The Admonitions of the Court Instructress

…3rd-century didactic text “Nüshizhen” (“Admonitions of the Court Instructress”), by Zhang Hua. In this hand scroll, narrative illustration is bound strictly to the text (as if used as a mnemonic device): the advice to imperial concubines to bear sons to the emperor, for instance, is accompanied by a delightful…

The famous hand scroll entitled The Admonitions of the Court Instructress bears a signature of Gu Kaizhi, though it is not originally recorded as having been painted by him. Nonetheless, it accurately maintains a pre-Tang dynasty (618–907) style. The scroll illustrates, through a series of individual scenes separated by the…