Crafting the Divine Land: Han Que and the Construction of Spatial Sacredness in the Han Dynasty

This paper takes the Han Que (gate towers of the Han Dynasty) as its point of entry to meticulously examine the spatial sacralization practices and the construction of national identity during the Han period.Extensive textual and visual evidence reveals that for the people of the Han period,the Han Que embodied two distinct pathways: one was the earthly path leading to the distant imperial palace,symbolizing the route to wealth and honor through proximity to the sage emperor;the other was the celestial path in the realm of faith,representing the ascent to immortality in the heavenly court.These dual “paths to heaven” and twin “gates of the celestial realm” collectively express the Han people's aspirations and mindset regarding both earthly prosperity and posthumous immortality,revealing the intertwined and mutually reflective nature of these two dimensions.The ideological and spiritual significance of the Han Que was further emphasized and expanded in frontier regions where Chinese and non-Chinese cultures interacted,such as the southwest and northwest.There,they served a cultural strategy: proclaiming the virtues of the Han Dynasty,intimidating the surrounding tribes,and spreading the civilizing influence of the imperial rule across the world.The Han Que embody both material and textual attributes,unifying physical form with symbolic meaning.They are not merely ordinary landmarks erected within the Han realm but are understood and accepted as emblematic symbols of the Han Dynasty's unified “family” under heaven.Thus,they should be regarded as highly spiritualized political landscapes of the Han Dynasty.The spatial domain they delineate also possesses inherent sacredness,thereby becoming the Shenzhou (Divine Land) ruled by the sage-king.