The Admonitions Scroll is a Chinese narrative painting on silk that is traditionally ascribed to Gu Kaizhi (ca. 345 – ca. 406), but which modern scholarship regards as a 5th to 8th century work that may or may not be a copy of an original Jin dynasty (266–420) court painting by Gu. The full title of the painting is Admonitions of the Court Instructress (). It was painted to illustrate a poetic text written in 292 by the poet-official Zhang Hua (232–300). The text itself was composed to reprimand Empress Jia (257–300) and to provide advice to the women in the imperial court. The painting illustrates this text with scenes depicting anecdotes about exemplary behaviour of historical palace ladies, as well as with more general scenes showing aspects of life as a palace lady.
The painting, which is now held at the British Museum in London, England, is one of the earliest extant examples of a Chinese handscroll painting, and is renowned as one of the most famous Chinese paintings in the world. The painting is first recorded during the latter part of the Northern Song (960–1127), when it was in the collection of Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1126). It passed through the hands of many collectors over the centuries, many of whom left their seals of ownership on the painting, and it eventually became a treasured possession of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796). In 1899, during the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, the painting was acquired by an officer in the British Indian Army who sold it to the British Museum. The scroll is incomplete, lacking the first three of the twelve original scenes, which were probably lost at an early date. A monochrome paper scroll copy of the painting, complete in twelve scenes, was made during the Southern Song (1127–1279), and is now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.
The painting was part of the 2010 BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, as item 39.
Background
The Admonitions Scroll was painted to illustrate an eighty-line poetic text written in 292 by the Jin dynasty official, Zhang Hua (232–300). Zhang Hua wrote his Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies () as a didactic text aimed at Empress Jia (257–300), consort of Emperor Hui of Jin (r. 290–301), whose violent and immoral behaviour was outraging the court.
It is not known when the first painting in illustration to Zhang Hua's text was made, but a lacquer screen painting from the tomb of a Northern Wei dynasty (386–535) official by the name of Sima Jinlong (司馬金龍, died 484), excavated in 1986, includes a panel illustrating the story of Lady Ban refusing to ride in the imperial litter, which corresponds to Scene 5 of the Admonitions Scroll. Although the text accompanying the lacquer painting is not from Zhang Hua's Admonitions, the painting does indicate that anecdotes recorded in Zhang Hua's text were used as subject matter for artists not long after Gu Kaizhi's death.
It has been suggested that the original Admonitions Scroll may have been commissioned by the Jin dynasty imperial court in order to express the dismay of the court officials to the murder of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin (r. 372–396) by his consort, Lady Zhang (張貴人), who was never brought to justice.
Authorship and dating Although the painting was long thought to have been painted by Gu Kaizhi, the painting is not signed or sealed by the artist, and there is no record of Gu Kaizhi having painted such a painting in his biography or in any work which is contemporaneous with his life. The earliest mention of the painting is by the Song dynasty painter and poet Mi Fu (1051–1107), who records in his History of Painting (compiled 1103) that the Admonitions Scroll was in the collection of a palace eunuch by the name of Liu Youfang. Crucially, he also attributes the painting to Gu Kaizhi, but it is not clear whether this attribution was based on documentary evidence or whether this was simply his opinion based on the style of the painting. The next reference to the painting occurs in the Xuanhe Painting Manual, which is a catalogue of paintings in the collection of Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1126) that was compiled in 1120. The manual records the Admonitions Scroll as one of nine paintings in the imperial collection by Gu Kaizhi. This imperial authentication of the painting meant that no-one seriously doubted that the Admonitions Scroll was a work by Gu Kaizhi until modern times.
The first suggestion that the painting was not an original Gu Kaizhi painting, but a Tang dynasty (618–907) copy, was made in a book written by Hu Jing (胡敬, 1769–1845) in 1816. However, it was not until the 20th century that art historians determined on stylistic grounds that the painting cannot have been produced during the Jin dynasty, and therefore cannot be an original work by Gu Kaizhi. However, there is considerable divergence of opinion between experts as to when and where the painting was made, and whether it is based on an earlier work by Gu Kaizhi or not. The prevalent opinion until recently has been that the painting was a copy of a Gu Kaizhi painting produced during the Sui dynasty (581–618) or early Tang dynasty. A supporter of this point of view is Chen Pao-chen of National Taiwan University, who believes that the original painting must have been painted prior to 484 as she thinks that the scene of Lady Ban on the lacquer screen from the tomb of Sima Jinlong (died 484) must have been modelled on the same scene on the original Admonitions Scroll; but on the basis of what she sees as copyist's errors in the details of the British Museum scroll, she concludes that the extant painting is a Tang dynasty copy of an earlier work, probably by Gu Kaizhi.
On the other hand, an increasing number of experts have rejected the supposed copyist's errors, and see the painting as a product of the preceding Southern and Northern dynasties period (420–589). One often mentioned example of a supposed copyist's error is the apparently confused representation of the palanquin frame in the scene of Lady Ban; but recent ultra-violet examination of the scroll has shown that there has been considerable repainting over a repair to damaged silk in this area.
An advocate of a pre-Tang date for the painting is Wen Fong, emeritus professor of Chinese art history at Princeton University, who has argued that the scroll was made by an anonymous painter at the Nanjing court of one of the Southern dynasties (420–589) during the 6th century, and that although the painting was a copy of a Gu Kaizhi painting, it was heavily influenced by the painting techniques of Zhang Sengyou (active –540) and Lu Tanwei. A somewhat different hypothesis has been advanced by Yang Xin, a professor at Peking University, who argues on the basis of artistic style and calligraphy that the painting must have been produced at the court of Emperor Xiaowen (r. 471–499) of the Northern Wei dynasty (386–535), and furthermore that the painting was an original commission by Emperor Xiaowen, not a copy of an earlier composition by Gu Kaizhi or anyone else.
The calligraphy of Zhang Hua's text inscribed on the painting has also been extensively used as dating evidence for the painting. The calligraphy was once thought to be by Gu Kaizhi's contemporary, the famous calligrapher Wang Xianzhi (344–388), or by Gu Kaizhi himself, but modern scholarly opinion is that the calligraphy was probably added by an anonymous court calligrapher at the same time that the painting was made or at some time later. However, as with the painting, there are widely divergent opinions about when exactly the text was inscribed on the scroll. At one extreme, Kohara Hironobu has suggested that the text was not added to the scroll until after 1075, using a deliberately antique Tang dynasty calligraphic style, whereas more recently Wen Fong has stated that the calligraphy of the Admonitions Scroll is more closely related to the style of the monk Zhiyong 智永 who was active during the late 6th and early 7th century, and so the text would have been added during the late 6th century at a Southern dynasty court scriptorium. Other experts have dated the calligraphy even earlier, to the 5th or early 6th century.
Palace Museum copy
In addition to the scroll now held at the British Museum, a copy of the painting made during the Song dynasty is held at the Palace Museum in Beijing. This monochrome painting on paper is believed to have been copied from the British Museum scroll during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Song (r. 1162–1189). Unlike the British Museum copy, which is missing the first three scenes, the Palace Museum copy is complete in twelve scenes. However, as the first three scenes of the Palace Museum copy are not as detailed or complex as the other scenes on the scroll, it is possible that the British Museum scroll had already lost the three initial scenes by the time that it was copied in the 12th century, and thus the first three scenes may have been imaginative reconstructions by the court painter who made the Palace Museum copy.
Makeup of the scroll
The scroll comprises nine scenes of the original twelve scenes that made up the painting attributed to Gu Kaizhi, and a number of appended items that used to be attached to it at either end. The scroll is now flat mounted on two stretchers, with one separate album leaf:
The nine scenes of the original painting, in height and in length; The end sections and appended material other than the Zou Yigui painting, in height and in length; The painting by Zou Yigui, in height and in length.
The makeup of the scroll before it was remounted by the British Museum was:
Blue brocade outer wrapper added when the scroll was remounted for the Qianlong Emperor in 1746, with a buff title-slip inscribed "Gu Kaizhi's painting of the Admonitions of the Instructress, with text, an authentic relic – a precious work of art of the Inner Palace, divine class" (顧愷之畫女史箴並書真蹟,內府珍玩神品) in Qianlong's calligraphy Song dynasty silk tapestry with a design of a peony among hydrangeas from an early wrapper to the scroll (possibly from a mounting of the painting made for Emperor Huizong of Song) Silk title inscription in Qianlong's calligraphy comprising three large Chinese characters meaning "Fragrance of a red reed" () Silk end section with a number of seal impressions (possibly from a Song dynasty mounting of the painting) Yellow silk with a drawing of an orchid and accompanying inscription, both by Qianlong Nine scenes of the original silk painting attributed to Gu Kaizhi Silk end section with a number of seal impressions (possibly from a Song dynasty mounting of the painting) Painting of an orchid by Qianlong on a piece of yellow silk from a Song dynasty mounting of the painting Transcription of the text on silk of the last two admonitions in the calligraphy of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin Colophon on silk by Xiang Yuanbian (1525–1590) Long colophon on silk by Qianlong Painting on silk entitled Pine, Bamboo, Rock and Spring (松竹石泉) by Zou Yigui (1686–1772), commissioned by Qianlong
Description
The British Museum copy of the painting has lost the three initial scenes at the right of the scroll, so the description of these scenes below is based on the Palace Museum copy, even though it is possible that these scenes are not copied from the original picture but are imaginative reconstructions.
The twelve scenes of the scroll are ordered as follows:
Scene 1 – an introductory scene; Scenes 2–5 – four scenes illustrating stories about the exemplary behaviour of famous palace ladies from history; Scene 6 – a mountain scene which separates the preceding scenes depicting anecdotes from the following scenes of palace life; Scenes 7–11 – five scenes that follow the life of a palace lady; Scene 12 – a concluding scene that shows the Court Instructress writing her admonitions.
The corresponding quotation from Zhang Hua's text is placed to the right of each scene.