Strolling About in Spring (游春图)
| Support Type: | Silk |
| Paint Type: | Mineral Pigment |
| Current Location: | The Palace Museum (Forbidden City), Beijing, China |
| Location History: | The painting carries a six-character inscription by Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty naming it as Zhan Ziqian's Spring Excursion, and he included it in the Xuanhe Catalogue of Palace Paintings. After the Qing imperial household was expelled from the Forbidden City in October 1924, the last emperor Puyi took many palace treasures to Tianjin and later to Changchun. It was reportedly found in a cultural relics market after Japan's defeat in 1945. In 1952, Zhang Boju and his wife donated it to the Palace Museum in Beijing, where it is kept today. |
Strolling About in Spring is a painting by Zhan Ziqian, an artist who lived in China during the Sui dynasty. It is also called Spring Excursion. It is a handscroll painted with ink and colors on silk, and it is about 43 cm tall and 80.5 cm wide. Today it is kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing. This is the only painting by Zhan Ziqian that still exists today, although old records say he painted many other works that were lost, so it is very important for art history. Many people say it is one of the oldest landscape paintings in China that we still have. The painting shows a spring day outdoors. There are mountains, water and trees, and small people are walking and riding while they enjoy nature. The mountains are placed in layers, so the scene looks deep and wide and not flat. Later Chinese artists used this kind of idea a lot in their landscape paintings. Another interesting thing is that the artist did not sign the painting, and there is no seal of his on it. The name comes from a short line written on it by Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, who called it Zhan Ziqian's Spring Excursion. Because of this, some experts think it could be a copy of an older painting, maybe made in the Song period. The name of the painting comes from a short line written on it by Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty, who called it Zhan Ziqian's Spring Excursion. Because of this, some experts think it could be a copy of an older painting.
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