Abstract
“The Orphan of the Zhao Family” is a well-known case in the historical stories depicted in Han Dynasty pictorial arts, with three known existing places housing the images. Two of them are in the Wu Clan Temple, Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province, with one bearing an inscription, both adopting the momentary narrative mode. The other is found in a Han tomb at Yangguan Village, Nanyang, Henan Province, where the image is divided into four layers, presenting ” The Orphan of the Zhao Family” along with “The Mastiff Biting Zhao Dun” in a layered sequential narrative. In this paper, the author verifies the existence of an unknown image of “The Orphan of the Zhao Family” on the north beam in the front chamber of the Han Tomb in Baiji, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. This image adopts a scroll-style continuous narrative, depicting four captivating moments in chronological order. The transition from a single scene to multiple scenes in the visual narrative of historical stodies in Han Dynasty pictorial arts is influenced by factors such as the earlier tradition of narrative in bronze pictorial arts, the inherent development patterns of Han Dynasty paintings, the transformation of image carriers, and regional differences.
Keywords
Han Dynasty pictorial arts, historical stories, The Orphan of the Zhao Family, Baiji Han Tomb, pictorial narrative
Recommended Citation
Zhu, Hu. 2024. "Two Narrative Modes and Their Formation Mechanisms in the Historical Stories Depicted in Han Dynasty Pictorial Arts: A Study with a Focus on “The Orphan of the Zhao Family”." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 44, (1). https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol44/iss1/6
