Clue Of The Image

The study object of this article is gold and silver wares of the Chinese Han Dynasty(202BC – 220AD). The object being explored includes pure gold or silver utensils as well as wares that applies gold and silver as a surface decoration such as inlaying, gilding and foil of gold and silver. Taking burial time as reference, this article attempts to conduct a study on literature records, archaeological excavations and images, meanwhile the development rules of gold and silver wares of Chinese Han Dynasty, cultural exchange between different regions and gold and silver manufacturing orgnizations are organized in order to detect the symbolic meaning behind images.In China’s manufacturing history of gold and silver, the Han Dynasty is an age that carries on the past heritage and open up the future. Full of vigour and vitality, vast territory, rapid development of social economy and frequent communication between nationalities – all these factors qualified a perfect social environment and condition to this unified empire. The Han Dynasty inherited and carried forward the achievements of gold and silver ware manufacturing and constantly absorbed the exotic images and manufacturing process into the culture of Central Plains so as to gain a thorough understanding. As a result of that, the Han people’s unique concept and spirit world could be well expressed.This article firstly arranges in order the typical tombs that gold and silver wares were relatively many unearthed according to ages; on the basis of the reference system established, China’s gold and silver wares in the Han Dynasty are divided into three development stages: the early Western Han Dynasty, the middle and late Western Han Dynasty to the Xinmang Period and the Eastern Han Dynasty; the overview of each development period is expounded. The third chapter of this article explores and analyses the meaning carried by the gold and silver wares in the Han Dynasty, whichclarifies that the owning and using of the gold and silver wares are not only a symbol of wealth and status, but also conveys a lend mystery of healthy cultivation and a meaning of blessing. The exchange between China and western countries reflected by gold and silver wares is studies in the fourth chapter. In the fifth chapter, it mainly describes the manufacturing situation of gold and silver wares in the Han Dynasty, and the manufacturing process of gold and silver wares prevalent in the Han Dynasty is also introduced.