The Epic Dance Qingming Riverside

After a long process of in-depth study, Hong Kong Dance Company transforms the scroll painting into an epic dance. The Script and Research Director, Gerard Tsang, with good knowledge of historical heritage does painstaking research on dance history and the history of the Song Dynasty. The Assistant Artistic Director and choreographer, Leung Kwok-shing, a veteran in Chinese folk dance creates the epic dance of Qingming Riverside with the accompaniment of the original music score written by the composer Shi Zhiyou, a master in Chinese folk music.

The Silk Scroll Qingming Riverside

The silk scroll Qingming Riverside is a masterpiece by the imperial court painter Zhang Zeduan, who was a member of the Hanlin Academy (an art academy established in the imperial court to train artists) in the Northern Song Dynasty during the years of 1119 – 1125. Zhang Zeduan was an artist with supreme and unique painting skills. He reveals the complex street scenes of Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (today’s Kaifeng City of the Henan province in Central China) with realistic details, a multi-point perspective and a dexterously worked out structure. The Qingming scroll is regarded as a gem of Chinese fine arts and an artistic masterpiece of all time, as well as a valuable reference in the study of Song Dynasty social and cultural life. It has been a major inspiration for paintings for hundreds of years.