Along the River during the Qingming Festival

Ever wished you could step back in time to witness a bustling cityscape?

Along the River during the Qingming Festival offers that experience. This masterpiece captures the vibrant urban economy of the Northern Song Dynasty, showcasing the bustling capital of Bianliang (modern-day Kaifeng) at the confluence of the Bian River and the Grand Canal. With its intricate details and grand scale, the painting brings to life the shouts of vendors, the clamor of markets, and the energy of daily life in 11th-century China. It’s a vivid snapshot of the era’s rapid economic growth and thriving commerce.

Song Dynasty (960-1279) Zhang Zeduan. Silk scroll, colored. 24.8cm*528.7cm. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.

This piece is compiled from the Chinese edition of Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting by Foreign Languages Press and Yale University Press, translated by Chen Ying.