Research On Animal Images In Stone Relief Of Eastern Han Dynasty In Northern Shaanxi

The northern Shaanxi region is one of the famous Han carved stone reliefs in my country.There are a large number of unearthed stones with strong regional characteristics.Among them,animal sculptures account for a large proportion,which is a major feature that distinguishes them from other areas.Animal images are mainly divided into natural animals and sacred animals.Natural animals,which are real animals in nature,such as cows,sheep,deer,dogs,chickens,ducks,etc.,reflect the unique regional characteristics of northern Shaanxi at that time.Divine beasts are the deification of animals that exist in nature by the people of the Han Dynasty,expressing their desire to pursue a better life.The natural animals in the stone reliefs in northern Shaanxi mainly include cows,sheep,horses,cranes,monkeys and other real life.They are mostly depicted in the magnificent stone portraits of war hunting,farming and grazing,and traveling by carriages and horses.There are some typical individual animal figures carved in combination.Divine beasts can be divided into two categories,good luck and bad luck.Good beasts mainly include the four gods Suzaku,basalt,blue dragon,white tiger,and one of the four spirits,the kylin.The image of the beast is mainly gluttonous and the first title ring.In addition,there are other atypical images of good and bad animals.The image of natural animals can reflect the abundant water resources,large areas of forest and grassland,and people’s economic life of half-agriculture and half-pastoral in the Han dynasty in northern Shaanxi from the geographical environment,economic conditions,and the diet structure of residents.The large number and variety of animal images mainly reflect the Han Dynasty people’s emergence into immortals,the pursuit of immortal souls,the cosmic concept of the unity of nature and man,and the idea of praying for blessings.