Qing Ming Shang He Tu

Qing Ming Shang He Tu (A Riverside Scene on the Qingming Festival) is a masterpiece of classical, realistic painting and one of the 10 most distinguished paintings left from ancient China. Painted by Zhang Zeduan, a court painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, it captures the bustling capital city in the Xuanhe reign period (1119-1125). The painting, a national treasure now, is housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Gathering by the riverside on the Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival was a folk custom back then, resembling the festive fair in modern times. The painting vividly depicts what Dongjing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan Province), capital city of the Northern Song, was like and how the people of various classes lived in the 12th century, bearing perpetual witness to the dynasty's economic prosperity.

With a panoramic composition, the painting gives a lively view of the outskirts, the Bianhe River, and the streets of Dongjing, which are separated ingeniously by natural landscapes. Outlined with both magnificence and exquisiteness, the work provides a wealth of contents in a compact and delicate way. The 528.7-centimeter- long, 24.8-centimeter-wide scroll presents, in meticulous delineation, all kinds of people, animals (e.g. cattle, mules, and donkeys), traffic tools (e.g. carts, sedans, and boats), and buildings (e.g. houses, bridges, and city towers). It is one-of-a-kind in China's and the world's painting history for its rigorous composition, clear-cut sections, and carefully rendered details of various characters, landscapes, and goods.

The painting has both artistic and historical significance for its realistic reflection of the capital city and presentation of first-hand materials on the commerce, craft, folklore, and architecture of a metropolitan in the Song Dynasty. Its rich cultural connotations, unique aesthetic, and realistic expressions make it a classic masterpiece of all times.

《清明上河圖》

中國十大傳世名畫之一《清明上河圖》是中國古典現(xiàn)實主義繪畫的杰作，由北宋著名畫家張擇端創(chuàng)作，描繪了北宋宣和年間 （1119—1125）都城的繁華景象，為國寶級文物，現(xiàn)藏于北京故宮博物院。

清明上河是當時的民間風俗，類似于今天的節(jié)日集會。《清明上河圖》生動記錄了12世紀北宋都城東京（今河南省開封市）的城市面貌和當時社會各階層人民的生活狀況，是北宋時期繁榮發(fā)達的歷史見證，也是北宋城市經(jīng)濟情況的生動寫照。

《清明上河圖》采用全景式構(gòu)圖，以自然景觀作為分隔，展示了郊野、汴河、街市三部分景象。作者采用了大手筆與精細手筆相結(jié)合的技法，使得畫卷內(nèi)容豐富、生動有趣、緊湊而精細。在長528.7厘米、寬24.8厘米的長卷中，作者共繪就了數(shù)量龐大的各色人物，牛、騾、驢等牲畜，車、轎、船等交通工具，房屋、橋梁、城樓等建筑。畫卷結(jié)構(gòu)嚴謹、段落分明，畫中各類人物、景物、貨物細節(jié)井然有序。這在中國乃至世界繪畫史上都是獨一無二的。

《清明上河圖》不僅是一件偉大的現(xiàn)實主義繪畫藝術珍品，同時也提供了北宋大都市的商業(yè)、手工業(yè)、民俗、建筑等詳實形象的第一手資料，具有重要的藝術價值和歷史文獻價值。其豐富的思想內(nèi)涵、獨特的審美視角、現(xiàn)實主義的表現(xiàn)手法，使其在中國乃至世界繪畫史上均被奉為經(jīng)典之作。