The Sluice Gate with Freight Carts is the earliest extant scroll in China that depicted a water mill.It was drawn during the early or middle Northern Song dynasty and was possibly a true portrayal of the West Water Mi...The Sluice Gate with Freight Carts is the earliest extant scroll in China that depicted a water mill.It was drawn during the early or middle Northern Song dynasty and was possibly a true portrayal of the West Water Mill Office.The copresence of a banquet scene of the Northern Song dynasty’s scholar-officials and a water mill both suggests a realistic reproduction of a specific scene and indicates the significance of the water mill as a cultural space.The Northern Song dynasty’s government-operated water mills were especially noticeable in the Capital Circuit京畿路,whose center was Dongjing东京.The basic development path of government-operated water mills in the inner and outer city of Dongjing was first from grain processing,which supplied the needs of the imperial palace,to tea processing,in which the governmental commercial capital also participated.Regarding city space and the use of water sources,the development spread from the north of the city to the south.Other prefectures outside Dongjing also had government-operated water mills—some brought income that could be used as official fiscal expenditure,including military expenditure,and were used to satisfy the need of local people’s livelihood,while some were used to serve the monopoly policy of tea and demonstrate the benevolent governance of local officials.In the Northern Song dynasty,the water mill was no longer merely a production site;rather,it was also a cultural space that integrated a natural background and artificial ingenuity.Closely related to the hosting of emperors and the garden making,sightseeing,feasting,and drinking of scholar-officials,along with the festival activities of locals,the water mill in the Northern Song dynasty was of great cultural significance.展开更多
文摘The Sluice Gate with Freight Carts is the earliest extant scroll in China that depicted a water mill.It was drawn during the early or middle Northern Song dynasty and was possibly a true portrayal of the West Water Mill Office.The copresence of a banquet scene of the Northern Song dynasty’s scholar-officials and a water mill both suggests a realistic reproduction of a specific scene and indicates the significance of the water mill as a cultural space.The Northern Song dynasty’s government-operated water mills were especially noticeable in the Capital Circuit京畿路,whose center was Dongjing东京.The basic development path of government-operated water mills in the inner and outer city of Dongjing was first from grain processing,which supplied the needs of the imperial palace,to tea processing,in which the governmental commercial capital also participated.Regarding city space and the use of water sources,the development spread from the north of the city to the south.Other prefectures outside Dongjing also had government-operated water mills—some brought income that could be used as official fiscal expenditure,including military expenditure,and were used to satisfy the need of local people’s livelihood,while some were used to serve the monopoly policy of tea and demonstrate the benevolent governance of local officials.In the Northern Song dynasty,the water mill was no longer merely a production site;rather,it was also a cultural space that integrated a natural background and artificial ingenuity.Closely related to the hosting of emperors and the garden making,sightseeing,feasting,and drinking of scholar-officials,along with the festival activities of locals,the water mill in the Northern Song dynasty was of great cultural significance.
