| Pictured is "Fu Sheng Expounding the Classic" which portrays the story of Fu Sheng, a famous Confucian scholar of the early Han dynasty, expounding the "Classic". When the first emperor of the Qin dynasty ordained the decree of book burning, Fu hid copies of Confucian works in the walls to protect them from destruction. In the early Han dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen sent Chao Cuo, a court official, to Fu to study the "Book of History" which was thereby handed down. Fu was then regarded as the successor of Confucianism. The Tang court honoured Fu as one of the Confucian icons, and this portrait depicts him attaining the status of a saint. This work is attributed to Wang Wei (701-761), though contemporary scholars have suggested that it may be a copy by a Song painter. |
