Admonitions Scroll Essay

Admonitions Scroll is a handscroll painting in nine scenes (originally twelve) illustrating the Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies, a text composed by Zhang Hua. It bears many seals and long colophons in the hands of the Huizong and Qianlong emperors. At the beginning is a fragment of Song dynasty 'kesi' tapestry-woven silk from an old mounting of the handscroll, depicting peonies, followed by a large three-character inscription. The scroll consists of quotations from the text by Zhang Hua, followed in each case by figure illustrations without any background or at most slight suggestions of setting. It is made of ink and colors on silk. The painting survived because it was acquired by a British officer during the aftermath