Document 13.2: “Going Up the River at the Ch’ing Ming Festival,” City Gate, ca. 1100

As a scholar-official, Shen Gua was involved in numerous public construction projects, including urban water systems and defensive walls. Such projects were crucial to Song economic growth. Without well-developed water systems, Song agriculture and cities would never have been able to grow as rapidly as they did. Without strong defenses, Song cities would have been at the mercy of invading nomadic armies. This scroll detail highlights the connection between thriving commerce and a strong defense. In this scene, a camel train passes through one of the many city gates that guarded the Song capital of Kaifeng. As you examine the image, think about what it says about Kaifeng. What role did such cities play in the Song economy? Why was it so important to construct such formidable city defenses?

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(A detail of the scroll called “Going Up the River at the Ch’ing Ming Festival,” with scenes of town and country life possibly in the old capital of Kaifeng/Werner Forman Archive/The Bridgeman Art Library)

Questions to Consider

  1. Where might the camel train have been coming from? What kinds of goods might it have carried?
  2. What message might the designers of the gate have hoped to send to observers? What purpose might the elaborate structure on the top of the gate have served?