China: Five women playing flutes. Detail from the painting 'Night Revels of Han Xizai' by Gu Hongzhong

The Night Revels of Han Xizai is a painted scroll depicting Han Xizai, a minister of the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu (937-978). This narrative painting is split into five distinct sections: Han Xizai listens to the pipa, watches dancers, takes a rest, plays string instruments, and then sees guests off.

The original, painted by Gu Hongzhong (937-975), is lost, but a 12th century copy, housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing, survives (pictured here).

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