The man depicted here is not a scholar, but probably the boatman, the boat perhaps a ferry carrying travelers across the river. The picture is an exact copy of the lower right part of a hanging scroll by Qiu Ying in the Nanjing Museum. However, the Frankfurt painting lacks the reddish full moon, which indicates the theme of the nocturnal moon viewing during the mid-autumn festival (zhongqiu). Qiu Ying is considered one of the 'Four Great Masters of the Ming Dynasty', who are considered the leading masters of the so-called Wu school. Wu was the old name of Suzhou, where all these painters were active. They founded the style of literati painting of the Ming Dynasty. Qiu Ying, however, was a professional painter who painted mainly in the style of the painting academy of the Southern Song dynasty.
The Frankfurt painting is a fine example of this tradition of style. Characteristic of this is the backdrop-like construction of the rocks and towering mountains from flat patterns with sharp-edged contours and hard calligraphic internal drawing, the so-called 'axe strokes' (fupicun). The gnarled pine also has these sharp, angular contour lines. The figures and implements, such as the boat here, are depicted realistically and in great detail. The painting's second main feature is its diagonal overall composition, with the representation concentrated in one corner (known as the 'one-corner style') and a wide-open view on the opposite side. This is more evident in the complete original painting located in the Nanjing Museum.