:::
This painting portrays Lady Shen, who is flanked by Emperor Wen of Han and Empress Jia and reluctant to take her seat, with Yuan Ang holding a hu beside them. This depiction captures the conflict over Lady Shen’s seating, Yuan’s persuasive advice, and the emperor listening to Yuan’s advice attentively. The expressions and gestures of the figures are calm and solemn, yet the emperor’s and the armed guard’s fixed gaze on Yuan adds a subtle tension, highlighting the interactions between the emperor and his ministers as the central theme of the painting.
