A popular subject in Ming and Ch'ing painting, Po Chu-i's T'ang poem Guitar Song about an encounter between exiled scholar and female musician focuses on the woman and her music. Illustrations develop chronologically from figure paintings to river landscapes with a pair of boats, and finally to the musician in a solitary vessel. All depictions include the guitar player.

Visual analysis of artworks in relation to the text shows that composition as well as specific imagery relates to the poem's emotional themes and musical descriptions. Although varied in style, landscapes share particular natural images referring to the poem.

Importance of the female musician in these paintings may be related to the role of the female entertainer or courtesan in the King and Ch'ing. During these periods, Guitar Song may have had social or political as well as personal relevance in literati society.