Han-Fu And The Han-Dynasty Society

Han-fu is an absolute gem in ancient Chinese literature in the sense that it not only provides us literary enjoyment but only contains plenty of social and cultural information. The current study of Han-fu is mostly focused on its literary worth, while little attention is given to its historical significance. This paper attempts to investigate on the Han-dynasty society through the analysis of the religious, socioeconomic, cultural and artistic contents in Han-fu, in combination with the study of existing historical records and unearthed relics.This paper starts with an analysis of the relationship between Ode Masters'official career and their literary creation. Most Ode Masters entered their official career because of their literary talents, and their social identities as poets affected their career promotion. This unique experience influenced the subject matter and the way of expression of their art work, mostly leading them towards a flowery, over-elaborate, and superfluous style.Next, this paper presents a broad view of the Han-dynasty society by analyzing the religious, socioeconomic, and cultural and artistic contents in Han-fu. The analysis is also supported with historical records and unearthed relics. Some significant conclusions are drawn from this analysis, for example, the division between imperial and popular sacrificial rites due to different social status. The imperial sacrificial rites were state events that were matters of national prosperity and people's livelihood. Han-fu works on this subject usually created an atmosphere of solemnity and reverence. The popular rites, on the other hand, were much more casual and relaxing. Their ceremonies gradually evolved from entertaining gods and spirits to mostly self-entertaining, and the memorial ceremonies for ancestors became tribe reunions, which played an important role in peace-making among the tribes.Moreover, Han-fu holds value for socioeconomic study. For example,"Fiery Well"and"Dragon's Marsh"mentioned in"Shudu Fu"shows that the discovery of natural gas in Sichuan dates as early as the first period of West Han Dynasty. Another example is the abundant contents in Han-fu about the irrigation system. These contents are very good resources for the study of the weather and the agricultural development in the Han Dynasty. Examples such as these are too many to list.