The Banquet of Guo Ziyi

This eight-panel folding screen depicts a banquet honoring Guo Ziyi (697–781), a famed general of China’s Tang dynasty (618–907). In addition to his individual achievements, he lived until he was 85 years old, and his children and family were also successful. Thus he became a paragon of Confucian loyalty and fortitude, and even deified in popular religion as a god of wealth and happiness. As such, images celebrating Guo Ziyi became popular in Joseon during the 19th century. He is depicted at a banquet in his honor, enjoying a dance performance surrounded by his large family in a palatial residence with flowering trees, cranes, deer, and birds. Screens like this would have been used at celebrations where the imagery would add to the auspiciousness of the occasion.