A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains (simplified Chinese:千里江山图; traditional Chinese:千里江山圖; pinyin: Qiān Lǐ Jiāng Shān Tú) is a traditional Chinese painting created by Wang Ximeng (1096–1119) in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). This painting, with 1191.5 cm in length and 51.5 cm in width, is in the collection of The Palace Museum.[1] A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is one of the top 10 Chinese paintings and is a masterpiece of traditional Chinese blue and green landscape painting.[2]
Description
The word “li” in the title of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a Chinese unit of measurement equal to 500 meters.[3] The phrase “a thousand li” is a metaphor indicating an extremely long distance.
The painting has a grand scale with rich coloration and abundant details. Painted on a single piece of silk, the glorious and varied mountains and peaks appear and disappear from time to time between a cloudless sky and rippling rivers. Among the spectacular scene, Wang Ximeng painted the thatched houses, bridges, and antlike figures in detail.[4]
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Background
At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the continuous war between the Song Dynasty and Jin Dynasty resulted in the social unrest.[5] The Royal Court of the Northern Song Dynasty declined, and people lived in dire straits. A strong sense of patriotism increased among people in Song Dynasty, especially among young students. However, because of the weak politics and military of the Royal Court, people can only express their concern for recovering mountains and rivers through their artistic creation.
Wang Ximeng entered the Imperial Painting Academy as an apprentice when he was very young. During his apprenticeship, he once worked as the personal librarian of Emperor Huizong of Song (1082-1135).[3] Emperor Huizong was good at painting and calligraphy. Wang presented his paintings to Emperor Huizong several times.[6] Emperor Huizong was not satisfied because of the lack of skill at first, but he discovered Wang’s extraordinary talent on painting, so he taught Wang painting in person.
At the age of 18, Wang Ximeng had already been skilled in the latest painting techniques and started to create his own unique style.[3] He created A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains within six months, making him notable for his extraordinary painting skill nowadays.
Unfortunately, Wang Ximeng died at the age of 23, leaving A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains the only work to later generations. [7]
Appreciation
Theme
A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains not only inherits the features of the traditional Chinese blue and green landscape paintings, but also has its own artistic characteristics.[8] The theme of this painting is a combination of natural scenery and the social life. The painting depicts the natural scenery, which not only shows mountains with rivers, but also carefully paints the changeable state of the natural world, such as the rocks, valleys, peaks, slopes, streams, waves and hazes. At the same time, there are many people's activities in the natural environment, including fishing boats, bridges, and waterwheels. The harmonious relationship between human and nature is embodied in this painting.[9] Compared with some blue and green landscape paintings in Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, the theme of A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains combines the nature with ordinary life, which is more real and natural.[8]
Color
A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a magnum opus of the traditional Chinese blue and green landscape painting.[10] In the painting, the dominating color is blue and green, and pale brown is sometimes used.[4] The colors of mineral stones have high decorative effect.[11] Although this painting has a long history, the color is still bright and clear, harmonious and natural.[12] Although some colors have faded through years of erosion, this painting is still charming.
Composition
Wang Ximeng used the multi-point perspective to divide A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains into six parts.[2] Various mountains are depicted by every part of the painting, and all the parts are connected with bridges or a watercourse. In this way, every part of the painting not only is independent, but also has a close relation, making it possible for the painting be appreciated from various perspectives.
Wang alternately used three different composition methods which was created and summarized by the predecessor painters, making the composition of the painting full of changes.[13] It seems that the viewers are sometimes standing on the top of a mountain, sometimes walking through the foot of a mountain, and sometimes far away from the mountains. The viewers can enter this vast landscape and roam from beginning to end, over lands and rivers, appreciating the various changes of the mountains and rivers from different angles without being hindered.
Exhibition
Theme: A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains: Blue–green Landscape Paintings from across Chinese History.[10]
Location: Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
Dates: 2017-09-15 through 2017-12-14.
Exhibition Room No. 1: West Wing Gallery, Meridian Gate.
Impact
Wang Ximeng's A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a representative work of the blue and green landscape painting in the Song Dynasty.[14] It broke the dominance of the Chinese ink painting in Song Dynasty and brought the blue and green landscape painting’s revival at that time, marking that the level of the blue and green landscape painting came into a new stage. At present, A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains is a treasure of the blue and green landscape painting in China.
On 2017-02-25, Beijing Stamp Printing House issued a series of stamps of "A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains".[1]