Image: Qingming in Brief

Description: At the left side of the painting is a columnar rock upon which is a signature that reads "Submitted by Your Servant, Zhang Zeduan, Painter of the Hanlin [Academy]" (翰林畫史臣張擇端進呈). Even though the painting was traditionally attributed to Zhang Zeduan (張擇端, fl. early 12th century), it actually appears to be a copy from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). This work is therefore a later interpretation based on the original Along the River during the Qingming Festival (清明上河圖) by Zhang Zeduan. Many of the shop signs in the painting correspond to names of shops in the Record of Dream Splendors at the Eastern Capital (東京夢華錄), a text from the Southern Song period about the Northern Song capital Bianjing (汴京, present-day Kaifeng). The type of masonry of the city wall here had not yet appeared in the Northern Song period. The landforms and vegetation seem to reveal an influence from the style of the painter Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552). The blue, green, and red washes for the buildings and palaces is typical for Suzhou fakes. The scroll also contains spurious seals of Wang Shizhen (王世貞, 1526–1590) and Yan Shifan (嚴世藩, 1513–1565). In conclusion, this seems to be a late Ming work based on a Southern Song description of the Northern Song city. The title refers to the Commentary on the Book of Changes (易經．繫辭) wherein it is stated "with ease it is easily understood, and with brevity it is free of labor" (易則易知，簡則易從). It is thus likely that the artist intended for the viewer to easily grasp the full scope of the painting by simplifying its elements.
Title: Qingming in Ease and Simplicity Qingming in Brief 清明易簡圖
Credit: Stitched and then resized from the original files located at: A Special Exhibition of Paintings on "Up the River During Qingming" in the Museum Collection (exhibit). Taipei: National Palace Museum.
Author: Unknown artistUnknown artist
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No