I didn’t get to see the original, but a copy of the painting by Wang Ximeng; it was nevertheless still a magnificent drawing.
Fang Cong “Copy of ‘A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains’ by Wang Ximeng” 方琮《仿王希孟千里江山图卷》
Handscroll, ink on silk | Fang Cong, painter | 39th year reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong (1774) | The Palace Museum collection. 画卷｜方琮绘｜清乾隆三十九年 (1774)｜北京故宫博物院藏
According to the archives “Ruyi Pavilion Record”1 of the Construction Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Qing Palace 清宫内务府造办处, in the 39th year of the Qianlong reign (1774), “Fang Cong (方琮) imitated Wang Ximeng’s ‘A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains’, and the framed scroll was handed over the Palace of Initiating Auspiciousness 啓祥宮2 .” 3
The painter makes full use of the multi-point perspective characteristics of the traditional long scroll form in the composition. The scenery is roughly divided into six parts. Each part takes the mountain as the main object of expression. Each part is either connected by a long bridge or communicated by flowing water, so that each section of landscape is not only relatively independent but also interconnected, cleverly connected into one, achieving the artistic effect of changing the scenery. The interspersed use of a variety of composition methods of high-reaching, far-reaching and flat-distance makes the picture more ups and downs, full of a strong sense of rhythm, which is fascinating.4
Under the instruction of Emperor Huizong ( 宋徽宗 ), the original painter Wang Ximeng (王希孟) learned to appreciate the breathtaking panorama of the northern landscape from a broader field of vision and present the mountains and rivers with good master of art language.
Wang Ximeng visualised the poem titled “Looking up at Lushan Mount from Pengli Lake”《彭蠡湖中望庐山》by Meng Haoran 孟浩然5 in his painting to express the aesthetics that craved for greatness and success of the late Northern Song dynasty.6
The scenes shown in this long scroll indicate that Wang Ximeng has much acquaintance with the natural and cultural spectacles all the way along Xianyou of Fujian province, Lushan Mount and Poyang Lake of Jiangxi province, Suzhou, Kaifeng and other places.
Wang Ximeng “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” 王希孟《千里江山图》卷
Ink, colour on silk | Wang Ximeng | Northern Song (1118) | 51.5 x 1191.5 cm | The Palace Museum collection. 绢本，设色｜王希孟作｜北宋 正和三年 (1118)｜纵51.5厘米，横1191.5厘米 ｜北京故宫博物院藏
The original “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains”, also in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, is voluminous ink and pigment on silk. The painting is in the length of 51.5 cm vertically, and 1191.5 cm horizontally. With a poem written by Qianlong at the beginning of the painting and postscripts by Cai Jing 蔡京 from Song Dynasty at the end, the work tells the creating time (the painting was completed in 1118), age (Wang was 18 when he painted the scroll) and identity of the painter (Wang Ximeng).7
The analysis of Wang Ximeng’s life experience in the complicated struggle of the late Northern Song imperial court revolving about him being admitted to the imperial school of fine arts, employed in the Imperial Library and learning painting under Emperor Huizong can be directly and indirectly supported by such historical records and physical materials such as Cai Jing’s postscripts to the painting, his communications with Emperor Huizong and the silk fabric Emperor Huizong favoured his subjects with.
Unexpectedly, the painting is the only work handed down of the talented youth, without record in the painting literature later. And the rest of his works does not exist or at least none has been found so far.8
Both copies were displayed one after the other during the 100th anniversary exhibition “百年守护 – 从紫禁城到故宫博物院” of the Palace Museum in Beijing during Oct-Dec 2025.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes:
- 清宫内务府造办处档案《如意馆记》 ↩︎
- aka Hall of the Supreme Principle 太極殿; it was originally called Palace of Initiating Auspiciousness but renamed in late Qing dynasty to Hall of the Supreme Principle. ↩︎
- 据清宫内务府造办处档案，乾隆三十九年如意馆记：“方琮仿画王希孟千里江山图，传旨交启祥宫裱手卷。”可知此卷创作于乾隆三十九年，乃宫廷画家方琮奉旨临仿宫中所藏王希孟《千里江山图》之作。本幅中有“石渠宝笈”朱文方印、“天地为师”朱文方印、“乾隆御赏”白文圆印、“三希堂精鉴玺”朱文方印、“宜子孙”白文方印等内府鉴藏玺印。Museum Information Card, accessed Nov 2025 ↩︎
- 画家在构图上充分利用传统的长卷形式所具有的多点透视之特点，在十余米的巨幅长卷中将景物大致分为六部分，每部分均以山体为主要表现对象，各部分之间或以长桥相连，或以流水沟通，使各段山水既相对独立，又相互关联，巧妙地连成一体，达到了步移景异的艺术效果。高远、深远、平远多种构图方式的穿插使用更使画面跌宕起伏，富有强烈的韵律感，引人入胜。https://www.dpm.org.cn/collection/paint/228354.html Museum Information Card ↩︎
- 《彭蠡湖中望庐山》孟浩然〔唐代〕
太虚生月晕，舟子知天风。
挂席候明发，渺漫平湖中。
中流见匡阜，势压九江雄。
黤黕凝黛色，峥嵘当曙空。(黤黕 一作：黯黮)
香炉初上日，瀑水喷成虹。
久欲追尚子，况兹怀远公。
我来限于役，未暇息微躬。
淮海途将半，星霜岁欲穷。
寄言岩栖者，毕趣当来同。
https://www.guwendao.net/shiwenv_cbd6d7f86648.aspx, accessed 17 Nov 2025 ↩︎ - 摘要：本文以蔡京题《千里江山图》卷的跋文作为直接材料,以蔡京和徽宗的活动作为间接材料,辅以徽宗御赐的一批宫绢为物证,初步考证出王希孟在北宋末复杂的朝廷内斗中的人生际遇,他入画学、文书库及师从徽宗,均与蔡京的利用和运作有一定的关系。从画中景物分析,王希孟比较熟悉福建仙游、庐山及鄱阳湖、苏州、开封等地的自然和人文景观。同时,他在徽宗的”诲谕”下,进一步拓展了全景式大山大水的视野,催熟了大青绿山水的艺术语言,借表现孟浩然《彭蠡湖中望庐山》的诗意,体现了北宋末”丰亨豫大”的绘画美学思想。“细究王希孟及其《千里江山图》” 余辉, 故宫博物院研究室, 出处 《故宫博物院院刊》 CSSCI 北大核心 2017年第5期6-34,共29页 ↩︎
- Page 63, Study on “A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” by Wang Ximeng, Yurong Ma, Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 515 Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2020) ↩︎
- 《千里江山图》卷是北宋画家王希孟传世的唯一作品。此图描绘了祖国的锦绣河山。画面上峰峦起伏绵延，江河烟波浩淼，气象万千，壮丽恢弘。山间高崖飞瀑，曲径通幽，房舍屋宇点缀其间，绿柳红花，长松修竹，景色秀丽。山水间野渡渔村、水榭楼台、茅屋草舍、水磨长桥各依地势、环境而设，与山川湖泊相辉映。此卷以概括精练的手法、绚丽的色彩和工细的笔致表现出祖国山河的雄伟壮观，一向被视为宋代青绿山水中的巨制杰构。 https://www.dpm.org.cn/collection/paint/228354.html, accessed 17 Nov 2025 ↩︎
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