A Horizontal Scroll of the Scenery along the Bianhe River
4 min readA Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is a horizontal scroll more than five meters long.
When it is unrolled from right to left, it is like opening a sluice-gate to the river of history, with the prosperous scenery of Bianliang, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, unveiling itself before the viewer.
The painting depicts the hustle and bustle along the banks of the Bianhe River during the Qingming Festival. By this season, the snow and ice have gone, and the cold of early spring has bidden farewell, and people are welcoming the most important festival of spring-the Qingming(Pure and Brightness) Festival, one of the 24 solarterms and a day for remembrance. On this day, people make offerings to their ancestors,a custom still observed to this day.
Qingming Festival is also a day to celebrate the arrival of spring, when the lovely warm sun and the gentle breezes turn the grass intoxicatingly green. The painting starts from the right with adepiction of spring in the outskirts of the city of Bianliang: brooks gurgling in the wilderness, with cottages tucked away among trees and roads crisscrossing into the far distance. Old treesgreet the breeze, their branches and twigs already tinged with light green. In the distance are boundless fields enveloped in hazy mist. Suddenly,a group of people appear, leading several donkeys, on their way to the city. To the left, there are lines of travelers, who are either on their way to graves to make offerings or are sightseers just back from the city. Donkeys and horses are seen neighing, and people talking and laughing.
As the scroll unrolls, we come to the second section of detailed features. The Bianhe River begins to come into view. It is a river connecting south and north, on which boats busily come and go, effectively reflecting the prosperity of the time. At the start, there are only a couple of boats moored along the bank, but as the river flows leftward, it becomes wider, the water becomes swifter, and many boats are seen sailing quickly in both directions.
scene in the outskirts, in A Riverside scene at oingming Festival The scroll unveils further to the main scene in the second section, and also the focal point of the whole painting. This depicts a scene in the center of Bianliang-the Rainbow Bridge area.
A magnificent-looking wooden bridge arches over the Bianhe River, with people coming and going: merchants, travelers and sightseers. Many are holding onto the railings of the bridge, looking down at the river. Some are making animated gestures, appearing to be speaking, or shouting in surprise, while others appear astounded in fright. Underneath,a big boat is trying to pass under the bridge, its bow lower than its stern. On the bow stands a man, frantically waving his arms, his mouth wide open as if giving orders; someone is trying to correct the direction of the boat by propping his pole against the base of the bridge; some boatmen aretrying hard to work on the oars, while others standing on the awning quickly bring down the sail. The boat is going forward, leaving whirls in its wake. At that critical moment as the boat has yet to pass, people on and under the bridge are all intensely absorbed in this singular event, with the rapid, whirling currents adding further tension to the scene of onlookers and boatmen.
Scene at the Rainbow Bridse, in A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival The third section of the painting features street scenes. The Bianhe River makes a bend here and flows toward the east. Along the banks,a wide road leads to the high city gate, at th foot of which people are either resting, talking or simply looking around. Camels are passing the city gate, with only their heads seen out of the gate-all presenting a busy road scene. Past the city gate is Bianliang,a city of crisscrossing streets, with shops, teahouses, taverns, go clubs, martial arts arenas, temples, and everything imaginable, lining both sides of the streets.
There is heavy traffic on the streets: carts coming and going; some people in twos or threes, either walking in a hurry or stopping for a look of whatever interests them; others in groups talking in high spirits, or looking around enjoying the street scene. Shop owners are hospitably soliciting customers. Suddenly,a cart drawn by four mules is seen rushing along, addingasense of surprise to the leisurely scene. Here, vendors, yamen runners, scholars, monks, old men, and young children, all look vivid and lifelike, and all wear different facial expressions.
