Han Xizai's Night Banquet
Every so often I get ads in e-mail for upcoming theatre performances, such as The Feast of Han Xizai by the Han Tang Yuefu Ensemble. More intrigued by the description of the painting's origin (which, as I am a philistine, was unfamiliar despite it being a masterpiece of Tang art) than the musical/play inspired by it, did some googling.
Gu Hongzhong's most famous work is a wall-scroll depicting revels at the home of Han Xizai, a scholar-official who, depending on one's POV, was either astute or irresponsible in refusing to employ his talents in the service of a doomed state. The title 韩熙载夜宴图, rendered variously as The Night Revels of Han Xizai or The Feast of Han Xizai, might be literally rendered Picture of Han Xizai's Night Banquet. One link led to another, specifically this, a different type of picture which is neither nocturnal nor a banquet, which I found rather fetching in a cracktastic sort of way.
Gu Hongzhong's most famous work is a wall-scroll depicting revels at the home of Han Xizai, a scholar-official who, depending on one's POV, was either astute or irresponsible in refusing to employ his talents in the service of a doomed state. The title 韩熙载夜宴图, rendered variously as The Night Revels of Han Xizai or The Feast of Han Xizai, might be literally rendered Picture of Han Xizai's Night Banquet. One link led to another, specifically this, a different type of picture which is neither nocturnal nor a banquet, which I found rather fetching in a cracktastic sort of way.