5. The Night Revels of Han Xizai – Gu Hongzhong
Suppose that you are Emperor Li Yu (ca. 937–978), but your official, Han Xizai, misses morning audiences with you and refuses to become prime minister. What would you do? You would try to find out what is going on, right? That is precisely what Li Yu did. To check what Han Xizai was doing at home, Li Yu sent Gu Hongzhong (937–975), a court painter. Therefore, he recorded what Han Xizai (902–970) did by painting The Night Revels of Han Xizai.
Pleasures of Life
It turned out that Han Xizai was disillusioned with the regime. He refused to serve and instead, he was having fun and enjoying his life. Gu Hongzhong presents a continuous story, describing the whole scene as a narrative. The painting is divided into sections as the scene progresses, with the screens as dividers. There are more than forty figures in the painting, all lifelike and with different expressions.
For example, in the first scene, we can see Han Xizai in futou, a tall black hat, listening to the pipa, a Chinese musical instrument. The person in the red attire is a Chinese scholar. In the next scene, Han Xizai is beating a drum for the dancers. After a break, he continues to further entertain himself and listens to the music, meanwhile, his guests talk with the singers.
Gu Hongzhong cleverly arranges the composition. Each scene is relatively independent, but the composition is unified. The artist places a candlestick in one of the scenes to point out the specific time. At first glance, this painting is about personal life. However, it also hints at many customs of that period.
