Cultural China

One of the best-known Chinese painting is the “Qing Ming Shang He Tu” (or “Along the River During QingMing Festival”), by Song dynasty (960-1126) artist Zhang ZeDuan. The painting captures the daily life of people from the Song period at the capital city, Bian Jing, today’s Kaifeng in HeNan province. The entire piece was painted in handscroll format and the content reveals the lifestyle of all stratum of the society (from rich to poor) as well as different economic activities in rural areas and the city. It offers a glimpse of the costumes and architecture during that period.

Qing Ming Shang He Tu
by Zhang ZeDuan, Handscroll, 24.8 x 528.7 cm

The original is kept in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

This theme, popular in the Northern Song dynasty, has been copied often throughout the ages. There are seven versions alone in the National Palace Museum in Tai Pei. The one by court painters of the imperial painting academy under the Qian Long Emperor (reigned 1736-1795) is one of the best-known.

Qing Ming Shang He Tu (Qing Court Version)
Court painters, Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 35.6 x 1152.8 cm

This version represents a collaboration by five court painters and was finished in 1736. It combines the style and features of original version along with unique customs of the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as the forms of entertainment popular at the time. The lively activities include a theatrical performance, monkey show, acrobatics, and a martial arts ring to lend a festive air to the scenery.

Brilliantly colored and characterized by sure, fine brushwork, this represents a fine example of Qing dynasty’s court painting. Although this hand scroll has lost much of the archaic feel of the Song dynasty version, it is a valuable source of information for late Ming and early Qing life and customs. The style also reflects the influence of Western painting techniques, popular at the court then. The buildings and streets, for example, were rendered with Western-style perspective, and even some Western-influenced architecture appears. The bridge and buildings are depicted in the ruled-line method, and the figures are also exquisitely detailed.

A higher-resolution view of the painting is available here (be patient, it will take some time to load):
Qing Ming Shang He Tu - High Resolution