The Spring Outing of the Lady of Guo

During the flourishing reign of Emperor Xuanzong (712–756 CE), the Tang Dynasty reached a level of cultural sophistication unmatched in the world.
Chang’an — today’s Xi’an — was the largest and most cosmopolitan city of its age:
a capital where caravans from Persia met poets from the imperial academy,
and where the arts became a language of prestige and spiritual refinement.

Within this refined inner court served Zhang Xuan (张萱), one of the empire’s most celebrated artists.
His unparalleled talent in portraying noblewomen shaped the Tang ideal of femininity:
serene, illuminated, balanced — both powerful and soft.

His masterpiece, The Spring Outing of the Lady of Guo, captures one of the most influential women of Xuanzong’s reign: Lady Guo (虢国夫人), sister to the famed Yang Guifei.

The Guo–Yang clan stood at the center of political and cultural life, symbolizing the elegance and opulence of the Tang golden age.
The painting functioned not only as an aesthetic celebration, but also as a subtle political emblem, affirming the prestige of a family whose influence shaped the rhythm of the court.

The Tang era elevated beauty into ideology.
This was the age of Du Fu, Li Bai, and Bai Juyi, poets who defined the spiritual atmosphere of the imperial court.

“Silks flutter like drifting clouds,
horses move as though guided by spring.”
— Attributed to Bai Juyi

This cultural climate permeates Zhang Xuan’s brushwork:
the posture of each figure follows li (礼) — ritual propriety — while the soft curves and luminous palette reflect Buddhist serenity and the awareness of impermanence.

Zhang Xuan’s technique, rooted in gongbi (工笔) meticulous linework, shaped the visual vocabulary of Tang femininity: poised, dignified, spiritually radiant.
Later masters — especially Zhou Fang (周昉) — continued this lineage, solidifying a style that influenced Chinese art for centuries.

Our polymer clay Masterpiece Edition reinterprets this Tang-era heritage with the same devotion once reserved for brush, silk, and mineral pigment.

Each figure is hand-sculpted, echoing the discipline, restraint, and quiet luminosity of court art during the dynasty’s golden age.

• Drapery shaped in the spirit of the Dunhuang murals, where fabric flows like painted wind
• Horses inspired by the noble Fergana lineage, prized by Tang aristocracy for their grace and stature
• Lady Guo’s posture refined from classical Tang archetypes, serene and dignified, embodying the dynasty’s aesthetic ideal

Through clay, color, and form, this edition becomes a bridge across twelve centuries —
a way for the Tang spirit to take shape once again,
carrying forward the memory of one of humanity’s most sophisticated cultures.