Introduction to the work:
Chen Banding(1876-1970), originally named Chen Nian alias Jingshan, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province and lived in Beijing. He learned poetry, inscription and painting from Ren Bonian and Wu Changshuo. Wu renamed him Banding and led him to the Beijing Art Circle. He is good at landscape, natural and portrait paintings. He learned landscape painting from Shi Tao and later added sketch element to it. Though his landscape paintings are not as good as his natural paintings, but his natural paintings are loftier than the landscape paintings.

The present painting is a piece of work done at his middle age. The picture is greatly influenced by Shi Tao and Shi Xi. The sceneries show the atmosphere of mourning for the fall. The boat moves on the river as if in the universe. The inscription at the upper part is full of seal cutting elements and combines the poetry, calligraphy, and painting with seal cutting.