Form, Dissemination, and Cross-Cultural Interaction of “Hu-Figure” Lamps in the Han Dynasty

OUYANG Xiaohong

Lamps depicting “Hu” figures, a historical Chinese term for foreigners, from the Han dynasty, serve as significant material evidence of cross-cultural interaction between ancient China and the external world. Their forms and distribution patterns mirror processes of cultural exchange related to the Maritime Silk Road. This study focuses on pottery figurative lampstands and bronze hanging lamps modelled on Hu figures, excavated in Lingnan and Hunan. The analysis addresses three aspects: morphological development, dissemination routes, and cultural significance. Regarding their form, these lamps integrate the technical heritage of anthropomorphic lamps from the Central Plains with the visual depiction of foreign Hu figures. This results in unique designs in which servant-like figures support the lamp body or assume prone postures that serve as oil reservoirs. Such forms exemplify a synthesis of technological traditions from the Central Plains, regional aesthetic preferences in Lingnan, and foreign-influenced elements. Guangzhou appears to have served as the principal hub. From this center, these objects propagated along the Xijiang River system and maritime routes throughout the Lingnan region and were subsequently transmitted northward via the Shaoguan–Chenzhou corridor into southern Hunan, thereby exerting an indirect influence on the southwestern regions. This pattern delineates a hierarchical structure characterized by a “core area–diffusion zone–peripheral zone.” The emergence and development of Hu-figure lamps consequently serve as tangible evidence for population mobility, technological dissemination, and cultural interaction related to the Maritime Silk Road during the Han dynasty, providing a valuable micro-cultural perspective for comprehending early Sino-foreign cultural exchanges.