Emperor Xuanzong’s Journey to Shu， a Tang Dynasty（618.907） painting by Li Zhaodao， ink and color on silk， 55.9cm×81cm， in the collection of the Palace Museum， Taipei.
Li Zhaodao， a painter in flourishing period of the Tang Dynasty， is the son of famous artist Li Sixun. In addition to inherit painting skills from his family， he made a breakthrough. He did well in drawing landscapes， pavilions and characters.
This painting combines blue-and-green landscape and characters， depicting the historical scene that Tang Minghuang（Emperor Xuanzong） escapes a rebellion of An Lushan and Shi Siming to Shu（now Sichuan Province）。 In the painting， a group of carriages and travelers trudges across mountains， ready to enter plank road in the distance. The person who wears red clothes， rides a black horse and is ready to cross the bridge is Tang Minghuang， escorted by princes， imperial concubines and attendants. The mountains， with unique numerous peaks and stones standing and white clouds lingering， seem more abrupt.
