Stone relievo and brick relievo are a form of sculpture that was popular in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). Stone relievo refers to pictures chiseled by knives into the surface of a stone. The chiseling techniques as well as the artistic style are not the same for stone relievo and brick relievo. People believed that the fresco could not be preserved for long, thus they chose to carve pictures on stones and bricks to ensure the eternity of spirit. Before the Han Dynasty, people seldom produce stone relievo or brick relievo. However, during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-23AD), putting a large number of burial articles in tombs was quite popular for it was believed that in this way the dead could be immortal and enjoy all that he or she had before death. Under the climate of elaborate funeral, stone relievo and brick relievo appeared.

Different from the Greek Sculpture-in-the-round, the technique of Chinese stone relievo of the Han Dynasty mainly used the two techniques of intaglio and shallow relievo. Intaglio means to chisel the designs on polished stone surface, while shallow relievo means to carve out figures from the rough stone surface. Lines are always used as the framework of the stone relieves of the Han Dynasty. According to the natural shape, especially the quality of stones, sculptors endowed them with new life. This special artistic style manifests the mentality of the feudal dynasties. The aesthetic ideality and perspective well reveal people's ideology and taste. Their shapes of primitive simplicity give people a deep impression and esthetical feeling. Chinese stone relievo of the Han Dynasty fully represents the achievement of Chinese ancient sculpture, and becomes the proof of Chinese culture, which is of long standing.

Brick relievo was mainly used as decoration of constructions in ancient China. From the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty (221BC-23AD), many were used for decorating the base of the palace; after the mid-Western Han Dynasty, they were mainly used to decorate the walls of graves. The art of brick relievo reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). The techniques were mainly chiseling and moulding, with the shapes of big hollow brick and flat solid brick. Relievo of Hollow Brick with Designs of Housecarls, Feast and Hunting unearthed in Lintong City of Shaanxi Province, is the representative work of molded hollow brick relievo of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). As to brick relievo of the Western Han Dynasty, those found in Luoyang City of Henan Province are the most vivid. Brick relievos of the Eastern Han Dynasty were mostly found in Henan and Sichuan provinces, for instance, brick relievos unearthed in Chengdu City of Sichuan Province, represented by Shooting and Harvest, are molded with integrate composition, most content of which is real scenes of life.