Wall hanging depicting Wang Zhaojun

清朝緙絲王昭君出寨圖掛帘
The horizontal design in the upper part of this wall hanging is particularly noteworthy. Set in a mountainous, possibly snowy, terrain is a woman on horseback accompanied by an entourage of three figures. This scene represents the popular story of Wang Zhaojun, depicted here as the rider. According to official history, in the year 33 bce, Emperor Yuandi of the Han dynasty was forced to betroth this beloved palace woman to the leader of the Xiongnu as part of a peace agreement. Poetry and plays portrayed the emperor and Wang as tragic lovers. One of the most popular scenes in the Chinese visual arts depicts Wang Zhaojun crossing the border into Xiongnu lands, as in this tapestry. Wang wears a longfeathered headdress and carries a lute-like instrument (pipa). These two items represent the ambiguity in ethnic identity that has surrounded the development of her story. The long-feathered headdress appears in dramas on "barbarians," characters from outside China's borders. So having Wang donning this headdress here suggests her Xiongnu identity after marriage, yet the pipa keeps her tied to her Han Chinese roots.