Do you know the story behind Gu Kaizhi's "A Picture of a Female History"?

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Heritage status quo Gu: this figure already lost the original, existing "admonitions scroll" there are two copies. One was hidden in the Palace Museum in Beijing and was copied by the people of the Southern Song Dynasty; the other was looted when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing in 1900 and is now in the British Museum in London, England, and it is passed down by the people of the Tang Dynasty.

"Female History Zhentu" (partial) Gu Kaizhi

"Female History Zhentu" is the earliest surviving Chinese silk painting in the world. It is a landmark in the history of Chinese art. "The Proverbs of Female History" is an illustrated scroll drawn by Gu Kaizhi based on Zhang Hua's "Proverbs of Female History". This picture was originally collected by the Qing Dynasty. In the Battle of the Gengzi in 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces entered Beijing and was plundered by the British Army. It is now in the British Museum, London, England. The whole volume is 348.2cm long and 24.8cm high. It is colored on silk. The content is divided into nine sections.

In order to interpret Gu Kaizhi's "A Guide to Female History", we must first understand Zhang Hua's "A Guide to Female History".

Zhang Hua portrait

张华 (AD 232～300), Zi Maoxian, Fanyang Fangcheng (now Gu’an County, Hebei) people. Western Jin Dynasty writer and politician. In the Western Jin Dynasty Emperor Wu and Emperor Hui were officials. Once an official to Zhongshuling (equivalent to a prime minister), he was later demoted by political exclusion. During the Hui Emperor's dynasty, it was reused by the Queen Jia Nanfeng, and went to Sikong. Zhang Huahua is an official with integrity, and "The Proverbs of Female History" was written by him to persuade the empress of Jin Huidi, Jia Nanfeng. Emperor Hui of Jin was a well-known idiot emperor in Chinese history, and Empress Jia Nanfeng was the third daughter of the general of Wudi Dynasty Jiachong. She is ambitious, excludes dissidents, and controls the government through various means. Later, due to the dissatisfaction of the Sima family, he was killed by Zhao Wanglun's army in 300 AD. Since then, the famous "Eight Kings Rebellion" in Chinese history began. Zhang Hua, who was reused by Jia Nanfeng, was also killed. Zhang Huahua reported Jia Nanfeng’s kindness and loyalty to him; but at the same time, he also tried to persuade Jia Nanfeng to disagree with him in politics. It's a pity that the profoundly meaningful "Nv Shi Zhen" did not receive Jia Nanfeng's attention. Instead, the "Nv Shi Zhen" created by Gu Kaizhi by later generations was handed down as a national treasure. Therefore, although "Nv Shi Zhen Tu" comes from Zhang Hua's "Nu Shi Zhen" article, it is much more famous.

Portrait of Gu Kai

顾恺之 (346～407 AD), painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Name Changkang, from Jinling Wuxi. Guanzhitongzhi Sanqi Changshi. Gongshi Fu, good at calligraphy, especially good at painting, tasted "excellent talent, extraordinary painting, infatuation". Gu has a high status in the history of ancient Chinese painting, and his arguments such as "thin shape but far-reaching spirit" and "writing spirit in form" have a great influence on Chinese painting. The representative works handed down in addition to "The Legend of Female History" and "The Book of Luoshen Fu", etc., although they are copied from later generations, their value is still extraordinary.

View "The Picture of Female History Admonishment", the figure is thin and handsome. Coupled with the elegant skirt belt, it has the charm of fairy style. Gu Kaizhi's brushwork is "tight and continuous, and the loop is super-sudden", which has a natural and elegant feeling, which is the so-called "old hairspring drawing".

The article "The Admonition of Female History" had a considerable influence in the feudal society of ethics at that time, otherwise Gu Kaizhi would not use it as a material for his creation. It is worth noting that the "Nv Shi Zhen" is not purely a painting version of Zhang Hua's "Nu Shi Zhen" article, and it expresses far more than the artistic conception of the "Nu Shi Zhen" proverb, but incorporates the author's re-creation. During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, some literati and ink scholars began to express and reflect their inner emotions with painting art. Gu Kaizhi’s "The Picture of Female History Admonition" is such a work, which is beyond the preaching of "The Female History Admonition"The theme more conveys Yiyue’s sensory enjoyment, which is elegant, elegant, and gorgeous. Gu Kai's contribution to the changes in painting art during this historical period is indispensable.

"Female History Zhentu" (partial) Gu Kaizhi

"Female History Zhentu" is based on Zhang Hua's "Female History Zhentu" article by Gu Kaizhi. "Nu Shi" is the name of a female official, which later became a respect for intellectual women; "Zhen" means persuade and persuade. Why did Zhang Hua write this article?

Zhang Hua was a minister of the Western Jin Dynasty, and the emperor at that time was the Western Jin Dynasty Huidi Sima Zhong. Sima Zhong is a famous "Fool Emperor" in history. His most famous "journey" is: when there was a famine in the country, the ministers reported the disaster to the emperor and said: The people starved to death on the streets without food. The emperor asked suspiciously: "Why don't you eat meat without food?" This is the famous "Why not eat minced meat".

It is precisely because of such an emperor who is not doing his job properly, the power is monopolized by Empress Jia. Jia is jealous, deceitful, and deceitful.

Zhang Hua, the minister of the DPRK, really couldn't pass it, and it was inconvenient to say directly, so he collected the deeds of sages and women from all generations in history and wrote the "Proverbs of Female History" to admonish and warn the queen.

Let’s follow the "Female History Zhentu"

to feel Zhang Hua’s hard work in those days

冯婕妤防熊

said yes In the painting, the emperor of Han and Yuan led the palace people to see the fighting beasts, and the harem beauties were present. A black bear suddenly jumped out of the fence and approached Emperor Han Yuan, Feng Jieyu stepped forward and the protector rescued the car.

Part of "Female History Zhentu"

班婕妤語辇

The painting is the backyard of Emperor Hancheng, I want to go with Banjie After taking a ride, Ban Jie resigned and persuaded Emperor Han Cheng not to follow the example of the three generations of the last lord, but to consider major national affairs. Cheng Di felt that Ban Jie was right, so he no longer let her accompany him.

Part of "The Female History Book"

Two female pair makeup

Although the two women painted relative makeup , But the proverb states that "people know how to repair their appearance, but they don't know how to decorate their nature". The meaning is to tell the ladies that self-cultivation is more important than grooming.

Part of "Female History Proverbs"

Couples and sitting

The picture is a couple sitting side by side, concubines sitting around, group Baby Luo knee. The proverbs in the interlude range from "the husband's words are as subtle" to "the complicated class", which means that if the concubine is not jealous, there will be many descendants.

Part of "The Picture of Female History Proverbs"

There is also an admonition to women not to deliberately fight for favors, and special favors must be arrogant. And if a woman wants to be honorable, she must be cautious in her words and deeds, especially "cautious alone". There are 12 paragraphs in "Nu Shi Zhen", so "Nu Shi Zhen Tu" originally had 12 paragraphs, but there are only 9 paragraphs in the existing Tang copy.

Please look at the following pictures horizontally

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