Up the River During Qingming

Many imitations of “Up the River During Qingming” have been done since the Southern Song period (1127-1279), and by the middle of the Ming dynasty even more copies were in circulation. The one that apparently caught the most attention was by the renowned master Qiu Ying, and many painters vied to imitate his version. In fact, dozens of “Up the River During Qingming” scrolls with Qiu Ying’s name survive today, and three of them are in the National Palace Museum collection. The brushwork and coloring in all three differ, while the arrangement of the scenes depends on the artist doing the imitation, leading to additions and deletions here and there. For example, this particular version is shorter, the beginning of the scroll at the right featuring a wide tree-filled rustic scene, the center dominated by the arched bridge and market, and the latter part with the city wall and surroundings of market and street shops, which are arranged more monotonously. The land is rendered with outlines of “hemp-fiber” texture strokes, the lines regulated and even formulaic. As a result, the force of the brush is weaker and differs from the refined and mature beauty of brushwork in other paintings by Qiu Ying.