Along the river, before the fall: China pre-Renaissance city life

Support us A detail from the Qingming Scroll showing river traffic beneath the Rainbow Bridge, traditionally attributed to Zhang Zeduan, Northern Song dynasty. Photo: National Palace Museum, Taipei A boat is about to hit the bridge. That is where Zhang Zeduan’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival begins to reveal its secret. Beneath the great arched bridge, boatmen shout, ropes tighten, a mast is being lowered, and a heavy river vessel struggles through a crowded waterway. Above them, people lean over the railings. On the banks, shopkeepers, porters, travelers, monks, doctors, fortune-tellers, laborers and children press into the scene. At first glance, the scroll appears to be a celebration of prosperity. Look longer, and it becomes something more unsettling: a portrait of a city so advanced that every part of it depends on everything else not failing. The painting, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, is usually attributed to Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song dynasty.

Read the full article at the source →