The Intertextuality Between Han Great Rhapsody and Hunting Images in the Han Dynasty

Abstract

As the most representative literary work of the Han Dynasty, Han Great Rhapsody features fictional royal gardens and forest hunting and was composed by Mei Cheng during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty. The emergence of hunting images in the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu was closely linked to changes in political form, and its prevalence was due to Emperor Wu’s promotion of the Han Great Rhapsody. Emperor Wu was not only instrumental in the development of Han Great Rhapsody, but also had a profound influence on the field of visual arts. The distribution area of hunting images in the Han dynasty overlaps with the prevalence area of Han Great Rhapsody, which is the intertextuality between hunting images in the Han dynasty and Han Great Rhapsody. Both are different manifestations of the influence of Emperor Wu’s good fortune and his pursuit of ascension to immortality.

Key Words

Han Great Rhapsody, Mei Cheng, intertextuality, Sima Xiangru, Emperor Wu, hunting

images