Along the River During the Qingming Festival

Along the River During the Qingming Festival

This morning i have received an email about a really amazing painting from China called Along the River During the Qingming Festival. It is a panoramic painting. There are several version of these painting and the original one believed have been made during the Song Dynasty by an artist called Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145). It captures the daily life of people from the Song Dynasty period at the capital, Bianjing, today's Kaifeng. The theme celebrates the festive spirit and worldly commotion at the Qingming Festival, rather than the holiday's ceremonial aspects, such as tomb sweeping and prayers. The entire piece was painted in hand scroll format and the content reveals the lifestyle of all levels of the society from rich to poor as well as different economic activities in rural areas and the city. It offers glimpses of period clothing and architecture. As an artistic creation, the piece has been revered and court artists of subsequent dynasties have made several re-interpretive replicas. The painting is famous because of its geometrically accurate images of boats, bridges, shops, and scenery. Because of its fame, it has been called "China's Mona Lisa". The painting (the original version) is now kept at the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, China and regarded as a national treasure and are exhibited only for brief periods every few years.

If you want to see the the original painting during the Song Dynasty by Zhang Zeduan click here and the interactive 18th century remake of the 12th century original click here