A five-metre silk handscroll of Song-dynasty Kaifeng, and one of the most tightly controlled loan objects in China.
Artist
Zhang Zeduan
Date
12th century
Medium
Ink and colour on silk handscroll
Dimensions
25.5 × 525 cm
Location
Palace Museum, Beijing
History
What the record shows
Painted in the Northern Song period, the scroll records the life of the capital in continuous narrative across more than five metres of silk.
It passed through imperial collections, was repeatedly copied, and survived the fall of the Qing before entering the Palace Museum.
Silk handscrolls are rolled and unrolled by hand; each opening stresses the ground. Public display is measured in weeks per decade, and movement is undertaken flat in a purpose-built case.
