Known in English as Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy, the painting Bunian Tu depicts a meeting between Tang Emperor Taizong and Gar Tongtsen Yulsung, a special envoy sent by Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to propose a marriage alliance with the Tang in the year 640. What it doesn’t show is how much bad blood there had been in the years leading up to this historically significant moment. 

Today, we’re going to talk about  this traditional Chinese painting that has, despite its understated solemnity, endured the kind of tumultuous life you might see depicted in one of the many costume dramas so popular on Chinese TV these days.