Admonitions Scroll (Song Dynasty Baimiao Copy) - Main Painting
This extraordinary handscroll unfurls like a cinematic storyboard from ancient China, weaving together delicate ink-line figures and elegant calligraphy in alternating panels. Based on Gu Kaizhi's legendary 4th-century masterpiece, this Song Dynasty copy illustrates the 'Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies' — essentially a moral guidebook for imperial women, written as a poem by Zhang Hua. Each scene captures court ladies in graceful poses: some gaze into mirrors contemplating vanity, others sit in quiet contemplation, while scholars and attendants populate the narrative. Gu Kaizhi was famous for his 'silkworm thread' brushwork — lines so fine and flowing they seemed to breathe life into silk. The original is long lost, making these copies precious windows into one of China's greatest artistic minds.
- Technique
- Baimiao (ink outline line drawing)
Location: Palace Museum, Beijing