The Chinese Emperor Minghuang and his concubine Yang Guifei, with attendants on a terrace
Kano Eitoku ç©é永徳 (1543-1590)
16th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1900.10
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionJapanJapanese ArtMomoyama period (1573 - 1615)Muromachi period (1333 - 1573)attendantconcubineemperor
About this artwork
Few works of Chinese literature have so enthralled the Japanese people as The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, a narrative poem by the Chinese poet Bo Juyi (772-846) of the Tang dynasty (618-907). The poem recounts the tragic story of Emperor Xuanzong (reigned 712-756), commonly known as Minghuang, whose excessive love for his beautiful concubine, Yang Guifei (circa 720-756), led to intrigue at court and disorder in the empire. Yang Guifei was put to death in 756 during the An Lushan uprising. The pa...