Song Dynasty Painting Art - A Comprehensive Guide to Chinese Painting Art

Author: Zhang Shuheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Yangzhou, anciently known as Guangling, is situated at the strategic junction of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, where the Grand Canal meets the Yangtze. It has long been a vital hub in southeastern China. During the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, although Yangzhou suffered heavy destruction due to its resistance against the Qing forces, by the mid-Qing period, it once again flourished, with a highly developed commercial economy, thriving industries, and a gathering of cultural talents, making it one of the nation's most important economic and cultural centers. The prosperity of Yangzhou's economy and culture in the 18th century was primarily due to the thriving salt trade. At that time, Yangzhou was the center of the salt trade in Jiangnan, with the office of the Salt Administration Commissioner for the Two Huai Regions (Shu) located here. Salt merchants from all over the country flocked to Yangzhou for business convenience. This book provides art criticism on paintings from the early Northern Song Dynasty, the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Song Dynasty, including landscape paintings, figure paintings, flower-and-bird paintings, and genre paintings.