At the 21st China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair, the stunning Tang Dynasty (618-907) painting Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers, a national treasure housed in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, garnered attention. A live dance performance by the Liaoning Song and Dance Ensemble attracted numerous audiences, with dancers wearing costumes imitating the figures in the painting. 

Created by the Tang Dynasty artist Zhou Fang, Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers is a 46-centimeter-tall and 180-centimeter-long colored silk scroll. The painting depicts five noble ladies in gorgeous attire and one maid playing with puppies and strolling in a garden at the turn of spring and summer. The entire composition features no background, only meticulous depiction and heavy colors. Meanwhile, puppies, white cranes, and magnolia liliiflora are ingeniously interspersed, creating a relaxed and carefree atmosphere.

The six women in the painting all wear clothes made of the most renowned fabrics in the Tang Dynasty – sha (plain gauze) and luo (gauze). They tie their long skirts high around the chest and drape sha or luo robes. These fabrics are as light as mist, making soft sleeves flutter gently with each step. The artist uses delicate brushstrokes to render the sheer texture of the sha and luo in the silk painting, displaying a subtle, soft luster akin to “creamy skin”. To bring cultural relics to life, the Liaoning Provincial Museum has not only collaborated with art groups to transform the painting into a dance, but also produced exquisite videos of famous paintings for dynamic promotion.