The Banquet of Guo Ziyi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This eight-panel folding screen depicts a banquet honoring Guo Ziyi (697–781), a famed general of China’s Tang dynasty (618–907). In addition to his individual achievements, he lived until he was 85 years old, and his children and family were also successful. Thus he became a paragon of Confucian loyalty and fortitude, and even deified in popular religion as a god of wealth and happiness. As such, images celebrating Guo Ziyi became popular in Joseon during the 19th century. He is depicted at a banquet in his honor, enjoying a dance performance surrounded by his large family in a palatial residence with flowering trees, cranes, deer, and birds. Screens like this would have been used at celebrations where the imagery would add to the auspiciousness of the occasion.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art