COLLECTION NAME:
National Palace English
Record
Work ID:
M01E00153
Title:
The Hangzhou Bore in Moonlight
Creation Date:
Song Dynasty
Start Year Date:
A.D.960
End Year Date:
A.D.1279
Dynasty:
39 Song Dynasty (A.D. 960~1279)
Creator:
Li Song
Creation Place:
China
Measurements:
22.3 x 22 cm
Material:
Ink and color on silk
Form:
Ce-ye (album leaf)
Type:
Painting
Subject:
Landscape
Repository:
The National Palace Museum, Taipei
Description:
The Qiantang River, which flows eastward through Zhejiang province to the sea is famous for its rapids. According to the lunar calendar, every year between the fifteenth and eighteenth day of the eighth month-the time of the mid-autumn moon-the Qiantang becomes a torrent of tempestuous waves surging several meters high. The Hangzhou Bore in Moonlight depicts the annual excursion in Hangzhou to watch the waves. On the horizon, the bright moon appears suspended up high. Terraces, pavilions, and exceptionally beautiful flowers along with the mountains and the lake fill out the attractive scene. On the storied pavilion several spectators gather. Their figures are marked by mineral colors and ink outline, but through time the colors have fallen off, leaving only the impression of some white color. The interiors of the storied pavilion are simple and elegant furnished with a red lacquered vase and two oval stools. The palace-style roof, characterized by curve eaves and animal fixtures, and the zigzagging corridors create some variation in the setting. Complicated but not disorderly, all the architectural elements can clearly be distinguished. This work is an example of a one-corner landscape composition that includes rule-lined painting. The painting seems to be a symbolic fragment of a larger whole, and the artist has succeeded in creating layers of visual interest that lead the viewer deep into the landscape.
ImageV ID:
M01E00153AS002
Rights:
Lee & Lee Communications