are also paying attention to his business activities. It's a bit like a business shill.
The city gate is tall and majestic, and several camels are slowly walking out of the city. This kind of animal is not found in the mainland. It is a specialty of the Gobi Desert. It is used by people as a means of transportation. It should be businessmen from the Western Regions coming to Bian. Those doing business in Liangliang are international trading groups traveling on the Silk Road.
One of the more distinctive shops in the city seems to be carrying out freight. Freight logistics has taken shape. Next door is a sesame oil processing workshop. The sales of sesame oil are very good. There are also carriages and horses for transportation, and the supply of goods is sufficient. , has begun to take shape. It is an inn with several floors. There are bustling guests in front of the door, and there are many guests inside. They must be the residence of big businessmen and wealthy businessmen. There is a shop across the street that has a trimmer. It is the most popular in the city. Pay special attention to the instrumentation. The functions of the city are really complete, with everything for food, clothing and housing. There is a silk and satin shop with a wide storefront, filled with silks and silks of various colors. It can be seen that sericulture and brocade were quite developed at that time. The business of delivering water was also very good, and the underground water was like mineral water. It's sweet and refreshing. There are two clinics in this small area of ??the city. Dr. Wang is good at scar surgery, and Zhao Dacheng is more skilled in medicine. He is proficient in men's, women's and pediatrics and has a complete range of pills and powders. The medical level was quite high at that time.
A group of people came from the direction of the inner city. There was a guard of honor in front of them to clear the way. They were very majestic. As the saying goes, civil servants sit in sedans and military attachés ride horses. It is indeed a military attache. There is someone behind him holding a sword for him. . There were two other people at the pier holding their chewing mouths with both hands. This was the most effective way to fear that the horse would startle or stumble.
There is a disharmonious sound in the picture here compared with the previous one. How could such a military attache fight in a war? He is so pampered and pampered. The civil and military officials and dignitaries in the inner city are still unknown. The artist found it difficult to paint further. Let’s stop there!