Tomb-Sweeping Day originated in the Spring and Autumn Period. In memory of the loyal minister Jie Zitui, Jin Wengong promoted meat as king, but did not seek fame and fortune. Before he died, he only hoped that the master would keep the tomb clear forever. The theme of The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival is not only a description of street life, but also a memory of the life of the deceased, which stimulates introspection and consciousness, and also implies thinking about social governance. Relevant inscriptions and descriptions show that Chou Ying has never seen Zhang Zeduan's original works. Instead of copying the original picture, he simulated this model, which is similar to the Zhang Zeduan version in rural and urban areas. The most controversial part is the last part. Some people speculate that the Zhang Zeduan version has been cut from the palace contents such as Jin Mingchi's bid, while others think that this part has not been painted since the Zhang Zeduan version. However, almost all versions of Chou Ying depict the palace, which is actually a remarkable feature of Chou Ying's works, that is, consciously expanding the content of classical themes to strengthen justice. Then, what shocking stories are hidden in the palace of the mysterious Xin Chou Ben and Qiu Yingmo's Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival?
According to Qian, the painting took three years, and the painter started writing on April 30th, 1542. Only half a year later, 1654381late at night on October 27th, a serious incident occurred in the Forbidden City in Beijing, where a maid-in-waiting attempted to strangle the emperor. According to historical records, Emperor Jiajing abused ladies-in-waiting and superstitious Taoism, which killed many people. Both the maid-in-waiting Yang and the empress suffered inhuman treatment and planned assassinations. When the incident happened, the emperor spent the night in Duan Fei's bedroom, and the maids tried to strangle the emperor while Duan Fei was taking a bath. The process is not smooth. One of the little maids secretly ran to report him, and Queen Fang and others arrived in time to save Emperor Jiajing. Queen Fang unwittingly shot Yining and Duan Fei, and all the ladies-in-waiting were involved. Afterwards, Emperor Jiajing told the world that he didn't review his mistakes, but attributed his escape to "nature, God and man helped each other, and he was unknown". Many details of this case are recorded in Ming History, Wan Supplement by Shen Defu and the works of Zhou Zai, then director of the Ministry of Punishment.
Before the painter started writing, it was the completion celebration of the newly-built Dagaoxuan Hall. Emperor Jiajing, who was addicted to Taoism, was absorbed in it all day, so the painter did not draw a real person in the harem. Across the trees and stones and a small bridge are two towering palaces. In the courtyard on the ground floor of the palace on the right, ladies-in-waiting and concubines chatted in twos and threes, and there were three princes. The top floor is surrounded by many court musicians. Huang Fang is in danger and enjoying the dance music. The distance between the two palaces accords with the record of Huang Fang's rapid arrival at the incident site in the history books. Although the palace on the left is more magnificent, compared with the lively and leisurely singing and dancing across the street, the atmosphere in this palace is very strange. In the two front doors on the first floor, three ladies-in-waiting are spying as if watching the wind; On the far right, a maid-in-waiting is talking to two other people at the Queen on the pavilion opposite her finger. A woman on her upper left is playing the pipa, which is suspected to be Duan Fei. The five ladies-in-waiting on the front of the top floor looked at each other from left to right, showing a dialogue. In the most hidden place on the left, two people whispered to each other, which should be Yang, the mastermind of Ning Ai. Walking on the bridge with three ladies coincides with the details of 18 people involved in this matter recorded in Wanli Leaf Compilation. Ning 'an and Duan Fei have no children, so they didn't draw a prince. Eye-catching red dresses are used to show the noble status of the Queen, Ning 'an and Duan Fei ... The explanation of the plot relationship corresponds to the history books one by one, and the pictures and history confirm each other.
However, this shocking thing did not happen when the painter started writing, so what was the painter's initial motivation?
Emperor Jiajing was originally a vassal, but he insisted that filial piety was more important than ceremony, gave his biological father an emperor's title and welcomed the memorial tablet into the palace, which was resolutely opposed by civil servants who insisted on patriarchal clan system. The complicated dispute over propriety became a hidden line running through Jiajing dynasty, and a large number of civil servants were hit, and loyalty, treachery, good and evil were complicated. There is a saying that the "Renyin Palace Change" may have been planned by a failed civil servant. Almost at the same time that Chou Ying started writing, Wen Zhiming also wrote Zhuge Liang's "The Former Teacher", which is actually no coincidence. The big gift incident triggered a wide range of intense speculation about human nature and loyalty and filial piety, and many relatives and friends who entered the court were involved in various opposing factions' arguments. Under such circumstances, Xu Wencan, the son of loyal officials, those who resigned and retired, and those who were well informed are bound to pin their thoughts and worries in their own ways. When only a small part of the painting was carried out, the Renyin Palace broke out, which undoubtedly fulfilled the worries of the literati, but objectively provided more exciting content for the painter. "A Record of Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty" contains: "The courtiers had a premeditated plan", so the painter skillfully chose the plot of "premeditated plan", which can not only record historical facts but also be difficult to find, and capture this current political news in detail.
People are often amazed at more than 1000 vivid figures, dozens of complex and precise pavilions and dragon boat bridges, beautiful and harmonious landscapes, flowers and birds ... They don't know that beyond the exquisite brushwork, there is such a huge crisis hidden behind the quiet and comfortable countryside and prosperous cities! Good fortune or ill fortune depends on impermanence, which cannot be countered by manpower. After reading this volume, I can't help feeling: Chou Ying is a real scholar-bureaucrat! This volume is simply a historical documentary of Jiajing Dynasty. As Jacob Buckhardt pointed out: "Only through the medium of art can the most secret beliefs and concepts of an era be passed on to future generations, and only this way of transmission is the most trustworthy."