Admonitions Scroll - Colophon 3 - Qianlong

Gu Kaizi

Admonitions Scroll - Colophon 3 - Qianlong by Gu Kaizi

Think of this as a royal review from the 18th century! This section of the famous 'Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies' scroll features a colophon (inscription) written by the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong. In fluid, elegant running script, the Emperor gushes about the legendary artist Gu Kaizhi (mentioned in the first line), specifically quoting his famous theory that 'transmitting the spirit resides in the eyes.' Qianlong was a massive art collector who loved stamping his red seals all over masterpieces—you can see a cluster of them on the far left, basically the imperial version of 'liking' a post. He wrote this in 1746 at his Jingyi Xuan studio, expressing his awe at owning such a treasure from the Jin Dynasty.

Technique
Calligraphy, Ink on paper/silk
Material
Paper or Silk
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