Emperor Xuanzong's Flight to Shu, Unidentified Artist Chinese, active mid-12th century, Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk, China

南宋佚名明皇幸蜀圖軸
Emperor Xuanzong's Flight to Shu

Artist:: Unidentified Artist Chinese, active mid-12th century

Period:: Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)

Date:: mid-12th century

Culture:: China

Medium:: Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk

Dimensions:: Image: 44 3/4 × 32 5/8 in. (113.7 × 82.9 cm)
Overall with mounting: 95 1/2 × 54 in. (242.6 × 137.2 cm)
Overall with knobs: 57 1/2 × 95 1/2 in. (146.1 × 242.6 cm)

Classification:: Paintings

Credit Line:: Rogers Fund, 1941

Accession Number:: 41.138

Not on view

In 745, after thirty-three years of able rule, the Tang emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–56) fell in love with the concubine Yang Guifei and became indifferent to his duties. When Yang’s favorite general, An Lushan, rebelled in 755, she was blamed. Forced to flee from the capital at Xi’an to the safety of Shu (Sichuan Province), the emperor was confronted by mutinous troops demanding the execution of his lover. Reluctantly assenting, Xuanzong looked on in horror and shame and abdicated soon after. This painting depicts the somber imperial entourage after the execution. While the accoutrements of the figures

#7336. Emperor Xuanzong's Flight to Shu, Part 1

#7336. Emperor Xuanzong's Flight to Shu, Part 2

For Audio Guide tours and information, visit metmuseum.org/audioguide.

Inscription: No artist’s inscription, signature, or seal

Collector’s seal

Ming palace inventory half-seal (1373–1384)
? ? ? ? Si yin 囗囗囗囗司印

[ C. Edward Wells , New York, until 1940; sold to MMA]

Zurich. Museum Rietberg. "The Mandate of Heaven: Emperors and Artists in China," April 2, 1996–July 7, 1996.

Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "The Mandate of Heaven: Emperors and Artists in China," August 3, 1996–November 10, 1996.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30, 1998–January 3, 1999.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Text and Image: The Interaction of Painting, Poetry, and Calligraphy," January 23, 1999–August 16, 1999.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Millennium of Chinese Painting: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," September 8, 2001–January 13, 2002.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Great Waves: Chinese Themes in the Arts of Korea and Japan I," March 1, 2003–September 21, 2003.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Painting, Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," August 28, 2004–February 20, 2005.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Journeys: Mapping the Earth and Mind in Chinese Art," February 10, 2007–August 26, 2007.

Shanghai Museum. "Masterpieces of Chinese Tang, Song and Yuan Paintings from America," November 3, 2012–January 3, 2013.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the Metropolitan Collection I," October 31, 2015–October 11, 2016.

Timelines
Central and North Asia, 1000-1400 A.D.
China, 1000-1400 A.D.