Jin Dynasty
Abe Collection
32.0×161.0
handscroll, ink on paper
| This is a scene of the Lady Minfei leaving her homeland escorted to the bleak northern country. Lady Minfei is the Han Dynasty beauty Wang Zhaojun. The story goes that the Han Dynasty Emperor Yuandi ordered artists to draw portraits of court ladies in his harem,so he could choose his consorts according to their beauty. Many court ladies bribed artists in order for them to be drawn more attractively. Wang Zhaojun, however, refused to give bribes and was portrayed poorly. After seeing the portrait, the emperor sent her off as a bride to the Xiongnu king in the ice-cold northern country. The painting shows Wang Zhaojun and her escorts heading out towards the northern country of Xiongnu. The legend continues that the emperor, later finding out that she was a woman of extraordinary beauty, regretted his action and sentenced the artists to death. The artist Gong Suran is said to be a female Taoist. Her name does not appear in any history of painting, and this is the only piece of work attributed to her. There is another suggestion that it was done by a different Taoist artist named Suran from the Zhenyang-gong Temple, from the seal "Zhenyang-gong Suran" on the painting. |