“Emperor Minghuang’s Journey to Shu” 明皇幸蜀图, is an ancient Chinese landscape painting traditionally attributed to Li Zhaodao of the Tang dynasty. The work depicts the historical episode of Emperor Xuanzong fleeing to Shu (present-day Sichuan) during the An Lushan Rebellion. The man in red riding a three-maned horse is thought to represent Emperor Xuanzong himself. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty even left an inscription on the painting.
According to later research, the painting was originally catalogued in the Qing imperial collection under the title Travelers Among Mountains and Rivers by a Song Artist. However, scholars, drawing on Song dynasty sources such as Su Shi’s Dongpo Colophons, reassigned its current title and identified its subject as Emperor Xuanzong’s flight to Sichuan during the rebellion. The blue-green palette of the mountains and the sharp, craggy rock forms point to Tang precedents, yet the richly decorative coloring and meticulous linework suggest characteristics of an 11th-12th century copy. In particular, the mountain structures closely resemble those in the Secret Treasury Illustrations woodblock prints of the late 10th century. Historical records also note that in early Song Sichuan, artists often worked in this style, which sometimes led to their works being misattributed to Tang masters such as Li Sixun. Whether the present piece is an example of this remains open to question.
In any case, the painting represents the Northern Song dynasty’s inheritance of classical traditions and holds significant importance in the history of Chinese art.
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