The British Museum copy of the painting has lost the three initial scenes at the right of the scroll, so the description of these scenes below is based on the Palace Museum copy, even though it is possible that these scenes are not copied from the original picture but are imaginative reconstructions. • Scene 1 – an introductory scene; • Scenes 2–5 – four scenes illustrating stories about the exemplary behaviour of famous palace ladies from history; • Scene 6 – a mountain scene which separates the preceding scenes depicting anecdotes from the following scenes of palace life; • Scenes 7–11 – five scenes that follow the life of a palace lady; • Scene 12 – a concluding scene that shows the Court Instructress writing her admonitions. The corresponding quotation from Zhang Hua's text is placed to the right of each scene. {{blockquote|The scroll before us fits into a tradition of didactic imagery established in the Han Dynasty and influenced by the great philosopher Confucius. When you read the text alongside the images, you realise that there's a deep message being communicated here. Confucius had the idea that everyone in society has a proper role and place, and if they follow that, then a very healthy and effective society is ensured. Now that message must have been especially important at the time that the poem that this scroll is based on was written, and at the time it was painted, because these were times of social chaos. So what the message is, is that the woman, even one with great beauty, must always evince humility, she must always abide by rules, and never forget her position in relationship to her husband and family; and by doing so, she is a positive and active force in promoting social order. (Jan Stuart, Keeper of the
Department of Asia at the British Museum)
Scene 1: Introduction :茫茫造化,二儀始分。 :散氣流形,既陶既甄。 :在帝庖犧,肇經天人。 :爰始夫婦,以及君臣。 :家道以正,王猷有倫。 :婦德尚柔,含章貞吉。 :婉嫕淑慎,正位居室。 :施衿結褵,虔恭中饋。 :肅慎爾儀,式瞻清懿。 :
In the boundlessness of creation, yin and yang first separated out. :
Scattered qi and flowing substance were moulded and shaped. :
At the time of Emperor Fu Xi, heaven and human were first divided. :
Thus began the relationship of husband and wife, as well as that of lord and minister. :
The way of the household is regulated, the plans of the ruler are ordered. :''A woman's virtue values gentleness; she conceals beauty within, and is pure and perfect.'' :
Gentle and meek, virtuous and careful, her proper place is in the chamber. :
When she gets married the girl arranges her robes and ties up her apron; respectfully she prepares the household meals. :
Solemn and dignified in bearing, with pure virtue she gazes up reverently. The introductory scene in the
Palace Museum copy, missing in the British Museum copy, simply shows a man in court dress and a woman facing each other, representing the basic theme of the painting, that is the role of women in feudal society and the proper relationship between man and woman.
Scene 3: The Lady of Wei :衛女矯桓,耳忘和音。 :志厲義高,而二主易心。 :
The lady from Wei, in order to reform Duke Huan, made her ears forget the harmonious sounds. :
They had strict aspirations and a lofty sense of righteousness, and so the two lords undertook a change of heart. This scene illustrates the story of the Lady of Wei, a consort of
Duke Huan of Qi (died 643 BC), who remonstrated against her husband's love of licentious music by refusing to listen to such music, even though she herself was a great musical talent. The Palace Museum copy of the painting shows the Lady of Wei listening to morally uplifting ritual court music played on sets of
bells and
chimes, which would have been very different from the immoderate and perhaps immodest musical performances her husband preferred.
Scene 4: Lady Feng and the bear :玄熊攀檻,馮媛趍進。 :夫豈無畏?知死不恡! :
When a black bear climbed out of its cage, Lady Feng rushed forward. :
How could she have been without fear? She knew she might be killed, yet she did not care. This scene illustrates the story of
Lady Feng, a consort of
Emperor Yuan of Han (r. 48–33 BC), who in 38 BC placed herself in the path of a bear that had escaped from its cage during a wild animal fight show before the emperor, in an attempt to save the emperor's life – the bear was killed by the guards, and Lady Feng survived. This is the first surviving scene in the British Museum copy (although the accompanying text is missing), and it shows Lady Feng confronting the bear, but being saved just in time by two guards with spears, and the emperor and two court ladies watching in horror on one side. The lady on the left of the scene is believed to be Lady Fu, who is noted to have run away from the bear in the biography of Lady Feng in the
History of the Latter Han, thus indicating that the artist did not base the painting solely on Zhang Hua's text. It is interesting to compare this scene in the two copies of the painting. Although they are very similar with regards to the layout and postures of the figures, the Palace Museum version (upper image) is much more spread out, with a large gap between the attacking bear and Lady Feng, which makes the scene much less dramatic than the British Museum copy. Furthermore, in the Palace Museum copy, Lady Fu is on the other side of the inscription for the following scene, thereby making her an unexplained appendix to the story of Lady Ban, and at the same time destroying the intended contrast between the courageousness of Lady Feng and the cowardice of Lady Fu.
Scene 5: Lady Ban refuses to ride in the imperial litter :班妾有辭,割驩同輦。 :夫豈不懷?防微慮遠! :
Lady Ban voiced her refusal, and thereby cut herself off from the joys of riding together in the palanquin. :
How could she have not minded? But to avoid the slightest suspicion she kept her distance. This scene illustrates the story of
Lady Ban, consort of
Emperor Cheng of Han (r. 33–7 BC), who refused to ride in the
palanquin with her husband as she said that paintings of wise rulers always showed them in the company of their ministers, whereas paintings of decadent rulers always showed them in the company of their wives and concubines, and so it would be inappropriate for her to be seen in public with the emperor. The painting shows the emperor being carried in a palanquin, and Lady Ban conspicuously walking behind. This scene is similar in construction to the painting of the same story on the lacquer screen from the tomb of Sima Jinlong (died 484), but whereas the lacquer painting shows Emperor Cheng alone in the palanquin, in the
Admonitions Scroll another court lady is seated beside him, showing that he ignored the advice of Lady Ban, and highlighting the fact that his behaviour as emperor was seen to be responsible for the seizure of power by
Wang Mang (45 BC – 23 AD) in 9 AD.
Scene 6: The mountain and hunter :道罔隆而不殺,物無盛而不衰。 :日中則昃,月滿則微。 :崇猶塵積,替若駭機。 :
It is the way that nothing exalted is not cast down low; of living things there are none that having flourished do not fade away. :
When the sun is at its highest it sinks; when the moon is at its fullest it wanes. :
Esteem and honour are as perilous as a pile of dust, decline and fall are as sudden as a crossbow shot. This scene departs from the pattern of the previous scenes, which illustrated anecdotes at specific historical figures, as the text presents general observations about the impermanence of fame and glory. The painting depicts the last four lines of the quoted text, showing a triangular mountain (a pile of dust) set between the sun (inhabited by a
Three-legged crow) to its right and the full moon (inhabited by a
rabbit or a
toad) to its left, covered with birds and animals, and with a hunter taking aim at a tiger with his crossbow. Examination of the painting under ultra-violet has shown that almost all of the mountain (all except for the lower left corner) has been damaged and repaired, which suggests that this central scene was the most studied and handled part of the scroll, perhaps due to the greater critical value placed on landscape painting over figure painting by Ming and Qing dynasty art connoisseurs.
Scene 7: The toilette scene :人咸知飾其容,而莫知飾其性。 :性之不飾,或愆禮正。 :斧之藻之,克念作聖。 :
All people know how to ornament their appearance, but none know how to ornament their nature. :''If one's nature is not ornamented, rites and proper behaviour will become confused and erroneous.'' :
Chop it and embellish it; overcome your thoughts to make yourself holy. In contrast to the tense action of the previous scene, this scene is one of calmness and stillness, showing the palace ladies at their toilette. The focus of the scene is on a lady sitting in front of a bronze mirror, and with a set of nested lacquer boxes laid out to the side. Behind her, another lady helps comb her hair. To the right another lady, facing away from the viewer, looks into a mirror held in her hand, which reflects the lady's visage back to the viewer. The two mirrors in this scene are perhaps intended to be more than just tools for helping with make-up, but mirrors into the souls of the ladies, reflecting their inner nature as much as their external appearance.
Scene 8: The bedroom scene :出其言善,千里應之。 :苟違斯義,則同衾以疑。 :
If the words you utter are good, people will respond from a thousand leagues away. :
If you offend against this principle, then even your bedfellow will view you with suspicion. This scene takes the oblique reference to sharing a bed in the text of Zhang Hua as the subject, showing the emperor visiting one of his consorts in her bed chamber. However, sitting uneasily on the edge of bed, his feet firmly planted on the floor, he looks across at the lady, as if uncertain whether to enter or not. The body language of the lady, leaning back against the screen in one corner of the bed, is equally lacking in intimacy.
Scene 9: The family scene :夫出言如微,而榮辱由茲。 :勿謂幽昧,靈監無象。 :勿謂玄漠,神聽無響。 :無矜爾榮,天道惡盈。 :無恃爾貴,隆隆者墜。 :鑒於小星,戒彼攸遂。 :比心螽斯,則繁爾類。 :
Words are so subtle, yet glory and shame result from them. :
Do not think they are dim and dark, for the spiritual looks down on that which casts no shadow. :
Do not think they are empty and silent, for the divine hears that which make no sound. :
Do not be proud of your honours, for the way of heaven abhors that which is replete. :
Do not rely on your nobility, for he who reaches to the highest heights must fall. :
Model yourself on the lesser stars, which avoid travelling far. :
Keep your heart close to the bush-crickets, and thereby multiply your kind. This scene takes the last line of the long quotation from Zhang Hua's text as its subject, showing the emperor surrounded by his wives and children, the group forming a triangular formation reminiscent of the mountain in Scene 6. At first sight, the family group suggests stability and permanence, but the viewer may be expected to remember the earlier reference to the fragility and impermanence of a mountain made of dust, and realise that these familial relationships can collapse just as suddenly.
Scene 10: The rejection scene :驩不可以黷,寵不可以專。 :專實生慢,愛極則遷。 :致盈必損,理有固然。 :美者自美,翩以取尤。 :冶容求好,君子所讎。 :結恩而絕,職此之由。 :
Happiness cannot be defiled, affection cannot be prejudiced. :
Prejudice results in disdain; if love is taken to the extreme then it will change. :
When something reaches fullness it must decline; this principle is immutable. :
The beauty who thinks she is beautiful is quickly found fault with. :
Wearing thick make-up in order to please, this is what a gentleman despises. :
Breaking the bond of favour mainly comes about from this. In stark contrast to the scene of family union and harmony in the previous scene, this scene shows the emperor turning away from his consort, his hand raised in a gesture of rejection and with a look of disdain on his face.
Scene 11: A lady reflects upon her conduct :故曰:翼翼矜矜,福所以興。 :靖恭自思,榮顯所期。 :
Therefore I say: Be cautious and circumspect in all you do, and from this good fortune will arise. :
Calmly and respectfully think about your actions, and honour and fame will await you. The previous scene showed the final fate of a lady who did not follow the admonitions of the instructress, whereas this penultimate scene shows a palace lady sitting in quiet contemplation, presumably following the admonitions in the accompanying lines, awaiting the honour and fame that should be her reward.
Scene 12: The instructress :女史司箴,敢告庶姬。 :
The instructress in charge of admonitions boldly speaks to all the palace ladies. The final scene shows the Court Instructress writing her admonitions on a scroll, her head bowed in concentration, whilst two court ladies walk towards her. ==History==