The Night Revels of Han Xizai: A Spy Report-Turned Masterpiece

In the first installment of what will be a two-part feature, we’re going to tell the story behind a painting during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period from more than 1,000 years ago. Originally intended as a “spy report”, the painting offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the scandalous intrigues of court life.

In the timeless expanse of China’s 5,000-year saga, numerous cultural treasures embody the essence of its revered civilization. These prized artifacts, known as national treasures, hold a place of utmost significance. Since 2002, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage safeguarded these relics by issuing a Catalogue of Prohibited Outgoing Cultural Relics in three batches, preventing the exhibition of 195 invaluable pieces beyond the nation’s borders.

The initial collection includes 64 relics spanning the Paleolithic era to the Yuan Dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries. Another batch comprises 37 remarkable artworks mainly from the Song Dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279, and prominently features exquisite paintings and calligraphy. These treasures now reside in the esteemed Palace Museum and Liaoning Provincial Museum. A third group, consisting of 94 exceptional pieces, includes relics that stand as the epitome of excellence in their respective categories.

When talking about the paintings that are banned from overseas exhibition, by any standard, The Night Revels of Han Xizai is considered to be one of the top 10 classics among all surviving Chinese paintings. This masterpiece was conceived by an emperor, directed by a scholar official, and depicted by a court painter, and it has passed down in China’s art history for its superb artistic skills and profound historical value. Most famously is that it was originally intended as a so-called “spy report” commissioned by an emperor who was facing the imminent decline of his kingdom.

The Night Revels of Han Xizai is attributed to court painter Gu Hongzhong from Southern Tang, a kingdom during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period from more than 1,000 years ago. It portrays high-ranking official Han Xizai and his guests engaging themselves in a night banquet, as they linger over food and drinks, play musical instruments, as well as sing, dance, and enjoy intimate moments with female companions.

Gu Hongzhong did not create the painting to fulfill mere aesthetic pursuits. He was actually sent by his emperor to spy on a night banquet thrown by Han Xizai, who was to be appointed as prime minister of Southern Tang. Whether he was aware of it or not, Gu’s representation of the night revels served as clandestine intel that would not only determine the rise and fall of an official, but also that of his emperor and kingdom.

The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms are a period of political disturbance between the fall of the Tang Dynasty in the year 907 and the founding of the Song Dynasty in 960. During this period, five short-lived dynasties rapidly succeeded one another as their struggle to control North China failed; meanwhile, ten individual kingdoms dominated separate regions of South China. The era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms came to an end with the founding of the Song Dynasty, which reunited the country and established a lasting empire after the Tang.

As one of the Ten Kingdoms, Southern Tang earns a reputation for having preserved the native Han Chinese culture from the Tang Dynasty and left behind a splendid literary and artistic legacy, especially in terms of painting. Credit is due to the three Southern Tang emperors, whose interest in the arts fostered an environment where painters flourished and their works were appreciated, valued, and collected.

Southern Tang’s founding emperor Li Bian established the kingdom in year 937 with its capital of Jinling in the present-day Nanjing of east China’s Jiangsu Province. He recruited able statesmen to solidify the kingdom and reigned over an expanding territory including present-day Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces. However, his reign was short, lasting only six years.

His son Li Jing further expanded Southern Tang’s borders by conquering a few smaller neighboring states. However, the military campaigns also strained the wealth of Southern Tang, leaving it ill-prepared to resist the invasion of Later Zhou, one of the Five Dynasties holding power in the north since the year 951. After the defeat, Li Jing was forced to cede all territory north of the Yangtze River and accept Later Zhou’s dominion in 958, and two years later, he submitted to the Song Dynasty when it succeeded Later Zhou in 960.

The intended successor to Li Jing was originally his eldest son Li Hongji. But before ascending the throne, Li Hongji died unexpectedly from a sudden illness. One theory goes that his death was the result of a conspiracy by the emperor of Later Zhou, who didn’t want to see a military strategist such as Li Hongji succeed the throne, so he found a way to get rid of him. After Li Hongji’s death, Li Jing designated his sixth son Li Yu as the crown prince. Many Southern Tang officials protested against the decision, pointing to Li Yu’s weak character and lack of talent in governance.

But despite the protests, it was Li Yu that succeeded the throne in 961. Having never participated in political affairs, he became known in history for his literary talent as a poet, which put the state in a vulnerable position as Southern Tang was already suffering from significantly dwindling resources. Facing increasingly mounting pressure from the Northern Song, Li Yu intended to appoint Han Xizai as his prime minister.

Han Xizai was born in year 902 into a scholar official’s family in east China’s Shandong Province. He became a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examination when he was 24 and was known for his skills in writing and calligraphy. That same year, his father was killed in a rebellion, so he was forced to flee south.

At the time, Han Xizai still harbored high political ambitions, and before he went into hiding in the region of the Southern Tang, he told a friend that he would become a high ranking minister, and furthermore, that his goal was to achieve reunification of the empire. He reached out to Southern Tang officials and was appointed as a companion to the then crown prince Li Jing. Over the following years, he showed a remarkable sense for recognizing and seizing political and military opportunities, but many of his policy suggestions were rebuffed.

In the year 947, Later Jin, one of the Five Dynasties in the north, was defeated by the Khitans, a federation of nomadic tribes that had dominated what is now Inner Mongolia since the 4th century. But the Khitans soon retreated because they were not used to the hot and humid climate of the Central Plain. Han Xizai proposed to Li Jing that it was prime time for the Southern Tang to march north and revive the great Tang empire. But as the majority of the Southern Tang forces were still fighting small neighboring states to the south, Han’s advice was not followed, and history has shown that this lost opportunity may have been Southern Tang’s only chance to reunify China.

On another occasion, Han was entrusted with leading a diplomatic mission to Later Zhou upon its new emperor’s accession to the throne in the year 954. Upon his return, Li Jing was eager to learn about the new emperor, but Han commented only on Zhao Kuangyin, the supervisor of the palace guards who later became the founding emperor of the Northern Song. Han reported that Zhao possessed a majestic demeanor and outshined all others at court. He concluded that the new emperor of Later Zhou would not be able to unify the empire and implied that Zhao Kuangyin would. Unfortunately, Han’s advice was ignored again, and Li Jing took military action against Later Zhou in 956. Consequently, Southern Tang suffered a bitter defeat in 958.

After the defeat, Li Jing sent two envoys to ask for peace. One of the two envoys was killed by Later Zhou; the other came back with a proposal of surrender and was killed by Li Jing for committing treason. Southern Tang’s political situation had become so treacherous that it seemed no high-ranking official would be able to escape unharmed, regardless of their stance. Han Xizai saw this all too clearly, and by the time of Li Jing’s death, his interest in politics had long ended.

Later, when the Song armies camped on the border of Southern Tang, Li Yu intended to appoint Han Xizai as prime minister to stave off defeat. Foreseeing the inevitable decline of Southern Tang, Han had begun to occupy himself with extravagant indulgences. He threw lavish parties at his residence every night and reveled with friends, musicians, dancers, as well as prostitutes. Even worse, he also began to miss important imperial meetings. According to a compilation of miscellaneous anecdotes of the kingdom called Records of Picked-Up Leftovers of Southern Tang, Han Xizai once told his friend, monk Deming, that he did so much partying in an effort to avoid being called to the post of prime minister, because he couldn’t bear the thought of becoming what he described as “the laughingstock of future generations”.

To find out what Han Xizai was really doing at these parties, Li Yu decided to send court painter Gu Hongzhong to observe one of Han’s nightly banquets. Two more court painters, Zhou Wenju and Gao Taichong, were also dispatched to bear witness. After a night of partying, each painter was to create from memory a representation of the scene. While the paintings produced by Zhou Wenju and Gao Taichong have been lost over time, the artwork of Gu Hongzhong has survived to become one of the most treasured masterpieces in traditional Chinese painting.

Li Yu would base his decision as to whether or not to appoint Han Xizai as his prime minister on the painter’s “spy report”. If Han’s degenerate lifestyle was confirmed, he would not only lose his opportunity for promotion but would also receive due punishment. Moreover, his would serve as an admonition to other court officials who might be tempted to stray from upright conduct.

At that moment, the fortune of Han Xizai hinged on the painter’s interpretation of events. But what kind of private indiscretions did Gu Hongzhong portray in his “spy report”? And what happened after Gu presented his report to the emperor? To find out, tune in for our next episode on The Night Revels of Han Xizai.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Song Yimin, translator Yang Guang, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.