Abstract
Fengshi (sealed memorials) was a common type of memorial writing in the Han dynasty. Its emergence was closely related to the technique of observing qi during the Qin and Han periods. In the mid—to—late Western Han, as political conflicts intensified, fengshi became an important vehicle for the theories of Yin—Yang and the discourse of catastrophes and anomalies. Compared to other memorial writings, Han—dynasty fengshi exhibited a distinctive rhetorical style that maintained righteousness but harnessed the unusual. These texts embody a specialized system of knowledge and reflect the Confucian scholars' synthesis of classical studies, historiography, and the learning of Yin—Yang. Often written with strong emotion and moral indignation, these documents voiced sharp critiques of contemporary governance; in doing so, they highlighted the “unyielding integrity” of Confucian literati. Among the vast corpus of Han memorial literature, these texts possess unique literary and aesthetic value.
Keywords
Han dynasty, disasters and anomaly, fengshi, stylistic form, knowledge system
First Page
29
Last Page
40
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Runzhong. 2025. "The Origin of the Stylistic Form and Knowledge System of Han—Dynasty Fengshi on Disasters and Anomalies." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 45, (6): pp.29-40. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol45/iss6/4
