First Masterpiece of Chinese Painting

For centuries the Admonitions handscroll has been celebrated and treasured as one of the earliest and most important works in the history of Chinese art. It illustrates episodes from an eighty-line poem entitled The Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies. Written in 292, the poem offers a code of ethics and etiquette addressed to the women of the imperial court, from empresses to concubines.