Ang Zhang

Ang Zhang

August 20, 2024

Feather men figures in Han paintings, Philosophy, Culture.

Han painting is a visual art of the Han Dynasty, which can be roughly divided into three categories based on its production methods: descriptive type (silk paintings, lacquer paintings, murals, etc.), carving type (portrait stones, portrait bricks, etc.), and sculptural type (stone carvings, wood carvings, clay sculptures, metal sculptures, etc.). Feather man is a hypothetical image of "the unity of humans and birds, and the unity of humans and gods". Its historical origins are diverse, either originating from traditional Chinese culture, foreign culture, or a product of the fusion of the two. It embodies the ancient Chinese cosmology and life and death philosophy, involving traditional Chinese witchcraft, Taoism, and Confucianism. In Han Dynasty paintings of music and dance, sacrificial scenes, and street scenes, the images of feather men are common. Their body postures are varied, their spatial shapes are clever, and their cultural connotations are rich. They are either originally dance images or with great potential for development. 

© 2024, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

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