A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan is a long silk scroll painting (24.8 cm by 528.7 cm) which depicts the life of the people in Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng in Henan Province), capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The scenes are set along the banks of the Bian River at the time of Qingming Festival*. Precise dates for the birth and death of the artist Zhang Zeduan are unknown and no historical record regarding his life has yet been found. It is known he was active mainly during the Zhenghe and Xuanhe reigns of Emperor Song Huizong from 1101 to 1125. Born in Dongwu (present-day Zhucheng, Shandong Province), he began to pursue artistic studies in Bianjing when he was young. His painting A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival has been regarded as a national treasure by every dynasty since the Song, and has been witness to many upheavals during the great number of years it has been in circulation.

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  *Pan Shenliang is a member of the Department for the Preservation of Paintings and Calligraphy in the Beijing Palace Museum.

  *Qingming (Clear and Bright) Festival, which falls on the fifth of the Fourth Moon of the Chinese lunar calendar, is traditionally observed to mourn the deceased.

  When A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival was painted, it is possible that Zhang Zeduan offered it to Emperor Huizong (in reign 1101-1119) as a tribute, which was kept in the Xuanhe Palace of the Northern Song Dynasty. Song Huizong's (Zhao Ji) colophon, together with the impression of his twin-dragon seals (which are no longer extant), are found on the painting. An anonymous inscription on it reads, ``Even though Emperor Xuanhe is gone without a trace, this painting A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival remains as a witness to life in Bianjing.'' In 1126, the Jin people captured Bianjing and the emperor was taken prisoner. The Northern Song Dynasty came to an end and in the sack that followed, the imperial palace was robbed of its treasures. A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival was lost, but fortunately reappeared in the imperial collection of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

  The Yuan Dynasty was founded by Mongol tribes from China's northern steppe. The new ruling class, paradoxically loving and hating the advanced Han culture, implemented a policy of suppressing Han intellectuals. As a result art institutions were closed down and Han people were banned from official positions or thrown into kangaroo courts. Thus few artists had any knowledge of art in the imperial Yuan court. It was under such circumstances that a skilled picture mounter from the imperial court borrowed A Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival to make a copy of it. His reproduction was almost perfect. When he had completed his work, he returned the copy and kept the authentic piece for himself. The staff in the imperial court never doubted the painting was the original one. Before long the craftsman sold it to a certain high official at a very high price. Several years later, the official's house-keeper stole it and sold it to martial arts master Chen Yanlian. The identity of the craftsman and the high official remains as a mystery in the history of Chinese painting. The fact that the painting had been stolen from the Yuan Dynasty palace remained unknown until recently.