Upper Stream in Qi Ming Festival

By Zhang Zeduan

24.8cm x 528.7 cm

scroll

color on silk

Song Dynasties

We can see the flourishing capital - Bianliang of Northern Song in its real look. The complicated scenes, techniques of realism and immense scale amaze everyone.

 

 

Double Happiness

By Cui Bai 193cm x 103.4cm

Handing scroll

Color on silk

Song Dynasties

The two magpies symbolize "double happiness (luck) to the family". This type of painting was widely used as blessings, good wishes and celebrations.

This painting is very vivid. It seems to be full of motions and sounds: The wind gently sweeps through this corner of nature: The magpies high up there sing a little tune to the hare as if they are laughing at it, but the hare just quietly squat there, watching them curiously. The hare and the magpies produce a visual harmony. In fact, the hare expresses the state of peace that Song artists longed for. The livingness of the painting is scarce in Chinese painting.

Cui Bai inscribed that the painting was painted in 1061. It is the first time in Chinese art history for the artist to inscribe such kind of information. (artists usually inscribe the year using the chinese calendar.