Yes, we are back with another blog post. Today, we are going to be looking at a tenth- century scroll painting titled The Night Revels of Han Xizai. This piece of art was created by the artist Gu Hongzhong as a commission piece for the emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Yu. Li Yu was concerned about the actions of one of his ministers, Han Xizai, and hired an artist to attend the ministers secret night parties and record the events in a painting. The goal was to reveal the picture as a way to shame Xizai into acting more appropriately and more dignified. In the image above one can also see an open sleeping area which suggests that there may have been some sexual activity going on during one of the parties. Throughout the scroll, the viewer can see men and women together, which differs from other paintings done around this same time. Most of the time artwork typically segregated men and women, notably when the images portrayed those of the upper class or some of China's elite. China's elite class consisted of men who had passed the highest-level examinations and held high office in the state bureaucracy. This elite class also contained women who lived within the circles of the imperial court. Though the elite group only represented a small portion of China's population, they were the ones to set the standards of behavior and establish a tone for Chinese civilization. Well, that is all folks, catch you next blog.
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