Lesson 21 Dreaming Back to Prosperity

Lesson 21  Dreaming Back to Prosperity

Mao Ning

During the Northern Song Dynasty, commercial handicraft industry developed rapidly, and the layout of the city broke the strict boundary between the square and the city, resulting in an unprecedented prosperous situation. In addition to the nobles, there were also a large number of merchants, handicraftsmen and citizens living in Bianliang, and the cultural life of the city was also very active. As a result, the scope of the subject matter of paintings was greatly expanded to reflect the real life, from depicting the major historical events and the life of nobles in Tang Dynasty to depicting various aspects of the life of civilians in urban and rural areas. Zhang Zeduan's "Qingming Shanghe Tu" is one of the most representative works of custom painting in the Northern Song Dynasty.

 Zhang Zeduan, who was mainly active from the late Northern Song Dynasty to the early Southern Song Dynasty, was born and died in unknown years. According to the inscription of Zhang Zeduan, he "later learned painting" and was good at boundary painting, working with boats, figures, city streets and city quarters, and established himself as a family. In addition to "Qingming Shanghe Tu", there is also "West Lake Scramble", which is said to be painted by him. According to future generations of writers, "Qingming Shanghetu" was probably painted between the years of Zhenghe and Xuanhe (1111-1125). That was the period when the rulers of the Northern Song Dynasty created the illusion of prosperity to cover up internal and external troubles before their destruction. After Jianyan, the remnants of the Southern Song Dynasty missed their homeland, and in their eyes, this scroll must have had its own special significance, as a reflection of their retrospect of their homeland and their dream of returning to prosperity. By examining this ancient masterpiece through this concept, we will find the mood hidden behind the prosperity.

The painting "Qingming Shanghe Tu" by Zhang Zeduan is on silk with color, 24.8 cm in length and 528.7 cm in width. The work depicts the prosperous scene of the capital city Bianjing from the outskirts of the city, Bianhe to the market inside the city. The whole long scroll is like a piece of music, from slow and soft board, gradually entering fast and tight board, and turning into the end, leaving endless aftertaste.

The opening scene of the scroll depicts the scenery in the suburbs of Bianjing. It is cold in spring, and the villagers are driving the donkey caravan to deliver charcoal to the city. On the fork of the road into the avenue, there were many sedan chairs surrounded by servants, from the top of the sedan chairs filled with willow branches, we could see that they were the powerful people returning from the tomb sweeping. Nearby, those who rode donkeys on the path were travelers on a long journey. The newly sprouted branches of the trees adjust the color and density of the picture, showing the atmosphere of early spring in the north. The middle part of the picture is the prosperous scene on both sides of Bianhe River. Bianhe was the north-south traffic channel at that time, and also the hub of national transport of the Northern Song Dynasty. The huge canal boats are connected with each other, and the busy boatmen unload the heavy grain bags from the grain boats moored at the riverside, while the slender men drag the boats against the water, a busy scene. There is a magnificent arch bridge on the Bianhe River, which has no pillars and is made of a huge wooden virtual frame with an exquisite structure, just like a flying rainbow. The two ends of the bridge are connected to the market, the traffic, bustling. A huge ship ready to sail across the arch bridge details depicted, has been praised: the ship is lowering the mast ready to cross the bridge, the boatmen shouted, hold the Penny Pan rope. The bridge echoed each other, the shore waving arms to help, passing pedestrians gathered at the bridge to watch. And those rushing feet, carts, stretches of people, but no time to care. This tense scene becomes a climax of the whole painting. The latter part depicts the streets of downtown Bianjing. On both sides of the tall and majestic city tower, the streets are crisscrossed with houses, tea houses, wine stores, foot stores, butcher stores, temples and public toilets. All kinds of stores deal with Luo Jin cloth, sinking sandalwood spices, incense, candles, paper and horses. In addition, there are medical clinics, car repair, fortune telling, face-lifting, and everything else. The streets were crowded with pedestrians, and there was a wide variety of trades for men, women and children.

Qingming Shanghetu" adopts the hand-rolled form unique to traditional Chinese painting, taking in objects with a moving point of view. The whole picture is huge, but not chaotic, long but not redundant, with clear paragraphs and rigorous structure. There are more than 500 figures in the painting, with different forms. The technique of both work and writing is used, with strong lines and agile brushwork, which is different from ordinary boundary paintings. The Qingming Shanghe Tu is a very realistic work, and the scenery painted in the painting is basically consistent with the records about Bianjing in the literature. The streets, restaurants, food and fruits as well as "people entering the market at dawn" and "all kinds of colors selling" described in "Tokyo Dreams and Flowers" can be found in this picture vividly. The "Sun Yang Shop" and "Foot Shop" in the painting are similar to the "Cao Granny's Meat Cake" and "Seventy-two stores" recorded in "Tokyo Dreams and Records". ...... the rest are called foot store", etc., there is no discrepancy. The details of the pictures are also very realistic, such as the structure of the bridges, the style of the carriages and horses, the clothing of the characters, and the activities of people from all walks of life, all of which are meticulous and detailed. It is not a record of the usual lively scenes, but a vivid depiction of the activities of people from all walks of life, which profoundly reveals the social life of this particular historical period. The richness of the painting has a historical value that cannot be replaced by words, and while it is an artistic representation, it is also an important image for the conditions of urban life in 12th century China.