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China: The Admonitions Scroll, Scene 1 - Introduction (Beijing Palace Museum copy).

The Admonitions Scroll is a Chinese narrative painting on silk that is traditionally ascribed to Gu Kaizhi (c.345-c.406 CE), but which modern scholarship regards as a 5th to 8th century work that may or may not be a copy of an original Jin Dynasty (265–420 CE) court painting by Gu Kaizhi. The full title of the painting is Admonitions of the Court Instructress (Chinese: Nushi Zhentu). It was painted to illustrate a poetic text written in 292 by the poet-official Zhang Hua (232–300). The text itself was composed to reprimand Empress Jia (257–300) and to provide advice to imperial wives and concubines on how to behave. The painting illustrates this text with scenes depicting anecdotes about exemplary behaviour of historical palace ladies, as well as with more general scenes showing aspects of life as a palace lady. The painting is reputed to be the earliest extant example of a Chinese handscroll painting.