The Development of the Grand Fu in the Western Han Dynasty and the Changes of the Imperial Power
During the Emperor Wen and Jing's period of Western Han Dynasty,creators of Fu,or ode,were mostly concentrat-ed by the vassal kings to highlight their powerful strength.After Emperor Wudi of Han concentrated the feudal power into his hand,he recruited all the ode writers into his palace,demanding them to create grand Fu,or prolonged odes,to celebrate and demonstrate his imperial authority.He also used the Fu writers as his agent pacifying the regional vassals,to achieve his goal of enhancing the imperial power of the central government through literary penetration.Upon the reign of Emperor Xuandi of Han,grand odes had become a special style of tribute articles exclusively used for the emperors.However,Emperor Chengdi of Han,given the disorder of his harem and his disturbing policies,gradually lost his prestige,and his imperial power also began to de-cline.Grand odes written during this time were mostly themed on satirical admonitions.When Wang Mang usurped the throne to-ward the end of the Western Han,grand Fu,having lost its political function,became a personal creation.This reflects that the development of the grand Fu during the Western Han Dynasty was closely related to the changes of the imperial power at the time.
Western Han Dynastygrand Fuimperial powerJia YiSima XiangruYang Xiong
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