Han Gan was the leading horse painter of his time in Tang Dynasty China. 

Night-Shining White, his most famous work, was a piece commissioned to him by Emperor Xuanzong, regent at the time and a very devoted patron of the arts.  The painting is an example of “baihua,” or “white painting,” a term used for monochromatic ink drawings and has a provenance that spans nearly a thousand years, judging by the amount of stamps on the painting.  The depiction of the horse is meant to evoke myths of Central Asian horse breeds as dragon-steeds, firey and powerful.

Born Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong was the third son of the Ruizong Emperor.  Longji was named heir apparent after playing a vital role in bringing his father back to power in 710, five years after the Empress Wuhou, who deposed him, passed away.  Two years later, his father abdicated and the man that would become Xuanzong took the throne, assuming most of his responsibilities while his father sat back in a more cushy position as “Supreme Emperor,” a fancy title for what amounted to being like a board of directors appointing people for high positions.  Thank Xuanzong’s sister Taiping for that.  In 713, fate blew its winds and Taiping got knocked off her rocker, losing a power struggle between herself and Xuanzong.  She committed suicide, while he took full control of the state.

Xuanzong, unbothered as all could be, went right to work.  He reformed and streamlined the bureaucracy, bloated as all hell, by outlawing purchase of office and restoring both authority of the emperor and efficiency of government in one fell swoop.  He restored the canal system that fell into disrepair under the Wuhou empress and led successful military campaigns against the Tibetans, the Turks, and the Khitans.  He managed to maintain a balance of power between the families of consorts, the imperial clan, palace officials, and the magistrates, bringing evidence that his mandate under heaven was justified.  All was good, until a point.

Starting in 721, storms would start to form in the horizon as the elegance and efficiency of the reformed system became a liability for Xuanzong’s authority.  Government reforms streamlined tax collection, renewing the ledgers and bringing more power to the aristocracy through greater revenues.  Successful campaigns were made possible by a larger standing army, which meant more generals were needed to oversee them.  The convenience of the canal system meant that Xuanzong didn’t need to move the capital anymore.

In 737, Li Linfu, the chief representative of the aristocracy, had the most power in the state.  Chief ministers and financial overseers became increasingly corrupt.  Military governors in the far corners of the empire, such as An Lushan, exerted territorial authority as much as they exerted military presence.  All the while, Xuanzong himself became withdrawn in his Taoist studies, all the while having to deal with two power-hungry consorts, one of whom was responsible for Linfu’s rise to power.  At some point, he fled with a small contingent to the Sichuan province, where he stayed for the rest of his days, abdicating his throne to his heir apparent and, miraculously for regents stuck in power struggles, living in retirement until his death in 762.  The dragon-steed, like its owner, reflects Xuanzong’s temperamental, yet majestic reign.