Joe McDonagh: The Various Activities of the People

The Qingming Shanghe Tu and the various activities of the People

The Qingming aShanghe Tu is a painted handscroll initially created during the 12th century by artist Zhang Zeduan. When Qingming Shanghe Tu is translated into English, it is commonly referred to as "Spring Festival on the River" or "Peace Reigns on the River." The work examined in this essay is the "Qing Court Version," a copy of the original Qingming Shanghe Tu, which was painted during the 18th century Qing Dynasty. The painted scroll depicts a typical day in the life of a citizen during the Qing Dynasty and the activities of the people from rural to urban societies (Chiu, Wang, & Tsai, 2018, p.307). The various jobs and activities performed by the people in the scroll will be explored in much greater detail to construct a sense of what a typical day for a citizen in the Qing Dynasty was like. 

Starting on the far right-hand side of the scroll in section 1, we begin in a rural setting alongside the river bank. As we follow the scrolls flow from right to left, we see vast fields for farming and people transporting their crops to the riverbank to trade with the passing boats as they make their way up the river towards the city (Hsingyuan, 2003, p. 161). In addition, as our eyes move from right to left, we see in scene 3 the large gathering of people in front of a stage to watch some performance. This scene is essential to note as most of the citizens depicted in this scene enjoy a relaxing concert-type activity rather than working hard like some of the other citizens in the background. This scene, in particular, helps to show the viewer that the people of the empire were well taken care of and that they were able to afford time out of their days to partake in leisurely activities rather than constantly have to work to survive. Moving further to the left on the scroll, we enter the city in scene 6 as we get to the “Rainbow Bridge.” Here in scene 6, we see a beautifully constructed arced bridge that is big enough to allow ships to pass underneath it while being strong enough to support the multitude of people and shops set up on top of it. The “Rainbow Bridge” is an excellent example of specialized laborers capable of engineering a design for this bridge while working alongside civil servants who can organize a significant workforce skilled enough to complete these large-scale projects. Now remaining stationary on the scroll paying specific attention to scene 6, we can see all the various activities of the citizens. More specifically, we see small shops set up on both sides of the bridge with people buying/trading goods, we see boats docking unloading/loading goods like grains, and lastly, as we zoom into the other end of the bridge, we can see a big group of people circled street performers. Once again, depicted in the scroll is another leisurely activity that the people of the Qing Dynasty are performing. Not only do the people themselves have spare time to stop and watch these performances, but the performers themselves have made it a career, which means that these performers can support themselves by entertaining others rather than holding a more traditionally seen role such as a farmer or civil servant. This movement away from traditional jobs like farming, working for the government, or fishing to more performance-based jobs helps to show the progression of the Qing Dynasty as not as many people were needed for those types of jobs as previous, but now more people can make a living from entertaining others. In addition, it allows us to believe that the economy was strong and people were wealthy enough to spend their money on things other than necessities needed to survive. This advancement allows for a more urban society to be formed, as we can see the transformation of the landscape in scene 6 as well. On both sides of the bridge, the bottom and top of the scroll, we see a shift in architectural style compared to the previous Tang Dynasty. Urban areas are no longer walled off into fangs, allowing for a more open urban community that enables people to travel freely. This shift in city architecture and city planning shows how there is still a strong central government with public officials who have passed the civil service exam in place orchestrating these large-scale operations (Hiroshi & Mayumi, 2001, p. 137). In addition, curfews were no longer in effect like they had been in the Tang Dynasty, allowing the people to stay out longer, engaging in nightly activities allowing for more goods/services to be produced (Hiroshi & Mayumi, 2001, p. 138). 

Through this close examination of scene 6 in the Qingming Shanghe Tu scroll, we as viewers can get a much deeper understanding of the culture of the people during the Qing Dynasty. The people seemed happily prosperous, and a strong centralized government played a significant role in society through public works and city planning. In conclusion, through the close examination of the Qingming Shanghe to scroll, it is clear that the people of the Qing Dynasty held various positions and performed multiple tasks that allowed its cities to become bustling focal points during the 12th century. 














  1. I) Bibliography:

  1. Ihara Hiroshi and Yoshida Mayumi, 2001. “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), pp. 135-156.
  2. Tsao Hsingyuan, 2003. “Unraveling the Mystery of the Handscroll 'Qingming shange tu'.” Journal of Song-Yuan Studies No. 33 (2003), pp. 155-179 
  3. Yin-Hao Chiu, Chih-Chia Wang, Chi-Yao Tsai, 2018. “ The discussion on the mystery season of a historical painting "Qing Ming Shang He Tu" by the thermal comfort analysis method.” Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018