Genghis Khan’s True Likeness Revealed: The Palace Museum Unveils Authentic Imperial Portraits

Text by MOOK Travel Life Network, Li Xinyi, compiled and reported

 

The National Palace Museum houses an exceptionally rare authentic portrait of the great Mongol hero Genghis Khan—Temüjin. This year marks the 850th anniversary of Genghis Khan’s birth, and the museum has specially arranged to display five imperial portraits—〈Portrait of Emperor Taizu of Yuan〉, 〈Portrait of Emperor Shizu of Yuan〉, 〈Portrait of Emperor Wenzong of Yuan〉, 〈Portraits of Empress Shizu and Empress Shunzong〉, and 〈Portraits of Empress Wuzong and Empress Renzong〉—in the “Form and Aesthetics: Selections of Chinese Paintings” exhibition at the main hall from now until March 25. In honor of this, Tumenjargal Magaadai, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Mongolia, led a delegation to visit Taiwan yesterday (the 8th) to pay tribute to the authentic portraits of Genghis Khan at the museum.

The collection of Yuan dynasty imperial portraits housed in the museum includes eight portraits of emperors and fifteen portraits of empresses. Both albums are former collections of the Nanxun Hall, and the portraits are believed to be small-scale imperial likenesses commissioned by Yuan court painters. The facial features—eyebrows, eyes, hair, and beard—are depicted with fine lines, while the eye sockets are subtly shaded to highlight the full, rounded visage of Mongol nobility. According to the images, Emperors Taizu, Shizu, and Wenzong all wore braided hairstyles and single-colored robes, with Taizu and Shizu donning fur-lined warm hats and Wenzong wearing a seven-jeweled multi-tiered crown. The lines of their clothing vary slightly in thickness.

Empress Shizu, Empress Shunzong, Empress Wuzong, and Empress Renzong are depicted wearing the gugu crown (also known as the gugu hat), typically made of two birch bark cylinders wrapped in red silk and adorned with beads, with a male tail feather inserted at the top. Their robes feature brocaded borders in the Islamic-style "nasij" gold-woven silk exclusive to Yuan imperial use. The portrayal of Yuan imperial figures blends Central Plains traditions with foreign styles. The techniques used to depict facial features and intricate details of clothing—such as chiaroscuro rendering, lines for eyebrows, beards, and wrinkles, and slightly varied line thickness in drapery—create vivid and distinct character images, free from rigid adherence to traditional painting methods.