| Predecessors have achieved relevant research achievements in distribution,plantation,use and so forth of forests in Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties.However,some problems are still unsettled at present.In combination with excavated literatures,archaeological materials and handed-down documents in Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties,the paper researches distribution and changes of natural forests,development of manual forestation,setting of forestry officials,establishment of shrine trees,worship for shrine trees,forest application in life as well as other aspects during this period.Investigated contents involve fields such as natural history,historical geography,history of science and technology,history of political systems,history of ideas and social history during Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties.sporopollen,archaeology and historical documents show that during the Qin and Han dynasty,the forest in northern had a wide distribution with a wide range.After the Spring and Autumn period,most area of north had the temperature fluctuation.The varieties of trees and construction had changed.From the Spring and Autumn period to the Eastern Han Dynasty,in the north China region,affected by the cool temperature,the rate of coniferous forest in tree had increased and the rate of broadleaved deciduous forest had reduced.At the same time,the distribution range of forest become smaller;the broad leaf tree and the coniferous trees had the growth and decline;the loess plateau has no plant.The vegetation in river valley and hilly area is mainly the broad leaf trees.In the north-west steppe and desert regions,with the gradual exsiccation of climate,the cover range of drought-enduring vegetation cover is increased and the arbor vegetation is reduced.South China was in a climate state of warmth and moisture and evergreen species liking warmth were widely distributed and occupied a main position in the proportion of woody vegetation before the Spring and Autumn Period.After the Spring and Autumn Period,air temperature in most areas of south China fluctuated to some extent and the structure of tree species also changed accordingly.From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Eastern Han Dynasty,the number of evergreen forests gradually decreased in Yunnan and Guizhou regions under the influence of cool climate and the number of coniferous forests slightly increased in some areas.Air temperature in Sichuan region dropped to a certain extent only in the early Spring and Autumn Period,gradually got warm soon afterwards and tended to be stable.Evergreen and deciduous forests liking moisture and warmth increased in number and became local main tree species.Affected by a drop in temperature after the megathermal period,the distribution of widely-distributed mountainous vegetation in Yunnan,Guizhou and Sichuan regions decreased to a certain degree.The Pearl River Delta region had a warm and moist climate.in the Pre-Qin Period,where South Asian tropical evergreen species were main vegetation.From the Qin Dynasty to the middle of the Eastern Han Dynasty,air temperature in the area slightly dropped and South Asian tropical and tropical tree species tended to disappear.To the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty,air temperature in the area rose and the number of tropical evergreen species also increased accordingly.In the Eastern Han Dynasty,air temperature in Guangxi region dropped a little and the number of coniferous forests increased accordingly.In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,the climate fluctuated wildly and mixed forest including evergreen broad-leaved forest,coniferous forest and broad-leaved forest alternated usually..Besides the climate factor,the human activities are also affecting the changes of natural vegetation.Affected by the economy,politics and military during Qin and Han dynasty,expect the conservation of natural vegetation in northern China region,forest in other northern area are damaged seriously.With the exploitation of South China by the central government in the Qin and Han Dynasties,natural forests in Yunnan,Guizhou,Sichuan,Lingnan,the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River had been destroyed to some degree.However,it was difficult to exploit natural forests on a large scale in the long term due to still sparse population and relatively backward productivity level in most south regions at that time.As a result,destruction degree was limited.In addition,South China had a warm and moist climate which was suitable for the growth of arbor vegetation and in which forests could usually regrow quickly.Natural forests in South China were well preserved in the Qin and Han Dynasties due to the characteristics of little destruction and quick recoveryProduction technologies developed quickly during Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties.Production technologies of forests involve cultivation,felling,transportation,etc.During this period,people summarized phenology,and growth habits of various tree varieties and further improved cultivation technologies of forests on this basis.At that time,people were already able to determine rational plantation time and planting sites according to features of different tree varieties.Except for forest sowing and plantation,people already began cultivating trees through vegetative propagation technologies such as cuttage and grafting.After fixed plantation,people of that time also proposed strict and meticulous requirements for forest protection work such as soil moisture preservation,frost damage,prevention and control of disease and pest harm and pruning.Under gradual maturity of forest plantation technologies,a lot of artificial forests were planted in resident vicinities,private parks,royal animal farms,roadside areas and military areas at that time.Selection of tree varieties in different areas was influenced by many factors of that time,involving politics,economy and culture.In addition,with widespread use of ironware in Qin and Han Dynasties,felling efficiency of forests was also increased.Opportunity selection of forest felling needs to consider various factors such as timber quality,national policies,folk customs and taboos.After felling,forests were mainly transported via water transport manners.In addition,during this period,the forest transactions between authorities and individual were commonly seen.No specialized forestry administrations were set in Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties.Related forestry affairs were under concurrent charge of officials from different departments.During the Yin-Shang Dynasty,officials responsible for agriculture,hunting and handicraft management involved forestry management,but division of forest management rights of officials in different departments was not confirmed at that time.During Zhou Dynasty,there were more diversified officials for forest administration,with their functions more explicitly divided.During the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period,the vassal states all designated officials for forest administration.Specifically,the officials could be divided into four categories in line with their functions,including forests and waters,royal park,tree planting and wood usage.In Qin Vassal States,the forests were administrated by"wuren" and "shaofu(young mansion)".As the six vassal states were united into one nation,the functions of "wuren" were weakened gradually,tree planting and products were mostly administrated by " shaofu(young mansion)",and the gains from mountains and waters belonged to the royal family.From Qin to Western Han,forests and waters were administrated by "shaofu(young mansion)" and" muguan(official of woods)" designated by the central government.The products gained from forests and waters belonged to the royal families and feudatory kings.In Eastern Han,forests and waters as well as products therefrom were administrated by local governments.The royal park was administrated by " shaofu(young mansion)"and "shuihengduwei" respectively,with "yuancheng(park clerk)" and "jinpu(gardener)",etc.subordinated to them to administrate the forests in the park.At that time,local governments mainly took charge of tree planting in local areas,while the trees in palaces and mausoleums were taken charge by " jiangzuodajiang(architect of the imperial palaces)".In addition,"jiangzuodajiang(architect of the imperial palaces)"," sikong(minister of public works)"as well as the officials for craft in both central and local governments mainly administrated tree cutting and wood usage.Trees were closely associated with shrines since the ancient times,not exceptional for Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynasties.It is shown in archaeological and document literatures that shrines of ancient times were established in jungles,and jungle shrines gradually developed into a tradition as time went by.Till the Yin-Shang Dynasty,it already played an important role in national sacrificial rites offered to land.Till the Zhou Dynasty,the case changed.As required by etiquette systems at that time,size,shape,structure and setting sites of shrines of different classes were limited.Under this case,jungle shrines could not satisfy requirements of etiquette systems any more.Its position was brought down.Man-made tree shrines emerged after that.However,due to traditional inertia,jungle shrines still played an important role in West Zhou Dynasty.In the Qin and Han Dynasties,reasons for people to establish shrines were not completed correlated with religious aspects.Most often,they deemed shrines as symbols of lands and regimes.Under this situation,governors proposed strict and meticulous requirements for scale,shape and structure of shrines established by official organizations.Hence,during this period,the "jungle shrine" did not belong to the official sacrifice system,while its position was far worse than before.Meanwhile,influenced by concepts such as contemporary people’s worship for tree gods and reproduction,"tree shrines" gradually became the major form of "shrines".Features such as powerful vitality and fecundity of trees were the major reasons for wide formation of tree shrines.During Pre-Qin and Two Han Dynastibs,timbers had been widely used in people’s production and life.Buildings and funerary utensils were large consumers of timber.Timber was used more and more generally in musical instruments as well.With regard to buildings,wooden structures with mortise and tenon joint appeared as early as the ancient times.Till Xia,Shang and Zhou Dynasties,the timber architecture technology further developed,while the structure of "big forking hand"appeared.During the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period,stability of beam frames and wood pillars was further enhanced,while a composite beam form with combination of two-truss beams might appear as well.Further perfection of technologies laid a foundation for large-scale emergence of palace buildings during this period.Till Han Dynasty,wooden buildings in high-platform loft form prevailed,reflecting that carpentry work technologies of Han Dynasty buildings already achieved progress in comparison with previous dynasties.Selecting timber as the construction material in ancient China might be attributed to timber features such as easy transportation,high stability,easy repair and replacement,etc.With regard to musical instruments,bass drums in ancient times were mainly made of wood.However,due to the poor tone quality,they were replaced by copper drums in later ages.Side drums made of wood were still used,but they were only taken as the auxiliary musical instrument for bass drums.Etiquette musical instruments commonly used in West Zhou Dynasty and later generations-" Chu" and "Yu"were mainly made of wood.Both of them were used at beginning and ending of music playing.In addition,string instruments such as Zhu,Qin and Se gradually prevailed in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.Due to the unsatisfactory cohesion technologies at that time,they were mainly made through hacking of a single piece of wood.Because of the excellent music tone,they gradually became the mainstream musical instruments in Qin and Han Dynasties.Wood was not used at earlier formation stage of funerary utensils and coffins.Till middle and later periods of the Neolithic Age,wood coffins were gradually generalized,becoming a symbol of status and position.Along with generation of outer coffins,use of wood funerary utensils gradually became a system.Use of wood varieties also had class restrictions.Till the West Han Dynasty,forms such as Huangchangticou appeared,symbolizing the use scale peak of inner and outer wood coffins.However,due to serious forest damage at that time,the system of inner and outer coffins declined till the East Han Dynasties.Outer wood coffins were gradually replaced by outer stone coffins,but the custom of wood coffin use was still continued.Timber plays a more and more necessary role in people’s life. |
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