Brief History of Xu-style Gardens in the Qin and Han Dynasties

This paper studied the gardening activities and characteristics of Xu-style gardens in the Qin and Han Dynasties by combining ancient literature with the study of Han Dynasty stone reliefs.The results showed that by Qin and Han Dynasties,the imperial(royal)gardens and private gardens in ancient Xuzhou had developed in parallel.Imperial(royal)gardens were built by or for vassal kings,First Emperor of Qin Dynasty,Emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty Liu Bang,for example,Pei Palace,Yanqi Tai,Xima Tai,Hanzu Temple,Lingguang Palace of Lu and so on.As for private gardens,stone reliefs in medium or small tombs owned by the bigwigs or the rich were collected from ancient Xuzhou,and from which we can see clearly the development of private garden from the court,the yard to the garden,rich garden plants and animal species,garden architecture types such as hall,building,pavilion,platform,boat,corridor,gate,gatetower,ornamental column etc.,particularly,hanging waterside pavilion was a unique architectural form of Xu-style garden.These achievements showed that Xu-style garden architecture had been transformed from the pre-Qin incubation period to the generation period.

The Influence of the Southern Silk Road on the Social Development of the Southwestern Yi in the Qin and Han Dynasties

The Southern Silk Road ran through Sichuan,Yunnan,and other provinces of China.It was a vital transport artery that linked the region of the southwestern Yi(barbarian tribes)to the Central Plains and influenced politics,economy,and culture in the region of the southwestern Yi in ancient times.The imperial governments of the Qin and Han dynasties kept developing regions along the Southern Silk Road.Their relentless efforts brought about social development in the region of the southwestern Yi in three aspects.Politically,they established the county system and step by step integrated the southwestern frontier and the inland into an administrative whole;economically,they implemented“presenting generous gifts and tax exemption,”spread the advanced production technology from the Central Plains,and promoted local economic growth;ideologically,they spread Confucianism and culture,and promoted cultural exchange and development.

Transition of human diets and agricultural economy in Shenmingpu Site, Henan, from the Warring States to Han Dynasties

Historical records and archaeological remains indicate that the Chinese agricultural economy changed significantly from the Warring States （475-221 BC） to Han Dynasties （206 BC-220 AD）, i.e., from rice-millet based agriculture to rice-millet-wheat based agriculture. However, the variation of human diets and the inner relationship between human diets and the agricultural transition during this period remain poorly understood. In this paper, the C and N stable isotopes from human and animal bones at the Shenmingpu site （SMPS）, Xichuan County, Henan Province were analyzed. If some outliers （M34, M36, M102） were excluded, the mean δ13C value （（-16.7±0.8）‰, n=15） of humans in Hart Dynasties was dramatically lower than that in the Warring States （（-12.7±0.8）‰, n=14）, indicating that the cultivation of rice and wheat, especially wheat, had been more widely popularized in Han Dynasties. Meanwhile, the range of 615N values of humans （6.6‰-9.3‰） in Hart Dynasties was narrower than that of the Warring States （6.2‰-10.4‰）, suggesting that the animal protein resources in human foods during Han Dynasties were more concentrated. The transition of human diets and the close relationship with the change of agricultural economy in SMPS were due to more stable society, the carryout of new agricultural policies, and the emergence of new agri- cultural tools in Han Dynasties.

Frontier of Military Defense Buildings in the Western Regions of the Han and Tang Dynasties Based on CiteSpace

Under the guidance of the “the Belt and Road” policy, the academic community continues to study the historical relics of the western regions and military facilities along the silk road in recent years. Focusing on the military defense buildings in the western regions of the Han and Tang Dynasties, CiteSpace software is used to conduct statistical and visual analysis on the hot issues of relevant literature in the military buildings on the silk road. Based on the analysis of frontier hot issues, the research trend of future topics is analyzed and predicted. The research shows that the frontier hot spots of military architecture in the western regions of Han and Tang Dynasties are extensive, and the research trend is steadily rising.

Aesthetic Research of Xu-style Gardens in Han Dynasty

From the aesthetic point of view,this paper summarized the artistic style of Xu-style gardens in Han Dynasty,and through the analysis of the historical and cultural background of Xuzhou in this period,explained the formation of the style of Xu-style gardens in Han Dynasty and its cultural origin.Through the interpretation of landscape,architecture,plants and other garden elements and typical examples,the connotation of the garden art style of Xu-style was analyzed.Clarifying humble beauty of Xu-style gardens would help to better apply local artistic style in future garden construction and promote the development of regional gardens.

Study on the Brocades of Han Dynasty in Philadelphia Museum of Art

The brocades (jin 锦) in Han Dynasty is very precious for the study of the history of ancient Chinese textiles. This paper introduces the study on the brocades of Han Dynasty, which excavated from the tumuli of the ancient nomadic tribe “Xiong-nu” (Hun 匈 奴) in the Noin-Ula Mountains in Mongolia. The detailed analyses of the brocades in the collection of Philadelphia Museum of Art are given in this paper and a logical, reasonable conjecture for ancient weaving technology is proposed.

Xu-style Garden Architecture of the Han Dynasty: Hanging Waterside Pavilion

Based on the Han Dynasty stone reliefs unearthed in the ancient Xuzhou area,a kind of pavilion above the water—hanging waterside pavilion(Xuan Shui Xie,built above the water with stilts and brackets as the base and seeming hanging on the water)was systematically collected and classifi ed into 2 major categories:single-bracket column hanging waterside pavilion and multiple-bracket column hanging waterside pavilion.The research showed that hanging waterside pavilion got ride of traditional pavilion’s reliance on rammed earth foundation.In addition to working as a connection part,brackets,or bucket arches(Dougong)had also tremendous load-bearing capacity,straight and curved brackets co-formed a giant multiple bracket system,staircases and one-side hanging structure were used to support the upper construction,so that a new towering but light wooden structure hanging above the water was created,which was an innovation of bracket technique of the Han Dynasty,and also a creative design in the development of wooden architecture.

A Textual Research on the Image of＂Gaomei God＂ in the Stone Relief of the Han Dynasty

As the most primitive and the highest-level media in ancient Chinese society, Gaomei God played a pivotal role in the social life of the Han Dynasty. The stone relief is a vivid portrayal of the Han Dynasty society, and we can use the format routine method to fred out the image of Gaomei God in it. Starting from the Gaomei portrait, a research on typology is carried out before the portrait is divided into three types on the basis of its development and evolution, which is followed by a comprehensive analysis of its time, distribution area, configuration combination, carving techniques, image composition, development in a way to sum up the law of Gaomei portrait.

A Brief Analysis of Competitive Sports Depicted on the Portrait Bricks and Stones of the Han Dynasty

The emergence of competitive sports in ancient China is closely related to military activities.With the evolution and development of society,many sporting events have been introduced to and accepted by,the people and later carried forward from generation to generation.In the Han Dynasty,thanks to the strong national strength and booming economy,competitive sports witnessed rapid development.People at that time,from imperial officials to common people,were all keen on various competitive sports and such sports were also very popular among the folk.Along with this,there emerged multiple monographs on sports.Portrait bricks are the remnants of the lavish burial rituals of the Han Dynasty.As the economy grew and social wealth amassed,the lavish burial custom prevailing since the Spring and Autumn Period reached its peak in the Han Dynasty,especially in the Eastern Han Dynasty.People would bury in tombs along with various articles they used before they died.They would also paint the life of the tomb owner on bricks to decorate the tomb by embedding them in the tomb chamber.The images on the portrait bricks unearthed from the tombs of the Han Dynasty are the most intuitive and convincing physical evidence to reflect the development of competitive sports at that time.We conduct a preliminary study on competitive sports in the Han Dynasty by using the portrait bricks of the Han Dynasty unearthed in Sichuan province and the Yellow River basin as examples,aiming to do our bit to build a sporting powerhouse and a healthy China.

Bible Depicted in 2,000-year-old Han Dynasty Stone Carvings

Wang Weifan is a member of the standing committee of the China Christian Council, and a Christian theology education professor. He recently discovered that several Eastern Han Dynasty museum exhibits in the Jiangsu Xuzhou Han Dynasty Stone Carving Museum include depictions of the bible and of

Discussion on Plain Stitch Embroidery in Early China Based on New Unearthed Materials

Plain stitch embroidery of Han Dynasty and before is rarely unearthed. Among the large amount of embroidery excavated from Haiqu （海曲 ）Han tombs in Rizhao（ 日照）, Shundong, an embroidery fragment with plain stitch was found. This is the first plain stitch embroidery with a typical cloudy pattern in Hun Dynasty unearthed up to now. And its needlework was very skillful. Combining the two pieces of plain stitch embroidery on wool fabrics found in Wubao（ 五堡 ） tomb at Hami （ 哈密 ） Xinjiang and Mawangdui （ 马王堆 ） Han tombs, we recognized that the application of plain stitch was earlier than scholars considered before. As basic plain stitchwork was poorer in art expression than chain stitchwork, it was less adopted in extravagant silk embroidery. But for ordinary status, plain stitch was more popular to be used in embroidery.

LUO Guanzhong: Related History and Creation Themes

With the rise of China as an oriental giant in the world,Chinese culture is increasingly valued by Westerners.As one of the top four masterpieces,Romance of the Three Kingdoms is more and more familiar to foreigners.This paper introduces the his⁃torical background and historical events depicted in the works of LUO Guanzhong,and lists several themes discussed in The Three Kingdoms.LUO Guanzhong holds profound views on human nature and“tao”of heaven.

Transmutation of ancient settlements and environmental changes between 6000-2000 aBP in the Chaohu Lake Basin, East China

Based on the temporal-spatial distribution features of ancient settlement sites from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han dynasty in the Chaohu Lake Basin of Anhui Province, East China, using the methods of GIS combined with the reconstructed paleoen- vironment by the records of lake sediment since Holocene, the transmutation of ancient set- tlements with response to environmental changes in this area has been discussed. Studies show that the main feature of transmutation of ancient settlements from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty was that the distribution of settlements in this area changed from high altitudes to low ones and kept approaching the Chaohu Lake with the passage of time. These could be the response to the climate change from warm-moist to a relatively warm-dry condition during the middle Holocene, leading to the lake level fluctuations. The large area of exposed land provided enough space for human activities. These indicate that the above changes in geomorphologic evolution and hydrology influenced by climate condi- tions affected the transmutation of ancient settlements greatly. The distribution pattern of settlement sites was that the number of sites in the west was more than in the east. This pattern may be related to the geomorphologic conditions such as frequent channel shifting of the Yangtze River as well as flood disasters during the Holocene optimum. Therefore, climate change was the inducement of the transmutation of ancient settlements in the Chaohu Lake Basin, which exerted great influence on the distribution, expansion and development of the ancient settlements.

The meridian distribution on the lacquer figure unearthed in the Han dynasty tomb in Chengdu Laoguan mountain

In 2012,a lacquer figure was unearthed from the Han dynasty tomb(188 BC-87 BC) at Chengdu Laoguanshan.The lines intaglioed on the Laoguan mountain lacquer figure were similar to the meridians.Objective:To investigate the relationship between the lines on this Laoguanshan lacquer figure and the regular meridians so as to explore the development of meridian system in ancient China.Methods:Based on collecting the photos of the Laoguan mountain lacquer figure and the representative acupuncture classics,the double evidence method(combining the unearthed relics/literature and extant literature) was performed to investigate the relationship between the lines on this Laoguanshan lacquer figure and the regular meridians.Furthermore,the development of regular meridians theory was analyzed from the number,distribution,direction and branches.Results:The routes of the 28 longitudinal white lines on the Laoguan mountain lacquer figure are similar to the regular meridians in the ancient literature including Huángdì Nèijīng 《黄帝内经》 Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic).The number,distribution and branches of the meridians intaglioed on the Laoguanshan lacquer figure suggested the evolution of the regular-meridian system from the eleven-meridian system to the twelve-meridian system.Conclusions:The meridian system of Laoguanshan lacquer figure was a link connecting the preceding and the following.The Laoguanshan lacquer figure played an important role in the development of the early meridian theory.

Intellectual Liberty during the Han Dynasty： A Comparative Study of the Religious Criticism of Lucian and Wang Chong

Wang Chong was an eminent thinker in the Eastern Han dynasty in China, during which religion was an integral part of day-to-day politics. This religious-political context was similar to that experienced by Lucian in Rome during the second century A.D. By comparing their religious criticisms and personal experiences, this paper uncovers the scale of intellectual liberty during the ancient Han era, a matter of interest and debate among historians. This paper argues that the intellectual liberty that Wang Chong enjoyed was very similar to that experienced by Lucian in ancient Rome as part of the Second Sophistic, and thus, this paper offers insights into the degree of freedom of thought enjoyed by intellectuals of the Eastern Han clynastv in China.