Object details
| Name | Listening to the Qin (赵佶听琴图轴) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00005873 |
| Category | Chinese Paintings (绘画) |
| Period | 宋 |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
A hanging scroll from the Song dynasty. The Palace Museum holds it among the paintings of its collection, and the image here is reproduced with the museum’s credit.
Song painting is often called the moment Chinese art turned toward observation. Academy painters rendered birds, bamboo and landscape with new naturalism, while literati amateurs argued that a painting should carry the writer’s spirit rather than merely imitate a form.
A hanging scroll is meant to be seen all at once and then stored. Painting here is an occasion, not furniture: a work is mounted for a season and put away, so each viewing is deliberate.
Source: The Palace Museum, Beijing — 数字文物库 (Digital Collection). Artefact no. 故00005873.
Image: © The Palace Museum.