Selected Han Dynasty Reliefs from Weishan

Author: Ma Hangu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: In ancient times, Qu Yuan wrote Heavenly Questions. Wang Yi of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in his Commentary on the Chu Ci, stated that Qu Yuan, while in exile, saw murals in the temples of the former kings of Chu and the shrines of officials and nobles. The murals depicted "heaven, earth, mountains, rivers, ghosts, gods, and strange creatures, as well as the deeds of ancient sages and monsters, which were inscribed on the walls. Qu Yuan then questioned them." The murals Qu Yuan witnessed can be considered an important event in the history of Chinese painting. Wang Yi's son, Wang Yanshou, wrote The Rhapsody on the Lu Lingguang Hall, providing a detailed description of the ancient and modern figures depicted in the hall's murals. At that time, centered around Shandong, the art of carved stone portraits flourished, becoming a new trend in painting. The technique involved artists sketching outlines with ink on a polished stone surface, then carving the uneven patterns into relief designs, creating three-dimensional images with raised and lowered surfaces. Later, colors were applied to achieve the same effect as painting. Carved stone portraits are found on underground tombs,, shrines, and gate towers. Most of these structures were related to funeral rites, holding significant historical and artistic value. The excavation and study of Han Dynasty carved stone portraits have entered a period of great prosperity in the past two decades, with new important discoveries made across the country. At the same time, their rich cultural and historical content and lifelike depictions have made them a key subject in international Sinological research. In recent years, numerous illustrated collections of Han Dynasty carved stone portraits have been published across the country. Some are comprehensive, while others focus on specific regions. However, even so, many important carved stone portraits remain scattered and uncollected. Faced with this situation, scholars from various regions have strived to gather local materials and promote their publication—a beneficial endeavor for the academic community and a legacy for future generations. The publication of Selected Han Dynasty Carved Stone Portraits of Weishan is a generous gift from the leaders and cultural workers of Weishan County to society at large. Weishan is located in southern Shandong. When people hear the name Weishan, the beautiful song from the film The Railway Guerrillas often comes to mind: "Quietly, quietly, on the Weishan Lake." This place was once a battlefield where anti-Japanese heroes fought bravely. Today, through the hard work of cultural workers, we can also learn that it has an extremely long history and abundant cultural treasures. From the Han Dynasty carved stone portraits alone, we can see that this region was economically prosperous, wealthy in living standards, and culturally advanced during the Han Dynasty. The numerous Han Dynasty carved stone portraits unearthed in Weishan have shown us the developed productive forces and cultural levels of this area at that time.