Qingming Festival on the Bianhe River (1)

The "清明上河图 (Qingming Festival on the Bianhe River)" scroll, kept at the National Palace Museum in Beijing, is generally accepted to date back to the 12th century, during the Northern Song Dynasty (宋 960-1127).
Towards the end of the reign of Emperor Hui-tszong (徽宗 1082-1135, artist, caligrapher, poet, musician). The author of the scroll is believed to be the imperial painter Chang Tse-duan (張擇端 1085-1145). The scroll has been highly regarded since its inception, has been admired for its realism and artistic style and historical detail, and has been the subject of much research throughout its history. Emperors Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) so highly prized the scroll that modern copies were created by their decree.
Another translation of the title: “Along the river on the Day of remembrance of the dead”. Unofficial name: "Chinese Mona Lisa" because it is repeated and repeated in different forms and styles.
The Qingming Festival on the Bianhe River is a horizontal scroll, 24.8cm high and 5.28m wide. The original scroll features approximately 814 human figures, 28 boats, 94 animals, and 170 trees. The painting is considered the beginning of the direction of "urban sketching" In the 18th century under Qin, an 11-meter remake was created, on which 5 authors worked.
The scroll begins with an image of morning, spring, suburbs, peasant fields, thatched roofs, a river. Donkeys loaded with luggage are walking along the road to the city. A group of peasants (bottom right) are heading out of town. To the right and below, among the spreading willows, a man sits under a canopy, and we just look at the street. a little to the left and higher, another scene with a child. Country house, cows in front of the house. Slightly to the right and higher, the person just dresses. at his feet is some strange stick - a hanger. Above this scene is a fortuneteller holding a pole with a flag that he is an official professional.
From a sleeping country landscape, a transition is made to a waking up business morning. the fact that this is only the beginning of an active business day is understandable because the tables in street cafes are still empty, tents and some kind of poles with flags are only being raised. But unloading is going on, shops are opening, they are starting to feed them breakfast. The merchant directs the unloading of his goods. The pointing finger pose is the same as the other chiefs on the scroll. The clothes and headwear are clearly different from the clothes of the workers. Judging by the clothes, he is a respected person.