Nguyen Nguyen - The hidden reality of the cities: Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasty

Qingming Shanghe tu has inspired many later artists to create handscrolls that depict their respective era's unique urban landscape and living atmosphere. Among the most famous copies, the topography that reflected the cultural and daily perspectives between the 14th-19th century possess a splendid visual elaboration of the scene: not only in the drawing techniques but also in the clear implication of the Qing dynasty in civilization development. Especially compared to the original 12th Century version, we can discover many exciting similarities and uniqueness between these two versions. However, although there is various academic research over the original scroll, the latter did not attract much attention. Hence, instead of relying on previous literature evidence, we can utilize the discussed elements, such as architecture and social compositions, from the original scroll to analyze the visual perspectives in the Qing dynasty's version through the coinciding historical background of the two dynasties. 

We shall discover the visual characteristics of the 12th-century version to learn the social aspects of the Song dynasty before pointing out the underlying improvement of the Qing dynasty in the later one through the art piece. Speculators will be impressed by the overflowing vitality from both inside and outside of the city gates for a first impression. However, while I was looking for academic articles to elaborate on this assumption, I stumbled upon some interesting, controversial opinions on the scroll. In fact, in The Qingming Shanghe Tu by Zhang Zeduan and its relation to Northern Song Society: Light and Shadow and The Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng, the authors were providing historical evidence that can be linked to the details of the painting that, the era was not healthily prosperous and vibrant, and the illustration might not know even about Kaifeng as many others suggested. 

From the article The Qingming Shanghe Tu by Zhang Zeduan and its relation to Northern Song Society: Light and Shadow in the painting, the authors pointed out that under the Tang Dynasty's "authoritarian, dictatorial city administration," people are forbidden to wandering after night fell, which restricted any further commercial activities from occurring. Thus, from the Song dynasty forwards, such restrictions were gradually lifted to serve a healthier economic growth in the general population. Trades increased in volume and capacity (since longer operating times allow distant trades), which made the markets in the city become abundant and diverse in resources. The forces that create such changes come from the desire for productive activities of the citizens. The article clearly stated that, in contrast with the previous investment in the wall design that covered up the inner city in the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty's authority has decided only to maintain a city gate. This change creates more spaces and an overall welcoming vibe of cultural/ commercial interactions. However, there are also overshadowing details in the scroll that imply a potential deterioration of the city with the text record Dongjing meng hua lu by Meng Yuanlao, which coincides with the time frame of our discussed handscroll about Kaifeng in the Song dynasty. The emperor Huizong was indeed fascinated with artistic and scholarly activities, which made them flourish splendidly. A piece of vivid evidence is that an abundance of scholars was roaming on the streets across the scroll. However, he could not develop the economy healthily due to his various indulgent and ill-governed policies. Meng pointed out that the era, therefore, suffered from the "bubble economy" as a result. The effect can be seen through the handscroll through infrastructure: the roofs of the buildings were "not well-maintained," and citizens' top floors are primarily unused. The article suggested that Meng was trying to reveal the "imminent danger" lies under the seemingly glorious appearance of Kaifeng. Interestingly, The Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng has a unique theory on this matter: it was not that the people of the Southern Song was indeed living an actively well-doing life; instead, the scenario in the hand script was, in reality, depicted an idea city in Zhang's opinion and that the overall robustness of the citizens were only hypothesized from his perspective. I found the evidence to be worth serious consideration: "Zhang left out any of the poor or sick people who must have been parts of twelfth-century streetlife" (p.185). 

The social background of this handscroll was not as robust as we might assume when observing the art depictions. Despite articles analyzing the scroll from different perspectives and coming up with unique discoveries, their ideas ultimately met at a similar interpretation of the city's well-being in the scroll, with historical evidence. In my opinion, the underlying will of this masterpiece is that through Kaifeng, either Zhang Zeduan has neatly hid expressive details of a deteriorating dynasty under Emperor Huzong's ambitious yet incompetent ruling through, or Zhang Zeduan's intention was merely expressing his fantasy on an ideal city instead of it. Ultimately, we can refer to these arguments when analyzing the Qing dynasty's possible hidden circumstances in the following version.

Arriving in the Ming and Qing dynasty, Kangxi (1661–1722) and Qianlong (1735–96) were known to be highly conservative in their political and cultural attitudes and have an inherent love towards extravagance, which can be proved through the contemporary architectures such as the Forbidden City and Fragrant hills pagoda. According to Britannica, "The art of the Qing dynasty, even the painting of many of its finest eccentrics and the design of its best gardens, is at once characterized by lavish decoration and ornate effects as well as by superb technique and conservative taste". We can see that Qingming Shanghe tu in the 18th century is exceptionally vivid in both architecture, from colors to structures and urban life demonstration. Compared to the earliest version's drawing skills, the images are portrayed in meticulous detail, with extensive use of jiehua (ruled lined painting) and shades of hue. However, despite the nearly six hundred years difference, the social aspects in the original version remain applicable in this current work. For example, despite being approved as a capable ruler, Qianlong's extravagant lifestyle can lead to a "bubble economy." According to The Grandeur of the Qing economy, this era was heavily reliant on farming activities and strongly emphasized the anti-merchant movement, as the Qianlong emperor was a firm Confucianism believer. Thus, many underlying factors that we discovered in the original work might as well have existed in the Qing dynasty, including the robust atmosphere of commercial activities in an extensive urban setting.

Furthermore, as Qianlong also has artistic activities, especially in building complicated and costly constructions, we can further consider the contemporary Qingming Shanghe tu in the contextual idea in Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng. However, these associations are only a hypothesis, considering that the Qing dynasty was famed for establishing an integrated national economy controlled by empirical power, which led to the flourishing and prosperity of the country in the eighteenth century. Therefore, although there are reliable references to suggest that some downsides of the society might not be portrayed in the Qing dynasty's version, Qingming Shanghe tu portrayed a healthy, lively and flourishing scenario of a refreshing morning in a urban setting full of elaborate yet diverse architectures, from crowded inner city to lyrical sumptuous suburbs. There, people from all backgrounds interact through vibrant street activities, enjoying life and performing their roles. 

Through the literary and artistic works, Chinese emperors, such as Huizong and Qianlong, wished to pass on to the later generations that they had succeeded as fit rulers that brought prosperity and well-being to the country. Thus, if underdeveloped infrastructure were portrayed in the record, which was solid proof that the citizens and the authorities did not properly maintain the city's well-being, it would not be in the rulers' favor. There are hints of this situation in the original version, yet it is hard to see them in the latter one, given how this scroll was elaborated carefully in drawing techniques and details. Through research articles in visual analysis and comparison between versions, we can develop some fascinating theories with suggestive evidence regarding whether the handscrolls were reliable historical documentation of the respective ears. Nevertheless, it is hard to disprove that the people's daily lives were vibrant with diverse activities from multicultural social strata in both the Song and Qing dynasties.

Citation:

Journal Article: Hiroshi, Ihara, and Yoshida Mayumi. "THE 'QINGMING SHANGHE TU' BY ZHANG ZEDUAN AND ITS RELATION TO NORTHERN SONG SOCIETY: LIGHT AND SHADOW IN THE PAINTING." Journal of Song-Yuan Studies, no. 31 (2001): 135–56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23496092.

Journal Article: Hansen, Valerie. "The Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng." Journal of Song-Yuan Studies, no. 26 (1996): 183–200. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23496052.

ART, OF, and STYLES ON CHINESE PAINTING. "THE GRANDEUR OF ART DURING THE QING."