Capturing the ages

"Since ancient times, painting important figures has been valued for its social function to educate people and give a realistic depiction of life," says Ma Shunping, the exhibition's curator and a researcher at the department of painting and calligraphy at the museum.

"The masters of ancient Chinese art were excellent in painting important figures," he says.

An iconic artist is Gu Kaizhi (348-409) from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), credited for the piece Admonitions of the Instructress to Court Ladies, simply known as the Admonitions Scroll. The painting illustrated a fourth-century poetic text left by the official Zhang Hua, which offered advice to women in the royal court, and made it better understood through 12 stories in pictures.

With Gu's original painting believed to have disappeared, a Song Dynasty (960-1279) monochrome facsimile on show gives people an idea about that masterpiece.

Ma says this 6-meter-long painting is being fully unrolled to the public for the first time and is a key reference for studies on the evolution of Chinese painting.

A presumably Tang Dynasty (618-907) color copy of the Admonitions Scroll, drawn on silk, was taken to the United Kingdom around 1900 when Beijing was invaded by the Eight-Nation Alliance. It is now housed in the British Museum. However, three sections of the work of a total 12 have been lost. After arriving in London, it was separated into three pieces and mounted on wooden lattices rather than maintaining its original appearance, Ma says.

"This exhibited piece in the Palace Museum is a unique example for us to have a full view of the milestone work by Gu," he says.