The Study On The Hu Images Of Han Dynasty’s Pictorial Art

This essay is a study on the Hu images of Han dynasty’s pictorial art.The pictorial art of Han dynasty, which includes stone engraving, brickengraving, murals, silk painting, lacquer painting, jade decoration, and bronze mirrordecoration, can be basically generalized as two forms-flat painting and engraving.Actually, the images from stone and brick engraving are more important. The race of“Hu” is a historical conception which refers to the barbarians tribes who lived in theborder regions of China. In the early period of Han, the “Hu” generally representsthe Hsiung-nu, who is probably the ancestor of Huns. After the Northern Hsiung-numoved to the west, the “Hu” emerged to represent the nomads of the western regions,such as the Scythians, the Yueh-zhih and the Sogdians. This essay is acomprehensive research that focuses on the Hu image of Han dynasty’s pictorial art,using the archeological material from the Han tombs, ancestral halls, stone coffins,and then comparing them with the foreign related antiques. The images of “Hu” arewell recognized, analyzed, confirmed and classified with efforts on their geographicdistribution and historical steps. This essay come to a conclusion on the Hu images’historical background, religious beliefs, culture significance and artistic value,especially the roles they have taken of all the Han dynasty’s pictorial art.The appearance of the barbarian image of Han dynasty’s pictorial art is not anaccidental example. Archaeology evidences have shown us the barbarian images insome pre–Qin dynasty art. A short time after Han dynasty founded the Hsiung-nuempire was rising. The tourist ZhangQian brought the information of the westernregions to the emperor. So the Hsiung-nu and the western nomads became the mainsource of the Han barbarian, who had an impact on the material culture and spiritualculture of the empire. The study is based on the archaeological discoveries. Thebarbarian images are divided into four central areas: Shandong region, Jiangsu-Anhui-Zhejiang region, Shaanxi-Shanxi-Henan region, and Sichuan-Chongqing region. The essay discusses the iconography of the barbarian, especially the imageswith inscription and the record of time of reign titles to determine the historicalprocess of barbarian image. The essay divides the barbarian image into fourcategories: in war, in Han society, in wonderland of Queen Mother of the West andin special cultures. In the way of iconology, we analyze the deep meaning of thedifferent images of the barbarians who have converted from Han’s enemies andslaves to the elf roles around the goddess and even become a idol. With the wideningcommunication of the barbarian and the Han, special religion of the barbariangradually affected and combined with the local belief, the image of Hariti and thestone figure of Idol worship appeared in the influences of Kushan empire and prairieculture. Finally, the essay discusses the relationship between the images of Hu andthe images of Buddhism. In the conception of the Han, as a disseminator ofBuddhism, the Hu images imply close attitude to the Buddhism, such as the specialconfiguration between barbarians and elephants, which might come from theKushans. From the combination of the barbarian image and early Buddhist art, theessay summarizes a new motif of images in Han dynasty in the subject of “Buddhaworshiping of the Hu”. This motif of images was mainly found in two areas, Xuzhouand Sichuan, where the Buddhism firstly got the support of head of local people.Former scholars who’ve pay attention to Hu images of Han dynasty’s pictorialart mainly focus on some special subjects or individual examples. Until now, therehasn’t been any complex and comprehensive study on this subject from the methodof archaeology of fine arts, so this dissertation is a pioneering work. This dissertationwhich bases on the pictorial expression of the barbarians in Han dynasty, absorbingthe achievements of Sino-West culture communication history, achieves the goal ofmaking use of images as historical evidence with the studying methods oficonography and iconology. From the related art motifs of the Hu, we have found aclose relationship between Kushana art and Han’s art. The dissertation tries toexplain the Han’s imaginations of foreign national, and tries to argue an opening spirit of Han’s culture when the Han is rising through studying the emergence andfunction of Hu’s images of Han dynasty’s pictorial art. This spirit who forms theHan’s courage and vigor of absorbing all beneficial civilizational achievements canfinally endow the Chinese nation with special cultural characteristics.