Five Oxen

Five Oxen

Five Oxen is a color handscroll drawn by Tang-dynasty politician and painter Han Huang (723-787) on a piece of yellow linen paper. It is the oldest paper painting surviving to this day.

The painting depicts five oxen with different postures: One stands with its heads up, another sticks out its tongue while looking back, one walks with its head held high, another leans down to scratch against a rock, and the one in the middle is the most special—it seems to be gazing at the viewer.

The entire painting displays an accurate perspective. The five oxen radiate with vitality and dynamics. The thick and varied lines, the shades of color, and the detailed depiction of the eyes and fur all reflect the painter's superb skills.

The scroll painting was successively collected by the royal courts of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) and the Qing Dynasty as well as by such famous painters and collectors as Zhao Mengfu and Xiang Yuanbian. It was plundered in wartime at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1950, then Premier Zhou Enlai received a letter from a patriot who revealed that Five Oxen was about to be auctioned in Hong Kong. Zhou immediately ordered action to prevent the national treasure from being lost again at all costs.

After expert appraisal and several rounds of negotiations, the painting was brought back to Beijing at a price of HK$60,000. By that time, however, the painting had been severely damaged. It was finally restored thanks to the careful repairing and remounting by experts from the Palace Museum.

Five Oxen represents the pinnacle of ox-themed painting in the mid- and late Tang Dynasty and has been listed as one of the "Top Ten Famous Paintings of All Ages in China". Through the painting, viewers can sense a hint of sympathy that the painter, who was a prime minister, held for the hardships of the common people, while admiring the virtues of simplicity, kindness, and loyalty often associated with oxen.

《五牛圖》

《五牛圖》是唐代政治家、畫家韓滉（723—787）的傳世畫作，黃麻紙本設色手卷，是現存最早的紙本繪畫。

畫面描繪了五頭神態各異的牛，一絡首而立、一回首舐舌、一昂頭行走、一俯身蹭癢，中間一牛最為特別，正對觀畫者，準確表現透視關系。五頭牛神采奕奕，動態十足。厚重多變的線條、濃淡暈染的色彩、對于眼睛和毛皮的細節刻畫，均體現出作者高超的造型能力。

該卷經南宋內府、清代內府及名家趙孟頫、項元汴等收藏，清末因戰爭被掠走。1950年，周恩來總理收到愛國人士來信，得知《五牛圖》即將在香港出售的消息，立即下達指示，要求不惜一切代價阻止國寶流失。經專家鑒定和多次交涉，最終以6萬港幣購回祖國，但此時的《五牛圖》已殘破不堪，經過故宮專家精心修復與重裱，終于恢復了完整面目。

《五牛圖》代表了中晚唐時期以牛為主題繪畫的巔峰水平，被列為“中國十大傳世名畫”之一。觀眾得以透過《五牛圖》了解宰相韓滉對“民生多艱”的關注，學習牛身上具備的樸實無華、善良忠誠的寶貴精神。