Author(s)

Jiachen Liu ¹, Xutao Sun ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ History of Fine Arts, Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, Xiaozhai Road Street, Yanta District, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
² Virtual Reality and Interactive, Nanjing University of the Arts, No.74 Beijing West Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

Corresponding Author

Jiachen Liu

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the changes in people's perception of owl imagery during the Han Dynasty period. Prior to the Han Dynasty, from Neolithic rock paintings to artifacts such as the Shang Dynasty bronze owl-shaped wine vessel (xiao zun), owls possessed a relatively positive image. During the Han Dynasty, a significant dualistic phenomenon emerged: in the terrestrial world, represented by Jia Yi's "Fu on the Owl" (Fú Niǎo Fù), owls were regarded as omens of death and inauspicious birds; however, in the subterranean burial world, owl imagery appeared extensively in Han Dynasty pictorial stones, often depicted alongside the Four Divine Beasts, occupying prominent positions and retaining divine status. This contradictory phenomenon of "terrestrial aversion, subterranean veneration" reflects Han society's attitude toward owls—from conscious rejection to subconscious worship—demonstrating the profound vitality of owl worship in Chinese culture.

KEYWORDS

Owl, Han Dynasty, Pictorial Stones, Cultural Attitudes

CITE THIS PAPER

Jiachen Liu, Xutao Sun, The Image of Owls in the Han Dynasty Popular Consciousness. Art and Performance Letters (2025) Vol. 6: 70-73. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/artpl.2025.060310.

REFERENCES

[1] Liu Xiang. Shuoyuan ershijuan [Garden of Persuasions in Twenty Volumes] [M]. Ming Wanli ershinian Xin'an Chengshi ke Han Wei congshu ben, juan ershiba shang dili zhi shang: 517. 
[2] Jiang Sheng. Handi guo de yichan: Han gui kao [The Legacy of the Han Empire: An Investigation of Han Ghosts] [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 2016: 37.

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