76 t He Han Dy na s t y
elaborate spectacles, including hunts, military reviews, pageants, and ceremonies.
Most of these events were celebrated in verse, and the favored verse form was the
fu. In all these activities, one can see a common aesthetic, what I have termed
“beauty of the large.” The first occurrence of this term is in “Fu on the Imperial
Park.” At the beginning of the piece, Lord No-such lectures the representatives
from Chu and Qi for failing to discuss the proper duties of ruler and subject and
to admonish their lords for their dissolute behavior. He then asks them: “Have you
not seen the beauty of the large? Have you not heard of the Imperial Park of the
Son of Heaven?”
The term that is translated as “beauty of the large” is ju li. The second part of the
expression is the word li, which literally means “beauty,” but also implies the idea
of brilliance, splendor, and display. The word ju, which I have translated as “large,”
actually describes a size greater than simply “large.” In describing people, it means
a person who is larger than ordinary persons—that is, a giant. In his use of ju,
Sima Xiangru perhaps wished to convey the idea that the beauty of the imperial
park is something grander and larger than that of other royal parks. In this sense,
ju means “monumental” or “colossal.” One could also translate ju li as “monumen-
tal beauty” or “colossal beauty.”
The aesthetic of the large is clearly reflected in the courtly fu of the Emperor
Wu period. In “Fu on the Imperial Park,” Sima Xiangru presents an elaborate
description of the imperial park and the spectacles that take place there. Sima
Xiangru portrays the imperial park as a locus of imperial prestige and majesty.
He praises the park and the activities that take place there as a way of celebrating
imperial splendor and power. The purpose of the catalogs of rare creatures and
luxury goods that he includes in his fu was to provide concrete evidence of the
Han court’s power and prestige. The park also was the major center for conducting
military reviews and maneuvers. The grand structures of the park, and the military
parades and hunts staged there, served to impress visitors, particularly those from
foreign places, with the might and magnificence of the Han imperium.
The aesthetic that informs the catalogs of “Fu on the Imperial Park” is that
of fullness, all-inclusiveness, abundance, and amplitude. The Han fu poets rep-
licated in their fu the desire of the Han imperial court to fill the park with as
many things—precious objects, animals, birds, plants—as possible. This tendency
to celebrate plenitude is reflected in the following passage from the Later Han fu
writer Zhang Heng (78–139), who says that the plants, animals, and birds in the
park were so numerous that they could not all be counted:Plants here did grow;
Animals here did rest.
Flocks of birds fluttered about;
Herds of beasts galloped and raced.
They scattered like startled waves,
Gathered like tall islands in the sea.
Bo Yi would have been unable to name them all;