6 Chinese Painting


9


The Narrative Charm of


DURING THE QINGMING FESTIVAL


by Tian Yubin A


long the River During the Qingming Festival is considered the most famous ancient scroll


painting in China today. It was created at the end of the Northern Song dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Huizong (r 1100-1126) (Fig 1), and has a history of more than 900 years. Why is Along the River During the Qingming Festival so famous? Is it worthy of its reputation? Tese questions are addressed in the recently published English edition of Along the River During the Qingming Festival: A Day in the Song Dynasty, which reads the scroll in detail. As the author, I invite you to open the scroll with me and seek answers to these questions. Te first thing you notice is its size


– the vertical height of the handscroll is 25.5 cm, and the horizontal width is 525 cm. It depicts about 835 people (if only part of the body is visible, it is also counted as a person). In the scroll, a whole world exists, frozen in time, waiting for you to explore it. When we open the scroll, the first


image that comes into view (Fig 2) depicts a tranquil scene of a forest path along which a donkey pack is walking leisurely out of the mist. Leading the pack is a young man, who probably got up early and was a little confused about the direction of the road. He did not turn at the intersection, but continued to walk forward. However, the lead donkey beside him knew to turn without the guidance of its young master (Fig 3). Te donkey on the right side of the boy has


turned its head in the


direction of a small bridge, while the boy was unknowingly still walking straight on with no intention of turning. Tere are five donkeys in the donkey pack, each carrying two baskets with a blackish material inside them – charcoal. It turns out that the boy had set out early in the morning with his father (at the back of the donkey pack) to sell charcoal in the capital Bianjing. Te above is a simple observation


of the first visual story in the scroll. Although it is just a simple observation, the amount of information we garner from the scene is large. For example, we know that the coal-carrying donkey pack travels frequently to Bianjing, as we can see that the donkeys recognise the road, and we also understand that fuel must be very important to the people living in Bianjing. We also know that the young man who leads the way is a little careless and is


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and animals around it. Te painter has


depicted relatively these reactions


extremely realistically; for example, the two cows near the startled horse remain


calm, while a


Fig 2 From the first section of the handscroll, depicting a pack of donkeys carrying charcoal


Fig 3 Detail of the young boy leading the pack of donkeys to the capital Bianjing


donkey further away is so frightened that it raises its tail (Fig 4). Te reactions of the people were also portrayed differently: a mother is hugging her child tightly; a young man (Fig 4 Person A) is startled by the combination of the frightened horse and the startled donkey, so much so that his buttocks leave the bench in an instant, but his body is not yet upright; the partner opposite the young man (Figure 4 Person B) has not yet realised what has happened and is not alarmed by the startled horse, but is frightened by Person A’s sudden movement in front of him – he has his mouth wide open, in an expression of fright. An excellent narrator can not only


Fig 4 The reactions of various people to the frightened horse Fig 1 Below: from a seated portrait of Emperor Huizong (1082-1135), collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei


not as clear-headed as his donkey. On reflection, you will find that there are many careless people in Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Teir confusion creates many crises – and they are about to suffer various injuries because of


their confusion. When


you realise that there are all kinds of dangers in the scroll, you will find that the young man who leads the way is the first ‘little confusion’ to appear, and this confusion almost makes him take the wrong road. From the perspective of narration, this young man augurs a huge foreshadowing at the beginning of the


story. However, from the


perspective of narrative rhythm, the beginning of the scroll’s visual story is very peaceful, just like the beginning of an excellent novel that not only depicts the tranquillity before the storm, but also makes the


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A whole world exists in the


scroll, frozen in


time, waiting for you to explore it


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disturbing undercurrents swirl under the surface of that tranquillity with just a small action – the act of the donkey turning its head. Te small bridge that appears at


the beginning of the scroll seems to be a kind of landmark. Before crossing the bridge,


there is the


peacefulness of the countryside, but after crossing the bridge the closeness of the hustle and bustle of the city becomes evident. Not long after crossing the bridge, a burst of noise makes people jump with surprise. It turns out that a horse in a heard returning to the city had been startled. Te frightened horse careers wildly about and, just in front of it, there is a child playing in the street. At the same time, the child hurriedly runs towards the nearby adults standing nearby. Te startled horse continues to run wildly about, causing panic reactions in the people


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shape characters, but also be good at organising complex events so that they influence each other, thus forming a rich semantic field. Te painter of Along the River During the Qingming Festival is obviously good at portraying these connections. In the section featuring the startled horse, the painter also drew another transport pack leaving the city. At the front of this pack, a man leads a donkey and a woman is riding a donkey, both pass an old willow tree (Fig 5). Tis old willow tree is very strange – the viewer must pay attention to the crown of the tree, which is lush and leafy. However, if you look at the body of the tree again, the crown and the trunk are actually disconnected! To emphasise the complete disconnection between the crown and the trunk, the artist has used thick black lines to highlight the cross section, and through the disconnection we can see a fence and roof tiles behind the tree. Interesting, isn’t it? Although it is abnormal, the artist has painted it in this way. Te suspended crown may fall on pedestrians at any time, causing death or injury, but look at what the two people walking in front are doing. Tey are in great danger, unaware of the threat above their heads, also look in the opposite direction to the broken willow. Obviously, the frightened horse


and the broken willow will make the viewer feel nervous and uneasy. If you are careless about the fast- approaching danger and the crisis hanging over your head, you will get


ALONG THE RIVER


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