The Han dynasty was steeped in mythology, with popular and imaginative themes such as the legendary tale of how Wen Wang, the Zhou king, met with the Goddess of the West. These were often recorded in picture form, and famous engravers carved images from such stories onto tile and stone, using a dynamic, flowing style that continues to serve as inspiration for painters and sculptors to this day.
漢代的神仙境界朝氣蓬勃，求仙思想創造出許多想像豐富的神話，周文王與西王母相遇的故事成為最熱門的傳說與圖像，當時許多知名的雕刻家在漢磚、畫像石上留下了流動與多變的線條。