The present study takes Zhang Zeduan's Qingming shanghe tu (in the Palace Museum, Beijing) as its main object. The first part involves further investigation into dating the painting, not only taking into consideration the opinions of other scholars, but also examining the current condition of the handscroll and the relationship between the painting and its colophons, confirming that it should be placed within the context of Emperor Huizong's court in the late Northern Song. What follows is an overall assessment of Qingming shanghe tu, beginning with an unraveling of the internal order and relationship among the sections in the painting. Following a reappraisal of the order of the scenes depicted, it becomes evident that the handscroll has an internal logic and order. And this order was intentionally arranged so as to conform to the sequence and situation of the painting. It is a contention of the present study that Qingming shanghe tu, despite its focus on urban scenery, involves much more than meets the eye, among which is the allusion to contents found in Shijing (The Classic of Poetry). In particular, the logical order concealed in the painting tallies well with main idea in the 〞Da ya〞 (〞Major Court Hymns〞) section of Shijing. This diverges from the understanding of the meaning behind Qingming shanghe tu in the past, because within the special context of Painting School activities at Huizong's court, the painting takes on significance as one of the important facets to the various cultural activities there. Thus, it can be inferred that Huizong's court used the painting as a lodging to yearn for the virtuous rule of a sage emperor. The present study on Qingming shanghe tu reveals a significant perspective for examining the cultural history of the Song dynasty and is an important case study that provides a measure for understanding the role of painting at Huizong's court. The study thus employs this painting to grasp the crux behind its production and to observe the significance of Huizong's painting activities in the history of Chinese art.