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Chinese Name: 千里江山图
English Name: A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains; Qianli jiangshan tu
Year: Northern Song Dynasty 北宋时期
Artist: Wang Ximeng 王希孟
Dimensions: 120cm*51.5cm
Brief Introduction
A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains 千里江山图 depicts the majesty of the mountains and rivers of the motherland with its concise techniques, brilliant colors and meticulous brushwork. It is the only surviving boutique of the painter Wang Ximeng 王希孟. of the Northern Song Dynasty 北宋时期. It is a national treasure and is now stored in the Palace Museum 故宫博物院 in Beijing.
The main scenes of “A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains” are Mount Lu 庐山 and Poyang Lake 鄱阳湖. In the form of a long scroll, the work is based on traditional techniques. The meticulous picture with vast rivers and undulating mountains forms a wonderful Jiangnan 江南 landscape. Fishing villages, water pavilions, thatched huts, long bridges and other static scenes are interspersed with dynamic scenes such as fishing, sailing, playing, and going to the market.
A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains is one of the Top 10 Chinese Paintings 中国十大传世名画. The natural scenery of the scroll is closely integrated with human activities, showing a wider social life. It not only generally expresses the splendid atmosphere of the mountains and the water, but at the same time, there are many human activities in the natural environment, and detailed descriptions such as the city of water villages, fishing boats and yachts, bridges and waterwheels, thatched pavilions, etc. Life scenes reflect nature with ordinary, daily life and labor scenes.
What is worth appreciating about this painting？
It is rich in content and depicts many things.
The author roughly divides the scene into six parts in the huge scroll of more than ten meters, each of which is mainly represented by the mountain. They are also interrelated and subtly integrated into one, achieving the artistic effect of changing scenery. The interspersed use of lofty, far-reaching and flat-far composition methods makes the picture more ups and downs, full of strong rhythm and fascinating.
There are high cliffs and waterfalls in the mountains, winding paths leading to secluded places, houses and houses dotted in the middle, and the scenery is beautiful such as green willows and safflowers, long pines and bamboos,. There are fishing villages, waterside pavilions, and long bridges in the mountains and rivers, all depending on the terrain, reflecting the mountains, rivers and lakes. Or see chaotic hills such as piles of islands, overlapping islands; on the mountains and ridges, there are bamboo fences and thatched huts, manor temples, and roads. Among them, the characters are like ants, countless.
In terms of the magnificent and majestic performance of mountains and rivers, there is no precedent.
The structure is rigorous, and the paragraphs are clear.
Although there are so rich and colorful contents, the main body of the painting is prominent, echoing from beginning to end, and integrated. Every character, scene and detail in the painting are arranged reasonably. It fully shows the painter’s deep insight into social life and his high ability of picture organization and control.
The painting techniques combine the thickness and details.
The author roughly divides the scene into six parts in the huge scroll of more than ten meters, each of which is mainly represented by the mountain. They are also interrelated and subtly integrated into one, achieving the artistic effect of changing scenery. The interspersed use of lofty, far-reaching and flat-far composition methods makes the picture more ups and downs, full of strong rhythm and fascinating.
In terms of color and brushwork, it inherits the “blue-green shan shui” 青绿山水 painting method since the Sui 隋朝and Tang Dynasties 唐朝， that is, mineral pigments such as azurite and stone green are mainly used.
The Artist of the painting
Wang Ximeng 王希孟 (1096-1119), a Chinese painter of the Song Dynasty 宋朝, was good at painting green landscapes. During the Zhenghe period of the Northern Song Dynasty 北宋政和年间, he entered the palace painting academy at the age of 18, and presented paintings several times but the level was not high. Song Huizong 宋徽宗 felt that he could teach and guide his painting skills. After half a year, he presented a picture, which was given to the prime minister Cai Jing 蔡京 by Song Huizong宋徽宗.
Wang’s only surviving work is A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains 千里江山图. The painting was one of the largest in Chinese history, and has been described as one of the greatest works of Chinese art.
A Moving Masterpiece 千里江山图
A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains View online
