78 t He Han Dy na s t y
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To the north 其北則 (qí bĕi zé)
In full summer it is enveloped in freezing cold that
cleaves the ground; 盛夏含凍裂地 (shèng xià hán dòng liè dì)
One lifts his skirt to cross the iced-over streams. 涉冰揭河 (shè bīng jiē hé)
The park is so large:Look at it, and it has no beginning; 視之無端 (shì zhī wú duān)
Examine it, and it has no end. 察之無涯 (chá zhī wú yá)
The sun rises from its eastern pond, 日出東沼 (rì chū dōng zhăo)
Sets at its western dike. 入虖西陂 (rù hū xī bēi)The effect of these exaggerations is to demonstrate that the park and the Han
emperor occupy the center of the cosmos, and that everything radiates from the
seat of imperial power. Thus Shanglin Park, in effect, stands pars pro toto for the
empire at large, and the panoply of rare and exotic objects that are contained in it
are representations of the profusion of marvelous things that exist within the Han
cultural sphere. As such, they evoke associations with the magnificence and might
of the Han empire. Although Sima Xiangru’s rhapsody contains warnings to Em-
peror Wu about the folly of ostentation and extravagance, they are secondary to his
lavish and flattering portrayal of the institution and person of the emperor.
Another important feature of the fu is the quality known as pu or puchen. During
the Han period, the word fu was often explained with homophones that basically
have the same meaning, “to spread out” or “to display”: fu (phjah), bu (pak), and pu
(phjuoh). During the Six Dynasties period, literary critics began identifying “dis-
play” as a defining feature of the fu genre. For example, Zhi Yu (d. 211) said that
“fu is a term meaning ‘display,’” and fu is “a means by which the writer devises
images and exploits language to the utmost to display his intent.”27 Liu Xie, in the
Wenxin diaolong (The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons), makes “display”
an essential stylistic feature of fu composition: “Fu means to display: to display
ornament and exhibit refinement, to give form to an object and express intent.”28
This display quality of the fu I term “epideictic.” The word “epideictic” is derived
from the Greek word meaning “display,” and thus it is a good parallel with the Chi-
nese terms pu and puchen. In the Han fu, the epideictic style is characterized by
extensive cataloging, use of polysyllabic descriptive expressions, and repetition of
synonyms. The following passage, which describes the rivers in the park, is a good
example of the epideictic style:Soaring and leaping, surging and swelling, 洶湧彭湃 (hjang-rjang phrang-phrat)
Spurting and spouting, rushing and racing, 滭弗宓汩 (pjət-pjəi mjət-g jwət)
Pressing and pushing, clashing and colliding, 偪側泌瀄 (pjək-tsrjək pjət-tsrət)
Flowing uncontrolled, bending back, 橫流逆折 (grwang liəhw njiak tsjat)
Wheeling and rearing, beating and battering, 轉騰潎洌 (trjwan dəng pjat-ljat)