Operating on Guan Yu’s Arm

What you see

The figures cluster in the lower half of the scroll. At the center, Guan Yu, with a long black beard and dark green robe, plays a board game against a man in a brown robe. Meanwhile he stretches his arm out to the left, where a white-haired old man operates on it. One attendant covers his face; another kneels holding a large dish beneath the arm.

Strong colors stand out against the pale silk: blues, greens and the red of lacquered furniture. On the right, a table laden with fruit, dishes, a bottle and a teapot completes the scene. Spot the contrast between the general, intent on his game, and the tension around him, and for the green bundle of instruments at lower left.