The Inhabitants of Lung-su
Attributed to Tung Yuan 
(active ca. A.D. 930)
Five Dynasties Period
Ink and colors on silk. 
Hanging scroll. 
156.0 x 160.0cm
     Tung Yuan or Shu-ta 
(his style name) was from 
Nanking, Kiangsu province.  
He served the Southern 
T'ang court as Assistant 
Commissioner    of    the 
Northern Park.  According
to tradition, Tung Yuan 
painted landscapes in two
styles; one following the
monochrome ink executed 
in  a  bold  manner  with
coarse brush strokes, and
the  other following  the 
T'ang  "green  and  blue"
colored landscape tradition
in  which  the  drawing  is
meticulous.
     The painting's present
name   is   based   on   a 
colophon   by  Tung  Ch'i-
ch'ang   (A.D. 1555-1636).
But the Ch'ien-lung emperor
(A.D. 1736-1796) explains in
his   inscription   on   the  
painting that this landscape
represents    a    summer 
festival  where  music  is 
played  while  there  is  a 
tug-of-war on the boat for
the evocation of rain.  The
human   figures   on   both
shores  are tiny against  the
majestic  verdant  hill  on 
the right side. The landscape
is seen from above, offering
a panoramic  view  of  distant 
hills and lakes.