Chapter 5 Chapter 3 Qin and Han Paintings (221 BC-220 AD)

A large number of murals, portrait stones, and portrait bricks unearthed from Han tombs vividly describe the rich and colorful life scenes of people more than 2,000 years ago. For example, the mural "Hundred Opera Picture" in Han Tomb No. 1, Dahuting, Mixian County, Henan Province depicts the scene of nobles watching acrobatic performances; The owner’s status was prominent during his lifetime; the portrait stones in Yinan, Shandong recorded the battles, trips, harvest banquets and mourning after death of the tomb owner; There are various living conditions in the market; the stone reliefs in Suining and Tongshan in Jiangsu represent farming, textiles, etc., too numerous to mention.Its wide range of subjects, direct description, and frankness of emotion are unmatched by any dynasty in the history of ancient Chinese art.

Among the many murals of the Han tombs, the one with the largest scale, the best preservation and the richest content is the murals of the No. 1 Han tomb in Xindianzi, Helinger County, Inner Mongolia.Discovered in 1971, the total area is more than 100 square meters.It mainly depicts the official career of the owner of the tomb from "advocating filial piety" to "envoy to protect Wuhuan school lieutenant".There are huge queues of vehicles and riders, luxurious county mansions, numerous historical figures, rich and colorful life scenes, and local customs of various ethnic minorities in the frontier fortresses.The scene is grand, the plot is ups and downs, the structure is complex, and the layout is meticulous.Among them, "Hundred Opera Picture" shows the situation of the owner of the tomb watching acrobatics.With the accompaniment of the band, the performers wear red belts on their arms, some in buns, some bare-chested, performing skills such as dancing balls, flying swords, dancing wheels, handstands, climbing poles, etc., with different postures.It not only reflects the artistic appearance of acrobatics in the Han Dynasty, but also is full of interest in life.They are drawn on a plastered base of plastered brick walls.Generally, it is colored first, and then outlined with ink lines, and some are only drawn with a single line or directly dyed with color.The shape is vivid and concise, the brushwork is simple and simple, and the coloring is thick and harmonious.A sense of movement, power and speed is expressed in a simple, concise and naive form.

Pictorial stones and pictorial bricks are large masonry stones with images used in burial chamber construction.Portrait stones are carved directly on stones, and portrait bricks are usually molded and fired with soft billets.Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan unearthed the most bricks and stone portraits of the Han Dynasty. The famous Wu's Ancestral Pictorial Stone was unearthed in Wuzhai Mountain, south of Jiaxiang City, Shandong Province in the 51st year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty (AD 1786).It is the stone temple in front of the tomb of the Wu family in the Eastern Han Dynasty.There are four stone chambers in total, engraved with more than 50 pictures with complete composition.There are historical stories, portraits of emperors, ancient myths and rich and colorful scenes of real life.For example, "Picture of Cars, Rides, and Kitchens" is divided into three layers. The first layer is where the guests and hosts sit and chat with each other; Some wash rice.There are also sauced ducks, smoked fish, beef heads, and beef legs hanging on the shelves, full of strong life flavor.All the pictures are engraved in Yang, that is, the space outside the outline of the image is shoveled down to make the part of the figure protrude, and then the part is drawn with Yin lines between the face and the folds of the clothes, forming a unique style with precise shape and decorative interest.According to the inscriptions of Wu's Temple, these works were engraved by stone workers such as Meng Fu, Li Dingmao, and Gaiwei.

"Yi She, Harvesting Portrait Bricks" was unearthed from Han Tomb No. 2, Yangzishan, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.The upper part of this portrait brick shows the scene of hunting.Beside the beautiful pond, two hunters were shooting with their bows. A group of wild geese flew into the sky and fled in a hurry.The wild ducks in the pool also swam quickly to the distance.Several big fish also seemed to feel threatened, and swam away with their tails wagging.Only the autumn lotus in the pool and the trees on the bank are bathed in this clear autumn sun, leisurely and contented.The so-called Yishe is to shoot an arrow tied with a rope, and then the arrow can be taken back together with the prey it hit.In this picture, there is a tool for retracting the rope next to the hunter, so we know that it depicts this kind of shooting.The posture of the shooter is like a dance, very graceful.A slanted bow and a flying goose pointing the arrow directly above the head have a sense of rhythm one after another.The agricultural economy in the Han Dynasty was already very developed. Hunting was no longer just a means of making a living, but also became a recreational activity for the upper class at that time.The focus of this shooting map is the friendly description of natural scenery and hunting interests.The mood is relaxed, giving people the enjoyment of beauty.

The lower part of this portrait brick shows the labor scene of harvesting.The two people in the front are waving long sickles to reap, and the three people behind are bending over to pick up the ears, and there is a person carrying a load of loads, who seems to be a food delivery person.The characters move beautifully and freely, as if their labor is carried out in a brisk rhythm, creating a strong sense of rhythm.It makes people feel the comfort of harvest and the joy of labor. The portrait tiles are small in size and are stamped, so it is difficult to portray facial expressions. The clever craftsmen of the Han Dynasty devoted all their talents to expressing dynamics.They can grasp the most beautiful moment of the object's movement and posture, make exaggerated and concise descriptions, and endow the image with a strong sense of life and a rhythm like music.