'The Night Revels of Han Xizai' is a painted scroll depicting Han Xizai, a minister of the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu (937-978). This narrative painting is split into five distinct sections: Han Xizai listens to the pipa, watches dancers, takes a rest, listens to music, and then sees guests off. The original, painted by Gu Hongzhong (937-975), is lost, but a 12th century copy, housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing, survives (reproduced here). The full scroll should be viewed from right to left.

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Size: 4066px × 2118px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 10th, 12th, art, arts, asia, asian, century, china, chinese, dance, dancer, dancing, dyansty, dynasty, fashion, gu, han, hanxizai, hongzhong, instrument, li, music, musical, night, painting, revels, scroll, song, southern, style, tang, tu, woman, women, xizai, yeyan, yu