Art Around the World World Art    

Lesson 16: Along the River During the Qingming Festival

by Zhang Zeduan

Directions

Study the artwork for one week.

Over the week:

• Examine the artwork.
• Read the synopsis.
• Study the vocabulary words.
• Recite the artist and artwork names.
• Read about the art region or artist.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Discuss the review questions.

Synopsis

Zhang Zeduan's panorama, 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival,' captures an ancient Qingming Festival, a yearly celebration people hold in early April to honor their ancestors. The Qingming festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is still held in parts of Asia today. People visit the graves of their ancestors, where they pray and offer the dead chopsticks, joss paper, tea, and food. Celebrants also eat qingtuan, special green dumplings made of rice and barley grass. This lesson features a small section of a reproduction of Zeduan's original painting. The section depicts a Qingming celebration in the city of Kaifeng, China. The river scene is busy feast for the eye. People bustle about their business, strolling, working, and lounging. Sailors on a boat lower a mast to pass under a bridge. A long line of men pull the boat forward using ropes. Other men balance under the bridge and use poles to guide the boat.

Vocabulary

Festival: A day or period of celebration, typically a religious commemoration.
Ancestor: A person, typically one more remote than a grandparent, from whom one is descended.
Chopsticks: A pair of small, thin, tapered sticks of wood, ivory, or plastic, held together in one hand and used as eating utensils, especially by the Chinese, the Japanese, and other people in eastern Asia.
Joss Paper: Spirit money burned in honor of the dead.
Tea: A hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water.
Qingtuan: Green dumplings made of rice and barley grass.

Concepts

1. Chinese painter Zhang Zeduan was born in 1085 in China.
2. Zoom in and find Xuan's birth country of China on the map of East Asia below.

3. Zeduan was an artist during the Chinese Song Dynasty, which ruled between 960–1127. The time of the Song Dynasty was an age of invention, literature, and art.
4. Zeduan painted in a style called 'shan shui,' which uses ink to create scenic landscapes often featuring water and mountains.
5. Zeduan died in 1145 at the approximate age of 60.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

Find the following in the artwork:

• Kaifeng
• Bridge
• Ship
• Mast
• Line of Men Pulling a Rope
• Men with Poles Under the Bridge
• Men with Poles On the Boat
• Wagon with Hay
• People on Horseback
• Oxen Pulling a Cart
• Parasols
• Large Umbrellas

Activity 2: Narrate the Artwork

• After studying the artwork, narrate the scene shown aloud using your own words.

Activity 3: Complete Vocabulary Activities

• While studying the new words, point out any you see in the painting.
• Define each of the vocabulary words in your own words.

Activity 4: Sketch the Foods and Offerings of the Qingming Festival

• Qingtuan: Green dumplings made of rice and barley grass.

• Chopsticks: A pair of small, thin, tapered sticks of wood, ivory, or plastic, held together in one hand and used as eating utensils.

• Joss Paper: Spirit money burned in honor of the dead.

• Tea: A hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water.

Activity 5: Color the Artwork   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 25 of 'Art History Coloring Pages for Second Grade.'

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the artwork?

1 / 5

Answer 1

The characters are the people of Kaifeng celebrating the Qingming Festival.

1 / 5

Question 2

What is the setting of the artwork?

2 / 5

Answer 2

The setting is outdoors on the river of Kaifeng city.

2 / 5

Question 3

What special celebration is captured in the painting?

3 / 5

Answer 3

The special celebration is the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day.

3 / 5

Question 4

Is the Qingming Festival still celebrated today?

4 / 5

Answer 4

The Qingming Festival is still celebrated in China (and a few other Asian countries) today.

4 / 5

Question 5

How do people honor their ancestors during the Qingming Festival?

5 / 5

Answer 5

People visit the graves of their ancestors, where they pray and offer the dead chopsticks, joss paper, tea, and food.

5 / 5

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the artwork? The characters are the people of Kaifeng celebrating the Qingming Festival.
2. What is the setting of the artwork? The setting is outdoors on the river of Kaifeng city.
3. What special celebration is captured in the painting? The special celebration is the Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day.
4. Is the Qingming Festival still celebrated today? The Qingming Festival is still celebrated in China (and a few other Asian countries) today.
5. How do people honor their ancestors during the Qingming Festival? People visit the graves of their ancestors, where they pray and offer the dead chopsticks, joss paper, tea, and food.

References

'Zhang Zeduan.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Shan shui.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Song dynasty.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Qingming Festival.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Qingtuan Image by Vtorok (CC BY-SA 4.0).' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Joss Money Image by Kanashimi (CC BY-SA 3.0).' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.

'Along the River During the Qingming Festival.' Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Along_the_River_7-119-3.jpg. n.p.