Abstract: This paper is based on the Painting of the Boat Contest on the Jinming Pool by ZHANG Zeduan in the Song Dynasty,which is a realistic presentation of the Jinming Pool earliest among the existing paintings.Although not as large as the Painting of the Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival,it reflects more comprehensively the connotation of the capital city from a multi-angle and multi-level perspective.By comparing with the relevant literary works and the painting,"the contest for bid" activities on the Jinming Pool in the Shangsi Festival can be categorized into three different spaces,including the performance on the river,imperial ritual,and scholarly entertainment,to discuss the narration on the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty in literary composition.The three spaces are dynamically interrelated with clear boundaries as well as in tensions between the viewer and the viewed.It marks a better representation of the rich connotations as well as the political and cultural transformation within the space of the capital than the Painting of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival.Through the depiction of water warfare,water entertainment,washing ritual,and pray for rain in the Shangsi Festival,the space of performance on river directly exposes the turn of national policies and rituals.The fanciful illustration of the imperial ritual space indicates the monarch-subject relationship and political leverage,either publicly or secretively,such as practicing archery,attending banquets,enjoying flowers,fishing,and matching poems.The space of scholarly entertainment provides a grand mixture of distinctive figures,and it constructs typical scenes of elite gatherings and the love between city residents.The manifolds of literary discourse have accomplished the richness of visual language and representation.

Key words: Painting of the Boat Contest on the Jinming Pool, ZHANG Zeduan, narration on the capital city