Abstract as per original application
(English/Chinese): |
Texts and images are commonly found on ancient ritual objects. These ritual objects, whether made of bronze, jade, lacquer, ceramic, or textile, frequently bear decorative motifs or pictorial images on the surface. Inscriptions or texts are somewhat less prevalent. Apart from the inscriptions on bronzes of the Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou periods, texts or words on ancient ritual objects tend to be subordinate to the images, or are there to provide information related to their manufacture. Interestingly though, during the Eastern Han period, some inscriptions or texts on a wide range of ritual objects appeared as separate motifs, or took on a more important role by being placed in a central position on the objects. The project aims to look into the under-researched aspect of these changes of function of texts on ritual objects during the Han times. An extensive survey of archaeological reports, collections and archives in different museums and institutes will develop a comprehensive database of the relevant objects and text records to lay a foundation for the study. In addition, this research will also carefully study the content and the way the texts are displayed on different types of ritual object of the Han period. It will also investigate the provenance of the texts by comparing them with different common textual materials of the same period.
By studying archaeological material and historical texts, and adopting the interdisciplinary approach of art historical stylistic analyses and contextual material studies, this research will examine how the role of texts on ritual objects developed, and the changes in the relationship between texts and images on these objects during the Han era, particularly in the burial context. Furthermore, the factors driving the changes will be explored. This may provide insight into the contemporaneous belief in the afterlife, as well as perceptions of immortality.
文字與圖像都可見於古代禮器上。在不同的古代禮器，不論是青銅器、玉器、漆器、陶器、或是紡織品，都常帶有圖像紋飾，而帶刻文或文字則相對較少。除了西周和東周青銅器上的銘文，古代禮器上的文字多作為圖像紋飾的輔助，或作為器物的製作紀錄。及至東漢時期，情況有所轉變，部分禮器上的銘文或文字多不再依附圖像紋飾，而是單獨的出現。而且，這些刻文或文字都出現在較當眼或更重要的中央位置，這些變化似乎顯示禮器上的文字帶有更重要的功能或意義。此研究將透過整理不同的考古材料和歷史文獻，並採用藝術史風格分析和跨學科的研究方法，探討漢代禮器上的文字及其內容、功能和展示方式的發展，以至文字與圖像之間的關係變化。此外，本研究亦希望能了解促使這些變化的因素，以理解時人的死後信仰與長生觀念。
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