The Dragon Boat Festival depicted in ancient paintings with the sentiment of “zongzi”

You would never imagine how elaborate the Dragon Boat Festival in ancient paintings was.

Lang Shining’s “Midday Auspicious Scene” can be regarded as a “court-exclusive” painting. (In the celadon vase, the cattail is crisp and upright, pomegranate flowers and hollyhocks are vying for beauty, and zongzi are scattered on the side.) The Western light and shadow outline the highlights of the porcelain vase. It seems like a still life drawing, but in fact, it “welding” the sense of ceremony of the royal Dragon Boat Festival onto the canvas, making the mugwort exude a sense of solemnity!

Qi Baishi’s “Delicacies ofthe Dragon Boat Festival” is filled with the aroma of daily life. The realgar wine is a pungent red, the cut salted duck eggs seem to be dripping with oil, and the triangular zongzi outlined in thick ink are just like the enthusiastic vendors in the hutongs. He cast aside the burden of technique, and in both rich and light colors, it was all about the Dragon Boat Festival on the tip of the common people’s tongues.

Ren Bonian’s “Dragon Boat Festival Painting” is the most elegant. Mugwort and calamus are the main scenes, symbolizing the warding off of evil spirits. Yellow croaker, loquat and garlic are used as embellishments, hinting at the folk custom of praying for blessings. With just a few strokes, the two characters “Well-being” were integrated into the ink wash.
When the drumbeats of the dragon boat race break the mist on the river surface and the fragrance of mugwort wafts over the blue tiles and white walls, these paintings have long infused the ancestors’ reverence for nature into the Dragon Boat Festival. From court ceremonies to the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, Lang Shining painted “elaborate”, Qi Baishi painted “life”, and Ren Bonianpainted”simple joy”. The various forms of the thousand-year-old Dragon Boat Festival have long been transformed by the painters into a jar of folk wine with their brushstrokes and ink, becoming more and more fragrant the more you savor it.

Today’s tea has run out. Next time, I’ll make some new ones and accompany you to enjoy art.