Travelers in Snow-Covered Mountains, created during the Five Dynasties period (907-960 C.E.), is an ink on silk painting attributed to Chinese artist and essayist Jing Hao (荆浩). The work portrays a winter scenery where travellers and their horses traverse through the mountains. Depicted with a lighter-coloured ink, the settled snow outlines the contours of the mountain ridges, layering towards a peak that stretches far above the passing travellers. The way the scenery is painted reflects Jing’s use of the Northern Song landscape techniques, which are characterised by brisk lines and bold compositions. Surrounded by empty space, the distant mountains are painted with crisply brushstrokes, which creates a sense of boundlessness. In comparison to the enormity of the mountains, the travellers are rendered miniscule. Besides creating paintings, Jing Hao is said to have written the essay “Bifaji” (Record of Brush Methods), in which he describes a classical painter who has a harmonious relationship with nature, emphasizing the importance of nature’s visual truthfulness in painting. Jing’s artistic philosophy can be seen in Travelers in Snow-Covered Mountains, where in the grandiosity of the landscape, there is a visual coherency between humans and nature, with the travellers being incorporated in the immensity of the scenery.

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