Ancient Chinese paintings have been passed down for thousands of years and amazed the world. Countless people trekked through mountains and rivers just to catch a glimpse of the thousand-year-old art treasure.
When it comes to China's masterpieces, many people will first think of the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", a five-meter-long scroll that vividly depicts the social landscape of the Song Dynasty, not only with bustling street markets and exquisite pavilions, but also showing the cultural customs of the time.
This painting was painted in the Northern Song Dynasty, and in the same period, there is another painting scroll in a completely different style, majestic momentum and "Qingming Riverside Picture" together as one of the top ten ancient paintings in China, showing the wonderful charm of Song Dynasty painting and calligraphy art, and its author is even more admirable and full of legend.
The creator of this painting is a genius boy from the Northern Song Dynasty, named Wang Ximeng, who was only eighteen years old. His masterpiece "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" has won praise for its vast canvas and grand momentum.
The size of the painting is so large that adults need to walk 24 steps to walk from one end of the painting to the other, and the size of "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" is almost negligible in comparison, which shows the momentum of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains".
A picture scroll, full of heavy luxury. In order to express the profound meaning of "the eternal stability of the country", this painting spared no expense and chose the top contemporary mulberry silk, which was layered as a canvas.
Mulberry silk, which has been regarded as a luxurious cloth since ancient times, is not something that ordinary people can afford, however, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" boldly uses it as a canvas.
The pigments in the painting are even more bold, using precious minerals such as ochre, malachite, limestone, and clams as raw materials. These materials not only play a unique role in the painting, but also because of its timeless properties, so that the painting can withstand thousands of years without fading.
Just as the murals we found in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, which are still intact after thousands of years, they are made from the same raw materials.
What you may not know is that one of the reasons why this painting has survived for thousands of years and is still as vivid as ever is because of the use of top-quality painting materials. Next, please follow me to see this spectacular picture up close.
When you see this picture, you will definitely be blown away by the scenery and gorgeous colors in front of you. Different from the artistic conception of ink landscape painting, the color of the gemstones in this painting makes people attracted by the mountains and emeralds at a glance.
In order to commemorate this picture that has been passed down through the ages, we launched the dance poetry drama "Only This Green" in 2021.
With its rich content and realistic techniques, the Qingming Riverside Scene vividly depicts the prosperous scene of the peaceful and prosperous era, and makes people marvel at the breath of life and delicate depiction.
Even when zoomed in using modern technology, the level of detail is stunning. In contrast, the meaning of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" is more profound, it not only depicts the magnificence of the landscape, but also the overall pattern is scattered, just like the Suzhou garden, every inch has a view, both tension and rhythm, thousands of miles of mountain scenery from high to low, making people feel as if they are in the scene.
Some people even commented that this painting is comparable to the scene of contemporary landscape aerial photography, which shows its high artistic value.
The creative technique of this painting integrates various techniques in the world of painting and calligraphy, especially the classic technique in landscape painting, which is dyeing. The artist used this technique appropriately, and although the difference in intensity may affect the style, this painting shows a deep skill.
Although the author of the painting is not recorded in the history books, we can learn more about him through the Tuoba on the scroll.
The artist, whose original name is Xi Meng, whose surname still needs to be confirmed, is said to have been taught at the painting academy founded by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and worked at the imperial court. Despite his love for the art of painting and calligraphy, his paintings did not receive the attention they deserved.
However, he was born in the period when the art of calligraphy and painting was strong, and Huizong of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to the Northern Song Dynasty, which gave him a lucky opportunity. During this period, Song Huizong discovered the young man's talent and areas for improvement, and decided to guide him personally.
Under the careful teaching of Song Huizong, the artist's painting work made rapid progress. When his work "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" was presented in front of everyone, it immediately attracted great attention.
Although he was blessed by the god of luck, he fell at the most brilliant moment of his life. Jealous of talent, this young painter passed away only two years after the painting was completed, which makes people sigh.
Some speculate that if the life of this genius had lasted a few more years, it might have reshaped the history of contemporary painting and calligraphy. For the early death of this teenager, people regret it, and there are also various speculations about the cause of his death, and even many stories have been derived.
These stories are closely linked to "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", which adds many legends to this painting.
Song Huizong was obsessed with the art of calligraphy and painting, but neglected the governance of the country and the well-being of the people. So there is such a legend: a genius boy named Wang Ximeng, after creating "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", tried to awaken Huizong's sense of governing the country, so he used "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" as inspiration to create "A Thousand Miles of Hunger".
The painting depicts the miserable scene of the Li people starving and cold, and the bones everywhere, and its real and terrifying style of painting made Huizong furious, and in a fit of rage, he threw the painting into the fire and put it to death.
There is also a more legendary saying, that is, before his death, Wang Ximeng never forgot his "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", and at the last moment of his life, he returned to his paintings.
When he gazed at his masterpieces, the pavilions, small bridges and flowing waters, mountains and mountains, and ...... peaks and mountains were stacked on top of each otherThe paintings are picturesque and fascinating. However, after the painting was completed, Wang Ximeng disappeared into the studio without a trace, and since then he has disappeared from the world.
Some people say that he may have walked into his own paintings, into the ...... of that magnificent paradise with mountains and riversAnd the 18-year-old of our time, who has just begun to come into contact with society, still knows very little about life.
However, Wang Ximeng completed a huge painting at this age, which no one in ancient or modern times could match, but he passed away just two years later. This has to make people sigh, maybe he exists to create this amazing painting.
Zhang Ailing said that "you should become famous as soon as possible", and Wang Ximeng did it. Although his glorious period was short-lived, he left behind works that continued his life in another way.