The Fish Wagon Imagines On The Stone-carving Portraits Of The Han Dynasty

The fish wagon imagines are common imagines in the stone-carving portraits of the Han Dynasty. These stone-carving portraits are often composed by a center image-- the fish wagon imagines and other pertinent images. A complete fish wagon imagines are consisted of fish, wagons and passenger. As the stone-carving portraits were unearthed, people gradually realized that the fish wagon imagines arose in the mid-Western Han Dynasty and became popular in the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty.Since the 1970s, many experts have begun doing research on the fish wagon imagines. The past research are divided into four viewpoints:a journey imagines of the sea god, a journey imagines of the He Bo, a kind of imagines about enter Acheron and a kind of imagines express human’s hope of happy life. The key about former two viewpoints are focused on the identity of the tomb owner. The key about letter two viewpoints are focused on the mean of the fish wagon imagines. Due to the effect of the traditional ideas, the researches of the fish wagon imagines cannot be well studied. Former research of the fish wagon imagines was mainly focus on the identity of the tomb owner. Only a few experts took the context of the fish wagon imagines into their research. However, because of data collection and classification methods, all the research had their disadvantages. As more and more fish wagon were unearthed, it is necessary to do further research.The concept of life and death in Han Dynasty is the basis for the researches of the fish wagon imagines. These concepts are divided into two sections:spatial conception and soul conception. In the spatial conception, both the four directions of the world and the three divisions of the universe have their own meaning. West is the direction of death. North is the direction of the life and death. In the three divisions of the universe, both Paradise and Acheron are the place where you will go after death. The soul conception of Han Dynasty is so special that the dualism between "hun" and "po". This soul conception is very special. When people die. "Hun" will enter Paradise, and "po" will enter Acheron. Paradise and Acheron also have agencies like Mortal World.The analysis of thirty fish wagon imagines that are included the paper is the direct source of the fish wagon imagines connotation. Based on the discussion on the place, the time, the space, the shape of wheel and the forward direction, we can come to the conclusion that the fish wagon imagines are very important imagines in the stone-carving portraits of the Han Dynasty and we must find a new way to categorize it. Through the method, we can come to the conclusion that the fish wagon imagines are a kind of wagons sailing in the water; the forward direction of the fish wagon imagines symbolizes the death.Every part of the fish wagon imagines can help us analyze the connotations of the fish wagon imagines. Stone-carving portraits of the Han Dynasty provide many connotations of the fish. These connotations can be divided into two groups:the fish in real life and the fish in spiritual world. Connecting life and death, rising from the dead are two basic connotations of the fish wagon imagines. Compare the fish wagon imagines with the horsemen and carriages imagines, we can find the significance of the fish wagon imagines and the identity of the tomb owner. The fish wagon imagines are a kind of wagons sailing in the water; the forward direction of the fish wagon imagines symbolizes the death; the identity of the fish wagon is the owner of a tomb.The connotations of the Queen Mother of the West, the moon and the Chang’e are closely related to the connotations of the fish wagon imagines. Both the Queen Mother of the West, the moon and the Chang’e belong to the dualism between life and death. When the Queen Mother of the West, the moon and the Chang’e are connected with the fish wagon imagines, they represent death.The fish wagon imagines is a kind of important subject in the stone-carving portraits of the Han Dynasty. Research on the fish wagon imagines can help us know the fish wagon imagines. They also can help us to research other related imagines. Meanwhile, they provide a new idea for research on Han tombs.