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introduction
The Western Regions, from the perspective of geographical location, because of the different dynasties, the territory of the Western Regions is constantly changing, but its core area has basically not changed. The name "Western Regions" first appeared in the official history, but as late as the Han Dynasty. In the Western Han historian Sima Qian's Shiji, the Western Regions appeared in the name of the specific region they represented, and since then the Western Regions have gradually entered the field of vision of the general public, and the culture of the Western Regions has also influenced Han Dynasty literature with its unique characteristics.
Since Emperor Wudi of Han sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, exchanges and ties between the two regions have become closer and closer, and cultural exchanges have gradually deepened. The influence of Western Regions culture on all aspects of Han society was also more and more extensive. The Han Dynasty, from the royal family to the common people, was full of curiosity about it, and the color of exotic culture in the social life of the entire Han Dynasty was stronger and more far-reaching than that of previous countries.
First, the sky is high and the desert is stuffed with fertile grass: the two Han Dynasty's understanding of the Western Regions has changed
The Book of Han and the Legend of the Western Regions recorded: "As for Xiaowu, Han Xing fought four Yi and Guangweide, and Zhang Qian began to open the traces of the Western Regions." ”
Zhang Qian's report to Emperor Wudi of Han and his officials and ministers after returning to Han was also the first official understanding of the Western Regions by Han Dynasty. Since then, the two Han Dynasties and the Western Regions have exchanged links and formed the famous "Silk Road", and the exchanges between the two Han Dynasties and the Western Regions have officially begun, and the mutual influence has gradually expanded in the scope of exchanges, becoming more and more extensive.
The Han Dynasty had different cultural traditions from the Western Regions, and the emergence of the Western Regions culture was undoubtedly a huge psychological shock to the people of the Central Plains at that time. A large number of novelties different from the traditions of the Han Dynasty poured in, which greatly enriched the understanding and imagination of the people of Middle-earth at that time in the Western Regions. As a result, people's understanding of the Western Regions gradually changed from mystification to a semi-mysterious and semi-realistic state, and they gradually began to accept the reality of the Western Regions psychologically.
The "Book of the Later Han and the Legend of the Western Regions" recorded: "Since the construction of Wu as for Yanguang, the Western Regions have three unique and three links. ”
Throughout the two Han Dynasties, at different times, the psychological attitude of the Han people towards the Western Regions was different. The relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions was time and war, and in the Eastern Han Dynasty, starting from the time of Emperor Wudi of Han, it was even more based on war, and the relationship with the Western Regions was "three absolute and three links". The Western Regions in the eyes of the people of the Han Dynasty and the attitude of the imperial court towards the Western Regions were closely linked, and these mainstream attitudes were often expressed in literary works of a certain period, which may affect the attitude of literati when creating related works.
In the early Western Han Dynasty, people's understanding of the Western Regions was still based on some concepts in myths and legends, and novelty and fear were the most important reactions at this stage. From the attitude of the imperial court towards the Western Regions, it can be seen that during the period of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the imperial court had basically no direct connection with the Western Regions, and most of the upper echelons' understanding of the Western Regions came from the Xiongnu.
Beginning with Emperor Wudi of Han, the policy of the Han Dynasty changed, with war as the main means. In this way, the number of people who have been to the Western Regions has also increased to a certain extent compared with before, and more and more people have entered this place, and through their personal experiences and feelings, they have some general understanding of the Western Regions. With the imperial court as the mainstay, Xia Zhao began to send garrisons to Tuntian, represented by upper-class people, and the Han court began to take the initiative to understand the Western Regions, and used war to achieve the ruler's goals.
Since ancient times, wars have been won and lost, and the catastrophic damage caused by wars cannot be ignored, so people's attitude towards the Western Regions during this period is fear and conquest. At this time, the fear was mainly the fear of the strength of the Western Regions countries in the war and the terrain itself, and the conquest was mainly manifested as the submission of the Western Regions to the Han, allowing people to see the insignificance of the Western Regions and the victorious posture as a conqueror.
The Eastern Han Dynasty and the Western Regions were divided into three parts, and in the case that people did not have a deep understanding of the Western Regions at that time, such a alternation of war and peace, in addition to arousing people's strong curiosity, fear and worry also existed, for people in the Central Plains, the Han business situation in the Western Regions would directly affect people's attitude towards the Western Regions. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, people's attitudes towards the Western Regions were relatively complicated, with acceptance, novelty and fear intertwined.
Through the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Han people's understanding of the Western Regions has changed from simple warlike contact to the acceptance of customs and daily life, and people are gradually unveiling the mystery of the Western Regions, so as to realize a more real and realistic Western Regions. The more I understand, the more and more objects in the Western Regions are represented in my works, and the more and more real they are; On the other hand, through the description of the literati, more people recognized this place in the Western Regions, so that the people at that time also had a more direct and in-depth understanding of the Western Regions in the scope and degree of psychological acceptance.
Second, the clouds are like cattle, sheep and sheep are like cattle: the customs and customs of the Western Regions are immersed in Han Dynasty literature
"Natural History Volume No. 6" recorded: "Zhang Qian returned the Western Regions, but obtained walnut seeds. ”
The Western Regions are rich in property, which may not be comparable in quantity compared to the Han Dynasty, but in the eyes of the Han people, this is a magical place where reality and myth are intertwined, and the treasures and wonders here are enough to attract their attention and curiosity. Most of the things imported from the Western Regions were not available in the Central Plains at that time, especially some rare animals and plants, jade ornaments, spices, such as peacocks, tulips, pepper, alfalfa, rosemary spices, etc. were introduced to Middle-earth from the Western Regions at that time.
In addition to the peculiar properties of the Western Regions, there are also some dizzying magic tricks. This is also described to a certain extent in Han dynasty works. In particular, the hundred operas of the Han Dynasty were newly Westernized music and dance performances produced by combining the acrobatic art of the Western Regions and the traditional arts of the Central Plains after they were introduced into the Central Plains. The illusions introduced from the Western Regions to the Central Plains include "self-dismemberment", "easy ox and horse head", "self-binding and self-dissolution", "spitting fire" and so on.
The "Later Hanshu Xianyi Biography" recorded: "In the first year of Yongning, King Shan sent the envoy Yi Que Chaohe by the mediator, offering music and phantom people, able to change and spit fire, self-dismembering, easy to ox and horse head, and good at jumping pills, counting even thousands. ”
Han Dynasty Hundred Opera is a stage performance form that integrates magic and music and dance, "elephant man drumming", "naked snake", "easy fractal", "swallowing knife and spitting fire" are all performance forms that are more influenced by the Western Regions. In the pen of the literati of the Han Dynasty, we can see the grandeur of the performance at that time. Yang Xiong's "Feather Hunting Fu" mentions the "Swallowing Fire" performance, and Zhang Heng's annotations on "Manyan" and "Ichthyosaur" in "Xijing Fu" further highlight its strong exoticism.
The difference in character images in literary works is the most direct, and from the point of view of appearance, the people of the Western Regions and the Central Plains are very different. As the Han and the Western Regions became closer and closer, more and more Hu people came to Han. In the cities of Chang'an and Luoyang, there are many Hu people who came to Han to do business and study, and there are descriptions of characters in the Western Regions in Han Dynasty poetry novels, some of which are described in detail independently, and some are interspersed with overviews between various characters.
The "History of Dawan Lie" recorded: "All of them have deep eyes and many beards. ”
During the Han Dynasty, due to geographical distance and inconvenience of transportation, only a small number of people arrived in the Western Regions. There are many people who have not personally experienced the Western Regions, and it is through these people who have been to the Western Regions that people at that time can understand the customs and customs of the Western Regions, and can also outline the appearance and form of the characters of the Western Regions in their imagination. In the works of the literati at that time, there were such works that portrayed the appearance of characters in the Western Regions, such as Cai Yong's "Short Man Fu", which wrote that "the dwarf is short, after the servant".
These people from the Western Regions admired the culture of the Central Plains, gradually conformed to the customs of the Central Plains, and settled here. Although these people have adapted to the life in the Central Plains, their appearance has not changed much, and the works of the literati have also made people at that time understand the differences between the people of the Western Regions and the Han people more concretely, and there is a strong contrast.
Because of the remote area in the west and the harsh environment, Hudi has formed different habits from the Central Plains. Yang Xiong's "Changyang Fu" describes, "Next year, General Quahu people will have many animals and beasts... Among the birds and beasts, let the Hu people fight with their hands, take their own gains, and go to watch in person. "Judging from the description, this practice is very cruel, but from another angle, it contrasts with the might and courage of the Hu people. Such a Hu people, it is difficult for the Han people to get along with, and these behaviors are incompatible with the Han people, who are orthodox in Confucianism and abide by etiquette.
"Lanhai Fu" recorded: "Vermilion purple color rotten, pearl luminous." Song Qiao sits in the east order, and the queen mother is in the west box. ”
The legend about the Queen Mother of the West has been around for a long time, and its origin is in the Western Regions. The place where the Queen Mother of the West lived was constantly changing, but it should not be far from Han, outside the Yumen Pass, probably in the area of present-day Qinghai. The story of the Queen Mother of the West is widely circulated in the Middle Earth region, and as the content of the story increases, the image of the Queen Mother of the West is constantly changing. During the Han Dynasty, the idea of immortals and the worship of immortals were very popular, from the emperor to the people, especially during the reign of Emperor Wudi of Han, reaching unprecedented fanaticism.
As a representative of God, the Queen Mother of the West must have become an object of worship at that time. During this period, there were continuous activities to worship the Queen Mother of the West, and people regarded the Queen Mother of the West as a spiritual belief, pinning their hopes and blessings on her. It can be seen that the image of the Queen Mother of the West has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in the Han Dynasty, becoming the inner spiritual pillar of people, and it is getting closer and closer to the Han people in terms of image.
Third, the splendor of the Han Dynasty created by the strangeness of the Western Regions
Throughout the Han Dynasty vocabulary, poetry, prose, novels, Han Dynasty literature as a whole presents the style characteristics of "strange" and "maglious", among which Han Dynasty Lefu poetry because of the influence of Western Regions music, showing simple and tragic characteristics, these styles can not be formed by a unilateral factor, the background of cultural integration is the root of development, and the native culture of the Han Dynasty is the original soil that promotes the formation of these different styles.
Different from the mainstream cultural traditions inherent in the Han Dynasty, the Western Regions have been a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural region since ancient times. For a long period of time, the Western Regions have been in an important transportation hub position, an indispensable hub connecting Eastern and Western civilizations, and have made special contributions to the economic and cultural development and integration of China and the West.
The culture of the Western Regions is composed of a variety of cultures, and the integration of multiple cultures and different regions make it present a different style from the culture of Middle-earth, showing some things missing from the culture of the Han Dynasty. The novel world constructed by these different regions and national cultures became a new object and expression content in the creation of literati in the Han Dynasty, which to a certain extent promoted the formation of the literary style of the Han Dynasty based on "strange" and "Juli".
Some of the instruments used in Hanle Fu music come from the Western Regions, such as Xiao, Hujia, Qiang Di, Pipa, Qiang, Qiang, etc., most of these instruments have a low timbre and a sense of tragedy and desolation, which is also the unique style of Hudi musical instruments. Most of the tone of Lefu poems is mainly based on "sadness", "feeling sorrow, and arising from events", and the two have similarities. Its unique musical style characteristics are greatly related to the creative style of Han Dynasty miscellaneous poems and Biansai poems.
Artifacts account for a large proportion in the culture of the Western Regions, and to a certain extent, they are also a reflection of the characteristics of the culture of the Western Regions. The culture of the Western Regions is the crystallization of cultural exchanges between China and the West, and there are many unsolved historical mysteries, which makes mystery its biggest feature. Along with the mystery comes people's great curiosity, which is enough to show that it is different from the traditional culture of the time, and this difference is often different in literary expression.
In the literary works of the Han Dynasty, these characteristics in the literati processing and creation, because of the incomplete understanding of the thing itself, the creation may have obvious misunderstanding, exaggeration, fiction, imagination color, invisibly exaggerated its original characteristics, the characteristics of the thing itself is infinitely amplified, so the characteristics of "magic, luxury, interesting" can be regarded as the characteristics of the Western Regions culture, or the literati can indirectly affect the style characteristics of literary works by describing the things in the Western Regions in their works.
In Han Dynasty literature, the acceptance and re-creation of the culture of the Western Regions by literati is an important factor in the presentation of the culture of the Western Regions in their works. Han dynasty literature is biased towards strange, even bizarre styles, which are manifested by poets in their works. The more unreal and uncertain, the greater the creative space left for creators, and the Western Regions culture itself is like this, it is difficult for people to recognize its full picture, which is also an important reason for people to boldly imagine and blur it.
epilogue
The Western Regions and the Han Dynasty are in the same historical river, their exchanges and collisions are not accidental, the background of the era has given them an open platform, cultural exchanges and integration have promoted a lot of resonance between the two sides. Literature and culture are closely related, the trend of culture in an era often affects the development of literature, literature often becomes a recorder of the era, Han Dynasty literature is a specimen of the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions.
From the diversity of creative materials, characters and content, the landforms, products, tricks, myths, etc. of the Western Regions are intuitively reflected in literary works, and these images do not need to be processed or described literally, making the literary works of the Central Plains present an exotic style.
The mysterious land of the Western Regions provides a broader creative space for the literati, enhances the imaginative creativity of the literati to a certain extent, and strengthens the extravagant and exaggerated style of the literati, which directly affects the style characteristics and artistic characteristics of Han Dynasty literature, so it can be considered that the Western Regions culture is an important factor in forming the literary style characteristics of the Han Dynasty dominated by "strange" and "beautiful".
Bibliography:
[1] Sima Qian. "Chronicle".
[2] Bangu. Book of Han.
[3] FAN Ye. Book of the Later Han.