《清明上河图》
中国十大传世名画之一《清明上河图》是中国古典现实主义绘画的杰作，由北宋著名画家张择端创作，描绘了北宋宣和年间 （1119—1125）都城的繁华景象，为国宝级文物，现藏于北京故宫博物院。
清明上河是当时的民间风俗，类似于今天的节日集会。《清明上河图》生动记录了12世纪北宋都城东京（今河南省开封市）的城市面貌和当时社会各阶层人民的生活状况，是北宋时期繁荣发达的历史见证，也是北宋城市经济情况的生动写照。
《清明上河图》采用全景式构图，以自然景观作为分隔，展示了郊野、汴河、街市三部分景象。作者采用了大手笔与精细手笔相结合的技法，使得画卷内容丰富、生动有趣、紧凑而精细。在长528.7厘米、宽24.8厘米的长卷中，作者共绘就了数量庞大的各色人物，牛、骡、驴等牲畜，车、轿、船等交通工具，房屋、桥梁、城楼等建筑。画卷结构严谨、段落分明，画中各类人物、景物、货物细节井然有序。这在中国乃至世界绘画史上都是独一无二的。
《清明上河图》不仅是一件伟大的现实主义绘画艺术珍品，同时也提供了北宋大都市的商业、手工业、民俗、建筑等详实形象的第一手资料，具有重要的艺术价值和历史文献价值。其丰富的思想内涵、独特的审美视角、现实主义的表现手法，使其在中国乃至世界绘画史上均被奉为经典之作。
Qing Ming Shang He Tu
Qing Ming Shang He Tu (A Riverside Scene on the Qingming Festival) is a masterpiece of classical, realistic painting and one of the 10 most distinguished paintings left from ancient China. Painted by Zhang Zeduan, a court painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, it captures the bustling capital city in the Xuanhe reign period (1119-1125). The painting, a national treasure now, is housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Gathering by the riverside on the Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival was a folk custom back then, resembling the festive fair in modern times. The painting vividly depicts what Dongjing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan Province), capital city of the Northern Song, was like and how the people of various classes lived in the 12th century, bearing perpetual witness to the dynasty's economic prosperity.
With a panoramic composition, the painting gives a lively view of the outskirts, the Bianhe River, and the streets of Dongjing, which are separated ingeniously by natural landscapes. Outlined with both magnificence and exquisiteness, the work provides a wealth of contents in a compact and delicate way. The 528.7-centimeter- long, 24.8-centimeter-wide scroll presents, in meticulous delineation, all kinds of people, animals (e.g. cattle, mules, and donkeys), traffic tools (e.g. carts, sedans, and boats), and buildings (e.g. houses, bridges, and city towers). It is one-of-a-kind in China's and the world's painting history for its rigorous composition, clear-cut sections, and carefully rendered details of various characters, landscapes, and goods.
The painting has both artistic and historical significance for its realistic reflection of the capital city and presentation of first-hand materials on the commerce, craft, folklore, and architecture of a metropolitan in the Song Dynasty. Its rich cultural connotations, unique aesthetic, and realistic expressions make it a classic masterpiece of all times.
