Artwork Information
Night Banquet of Han Xizai - Painting Core 1 - Listening to Music
Gu Hongzhong
Imagine being hired as an artistic spy to paint a party report for the Emperor! That’s the backstory of this masterpiece. The Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu suspected his official Han Xizai of plotting rebellion, so he sent painter Gu Hongzhong to crash the bash and document the debauchery. In this opening scene, Han Xizai (the bearded man in the tall black hat) sits amidst a lavish gathering, intently watching a woman play the pipa, successfully portraying himself as a harmless hedonist to avoid political responsibility. The entire scroll unfolds like a comic strip, revealing the party's progression through music, dance, and rest.
- Technique
- Ink and color on silk
- Material
- Silk
Location: Palace Museum, Beijing
Interpretation Content
The Night Banquet of Han Xizai was commissioned by the Southern Tang emperor Li Yu from the painter Gu Hongzhong. At that time, the Southern Tang was on the verge of collapse, and Li Yu suspected his powerful minister Han Xizai of harboring disloyal intentions. Thus, he sent Gu Hongzhong to infiltrate Han's residence, observe and memorize the scenes, and then paint this work for surveillance. The painting is divided into five sections. The "Listening to Music" section depicts Han Xizai and his guests intently listening to a pipa performance, with each figure's expression conveying different emotions, subtly concealing political metaphors.
This painting has passed through a thousand years of circulation. It was once collected in the imperial storehouse of the Southern Song, then by Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan dynasty, Yan Song of the Ming dynasty, and Liang Qingbiao of the Qing dynasty, before entering the Qing imperial palace. At the end of the Qing dynasty, Puyi took it out of the Forbidden City under the pretext of bestowing gifts, and it then fell into private hands. In 1945, it was acquired by the renowned painter Zhang Daqian, who cherished it as a treasure. In the 1950s, he transferred it to the Palace Museum in Beijing at a low price, where it became a prized collection.
The painting is now on display at the Zhejiang Museum from August 22 to September 20, 2026, marking one of the rare public appearances of this authentic artwork in recent years. As one of the top ten most famous paintings in Chinese history, it holds extraordinary artistic value and historical documentary significance. It is an excellent historical material for studying the society, clothing, music, and political ecology of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, specifically the Southern Tang.