The Night Revels of Han Xizai is a work by Gu Hongzhong (910-980). He was a painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty (937-975). This painting has two copies. A reproduction from the Song Dynasty(960-1279), currently housed in the Palace Museum at Beijing. The another one replica from the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), under the collection of the Three Gorges Museum at Chongqing. This painting is one of China’s masterpieces.
Background of The Night Revels of Han Xizai
According to the history, Han Xizai was born into a noble family and had excellent ability. He worked as an official in the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, seeing that the politics of the Southern Tang Dynasty was deteriorating. But he knthat could not do anything about it, so Han Xizai indulged himself. Li Yu was the later lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He wanted to reuse Han Xizai. So he sent his painter Gu Hongzhong to Han Xizai’s home to record the scene of Han Xizai’s feasts and invitations to his guests. He wanted to observe whether Han Xizai was really unrestrained, but also wanted to use this painting to advise Han Xizai to stop his debauchery. Gu Hongzhong painted this painting through his own imagination and observation.
Content of The Night Revels of Han Xizai
The painting has five segments. Gu Hongzhong used folding screens、beds and orchestral music to separate the images. This way breaked the traditional notion of composition and unifying the sequential events in a single image.
Paragraph 1: Listening to Music.
Han Xizai and zhuangyuan are sitting on a couch, listening to Li Jiaming’s sister play the pipa . Li Jiaming is on her left and looks at her, listening intently and always concerned about the technique she plays.
Paragraph 2: Watch the dance.
The people are watching Wang Wushan jump ‘Liu Yao ’dance (It’s a traditional dance from ancient China). Han Xizai played ‘Jiegu’ (It was a drum used in ancient china) to help the celebrate, his friend De Ming monk unexpectedly met this scene, awkwardly arched back stand.
Paragraph 3: A nap between feasts.
This depicts Han Xizai sitting on a couch, washing his hands and talking to his maids. At this point, the pipa and flute are both being carried inside by a woman, followed by a woman carrying cups and saucers. The two women seemed to still be talking about tonight’s banquet, adding to the relaxed atmosphere. Red candles have been lit and pillows have been placed so that people can lie down and rest at any time. At this time we can easily associate the banquet scene with the ancients, they cover the window and drink at night, singing and dancing, tired to rest for a while, often forgetting the change of day and night.
Paragraph 4: Wind and Music Ensemble.
Han Xizai changed out of his formal attire and sits cross-legged in a chair, waving a fan while commanding something to an attendant.
Paragraph 5: Guests talked each other.
This paragraph depicts the end of the banquet and the departure of the guests.
Significance of The Night Revels of Han Xizai
The main character in this painting is Han Xizai. We observe that he listened to the music, beated the drum by himself, and enjoyed the dance. But even in this joyful atmosphere, Han Xizai was preoccupied and his brows were locked, which contrasted sharply with the joyful atmosphere. At that time, the politics of the Southern Tang Dynasty was in turmoil, and through the image of Han Xizai in this painting, we can also understand Han Xizai’s hardship. The painting details the intense psychological struggle of the protagonist under the complexity of the time, revealing the contradictions within the political class.
In summary ,The Night Revels of Han Xizai is not only an extremely valuable painting in China, but also an important document for us to study the society, culture and art in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
