The Night Revels of Han Xizai, Gu Hongzhong (980 A.D.)

I. IDENTIFIERS

Artist/Attribution: Gu Hongzhong (顾闳中) [credited with composition]; 12th-century Song Dynasty copyist [physical execution]

Date: Original composition circa 970–980 A.D.; Existing scroll is dated to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279 A.D.)

Medium: Ink and color on silk handscroll

Location: The Palace Museum, Beijing, China

Culture/Period: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (Southern Tang Kingdom)

II. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

After the collapse of the Tang Dynasty in 907 A.D., China geographically split. The North fell into five different dynasties in just 50 years. There was constant warfare, political betrayals, and assassinations from the military generals. Simultaneously, southern and western China broke into ten different kingdoms that were at constant competition with one another. Culturally, there was a shift, loyalty became nonexistent because power started to be gained through military action rather than as a hereditary right. Because of the latter, rulers lived in constant dread that they would be overthrown by those whom they trusted the most. 

The handscroll was commissioned by the Southern Tang Kingdom, which is one of the ten kingdoms, not to be confused with the Tang Dynasty as they are two different things. Furthermore, the Southern Tang Kingdom experienced tremendous prosperity which led to the rulers and elite to invest wealth into academies, poetry, paintings and the sacred calligraphy. Even though the Southern Tang created the illusion of peace, they were eventually conquered by the Northern Song Dynasty (founded in 960 A.D.). When this painting was made, the final ruler of the Southern Tang Kingdom, Emperor Li Yu was on the throne. Emperor Li Yu was a brilliant intellectual, poet, artist but a weak military leader. He lived in constant paranoia of a Song invasion, and distrusted officials who had immigrated from the north, most of all Han Xizai. While Li Yu wanted to appoint Han as Chancellor to save the kingdom, the emperor feared that Han might be a northern spy or plotting against him. At the news of this, Han Xizai who was a very smart scholar-official decided to create the illusion that he was a hedonistic person which would disqualify him from the Chancellor position that he did not want as it was clear that the kingdom was falling, instead he hosted scandalous parties that would signal his political ambition was gone, and ultimately his plan worked. Five years after his death, 975 A.D., the Song military invaded and the Southern Tang Kingdom was dissolved.

III. SUBJECT MATTER

The subject matter of this painting is one of the scandalous parties that Han Xizai hosted. The piece was commissioned by Emperor Li Yu who ordered his master court painter, Gu Hongzhong, to infiltrate into one of Han Xizai’s hedonistic, all-night parties and to memorize everything and then paint it so that Emperor Li Yu could see the party and be aware of it. After returning from the party, Gu locked himself up in his studio and constructed the party’s narrative into one long silk scroll that is 3.35 meters (11-feet)-long and 28 centimeters (11.3-inches) high. It features various scenes of the local elite who were partying, the women have long dresses painted with vibrant mineral pigments such as vermilion reds, malachite greens, and azurite blues. These colors emphasize the elite class at these parties and simultaneously the status of Han Xizai who creates this atmosphere. The atmosphere is luxurious and most of the furniture in Han’s mansion is made of lacquered black wood furniture, there are massive canopy daybeds (luohan chuang) which are draped in fine fabrics.  The scroll highlights Han’s illusion by beginning with him fully dressed and as the scroll progresses his robes become unbuttoned, he is barefoot and in the final act of the scroll his face is depicted as tired and profoundly isolated; Han Xizai becomes the only person in a somber state compared to the other guests who are smiling, touching one another and flirting. Even though at the time, it was unmentioned, now one can see the creation of Han’s illusion and the dissatisfaction it has brought him.

IV. ABOUT THE ARTIST

Gu Hongzhong (c. 937-975 A.D.) was one of the most important master court painters of the Southern Tang Dynasty. There are few details about his life such as his official status as a Hanlin Academician. Gu showed exceptional artistic talent from a young age, and was recruited into the Emperor Li Yu’s Imperial Painting Academy with his job being the fulfillment of imperial decrees, meaning that whatever the Emperor wanted artistically Gu would do for him at any given time.  Ironically, none of Gu’s original physical paintings exist, they have not survived time. The original scroll is lost, the current version is a 12th century copy commissioned by the Song Dynasty, which was copied stroke by stroke due to its flawless brushwork. 

V. PERSONAL CONNECTION

When exploring Chinese scroll artworks to include in Iliostacio, I came across the Night Revels of Han Xizai and without indulging in any study about it, I decided to select it and learn from it by reading later on. While researching about it, I became fascinated with Han’s mind. The elaborate decision to deceive everyone by ruining his reputation, ironically ended up saving his reputation to the entire world centuries after his death. The theme of illusion tremendously interests me; there are aspects in every single person that plot illusions. They can range from being seen as coming from a better status to the current social perceptions on social media. One portrays the best of their life,  and avoids the uncomfortable parts of being human: change. Because of this, works such as the Night Revels of Han Xizai still resonate with the world, they remind us that there will always be perceptions, but most importantly that we can decide to break free of those illusions to be who we truly are in our core being: humans with friction.