The Painting with a Secret Plot
(画里的秘密)
3 min read
The painting Night Revelry of Han Xizai (韩熙载夜宴图) is set in the waning years of the Southern Tang dynasty (937–975), a time of political instability and impending crisis. It was commissioned by Li Yu (李煜, 937–978), ruler of the Southern Tang, who considered appointing Han Xizai (韩熙载) chancellor after ascending the throne in 961. Foreseeing the dynasty’s collapse, Han feigned a life of debauchery to avoid the post, hosting lavish parties with musicians, dancers, and courtesans to appear unfit for office.
To uncover the truth, Li Yu sent painters Zhou Wenju (周文矩) and Gu Hongzhong (顾闳中) to observe one of Han’s gatherings and record it in a painting. Zhou’s work was lost, but Gu’s Night Revelry of Han Xizai, now exhibited in the Palace Museum in Beijing (北京故宫博物院), remains one of the most celebrated masterpieces of traditional Chinese painting.
The painting, a 28.7 x 335.5 centimeter “ink and color on silk” handscroll, features realistic portrayals of more than 40 figures. A handscroll is supposed to be viewed by a single individual at an arm’s length one section at a time, starting from the right end and progressing to the left. This viewing can create moments of suspense to what is to come. Upon rolling the scroll back from the left, the viewer can view it one more time from the left to the right.
The painting consists of five sections in a continuous-narrative-frieze, which is a long composition telling a story through multiple scenes with the repetition of the protagonist, allowing the viewer to walk-through the event as the scroll is unrolled. Viewing from the right to left, the five scenes depict Han, in a tall hat,
- Listening to a lute (琵琶) performance with a group of friends (first image)
- Beating a drum for a dancer while standing (second image)
- Chatting with female guests in his bedroom (third image)
- Watching a group of female musicians playing flues (fourth image)
- Seeing his guests off (fifth image)
The screens act as both physical and psychological dividers, creating intimate vignettes while maintaining the flow of the overall narrative.
The painting captures subtle interactions—a glance, a whisper, and a moment of distraction—to create a sense of authenticity and immediacy; while each of the dozens of figures is rendered with a distinct expression and emotional state. Throughout the scenes, Han Xizai is portrayed as pensive, detached, or even melancholic. This contrasts sharply with the merrymaking around him, where the revelry is a mask for concern and political maneuvering, adding a layer of psychological tension. This complexity elevates the work from a mere genre scene to a profound character study. It was said that Gu’s painting helped dispel some of the king’s distrust in Han Xizai, the apparently self-indulgent official. This, however, did little to slow the decline of the dynasty, which collapsed just a few years later, fulfilling Han’s prophecy.
