Talk:Along the River During the Qingming Festival

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Contents 1 Version 2 New York Times article 3 Hanging fabric? 4 Some concerns 5 More concerns

[edit] Version

The new picture is indeed fabulous, but could we indicate which version it is? The article correctly states that there are many. This appears to be one of the Qing dynasty versions. cwh 04:47, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New York Times article

There is a recent New York Times article on this. [1] May be someone can find useful info from it and add it to this article. --Voidvector 11:17, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

I'll see what I can add to the article from New York Times' website. Pity that Wikipedia:WikiProject Visual arts didn't tag this article when it's so famous. OhanaUnited^{Talk page} 16:39, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Hanging fabric?

What is the material surrounding the second major building complex from the left in the remake, which appears to hang in colorful geometric shapes? Is it purely a spectacular decoration or does it provide natural ventilation to the building? Mike Serfas 19:52, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Hey Mike, I think it's a geological formation, an outcropping of tall limestone rocks, a frequent representation in Chinese art. Robcuny 15:19, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Some concerns

Wonderful article, but I can't find mention in it that the river of the scroll is the Yellow River (Huang He). Also the paragraph about the center of the scroll seems in need of some further explanation.
The center of the Qing dynasty remade scroll seems to be just where the great fortified wall spanning the river touches the scroll bottom, considerably to the left of the bridge. I get the impression from the remake that the bridge episode is one of the many placid picturesque 'anecdotes' of the Qing scroll, rather than centrally significant.
But is this also true of the original? The ropes don't seem to be present in the small detail of the original. And in the remake, the ropes seem to be being used simply to guide and drag the boat under the bridge, not to save people on the boat. As mentioned in the article, the disposition of the boat in the original seems much more dire compared with that in the remake. It would be most instructive to have a reproduction of the entire original, both to appreciate the intent of the original wrt to the significance of the boat event, and to understand why the remake has so greatly shifted the character of the events along with the general tenor and expressive purpose or sense of the painting. It seems as if the remake has removed the general urgency and uncertainties of the original, replacing them with a scene of untroubled ideality. If that's so, then reproducing only a detail of the original but the entire Qing scroll leaves a misleading impression.
Here's the passage of the article (also peculiar is the mention of "two people arguing" where there is a lively, vocal crowd, and a couple of odd solecisms -- tense shifts, redundant "which" -- incline me to wonder whether this paragraph isn't a translation): "Where the great bridge crosses the river is the center and main focus of the scroll. On the bridge, there were two people arguing over some issues. Under the bridge, there is a boat which its mast which has not been lowered completely and risked a chance crashing into the bridge. Many people on the bridge and along the riverside are shouting to alert the captain of the boat. On the bridge, a person is trying to lower a rope to rescue those who are still on the boat."Robcuny 16:37, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] More concerns

No one has responded and, having looked around a bit more to confirm my suspicions, I decided to edit the article a bit. I am still concerned that the description of the original in the article is not accurate. Since I cannot find a photo of the complete original anywhere on the internet, I haven't changed the article's description except where it was clearly misrepresentative. I'm headed for the Strand to see if the art books have more visuals for compare. Robcuny 23:23, 4 September 2007 (UTC)