Introduction
The Innovative Panoramic Landscapes - “Infinite River” + “Distant Mountain”
The “landscapes paintings” generally embrace the mountain view as their focal expression, instead, the “Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River” centres around the water scenery in lieu. The everlasting winding river plays as the main rhythm in the composition of Qiu Ying’s “Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River”, leading audiences to travel through stunning sceneries, even more, connecting several hillsides along the riverbank to present a vast and boundless visual. At the distant end of the painting stands the towering feature mountain that reinforces the extensiveness and significance of the landscapes. The panorama composition has an enormous mountain dominating the visual and emphasizes all-inclusive subjects, which was a classic expression of the Northern Song dynasty. By the Ming dynasty, this type of composition was rare and only appeared in imitations of the Imperial painters in the hope to demonstrate the imposing Royal grandeur. However, “Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River” employs the open river and the grand mountain located afar, creating a majestic manner similar to the oversize landscapes from the Northern Song dynasty. Qiu Ying, who once imitated numerous Song and Yuan paintings, was exceptionally talented at adding creativity to the existing traditional styles. The “Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River” was the innovative practice of panoramic landscapes originated by Qiu Ying, which delivered a delightful new sensation to the audiences.