Xuanhe Painting Catalog

It is especially praised by the world. If it were not for his ability to find emotion beyond the image, to participate in the spiritual, to refine the marvelous, to enter the dream of the Huaxu a mythical land of perfect governance and tranquility, and to travel with transcendent beings, how could he achieve such a state? The work currently held in the Imperial Treasury is one:

Daoist Scripture Transformation Map

Yan Lide, who held the rank of Minister of Works, had a father, Pi, who gained fame during the Sui dynasty for his painting. He and his younger brother Liben both achieved perfection in their family craft. During the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty, Xie Yuan, from the Eastern Barbarians, came to court. Yan Shigu presented a memorial, saying, "In the past, during the reign of King Wu of Zhou, distant countries paid tribute. He collected those events and created the 'Wanghui Tu' Map of Foreign Envoys Paying Tribute. Now, with their floral clothing and bird-patterned banners all gathered at the barbarian residence, it is truly worthy of being painted." Consequently, he ordered Lide and his colleagues to paint them. In the process of arranging their positions, the bowing and ritual etiquette, the dignity of the jade tablets and hairpins, and the strange appearance of people with noses for drinking and heads that fly, nothing was left unrecorded. Thus, Li Sizhen said, "The elder and younger brothers, both excellent, are like difficult companions," referring to Lide and Liben.