在中國文學史上，個體意識的自覺萌生於《楚辭》中屈、宋諸作；爰及兩漢，則進而滋長茁壯，並且為中國文學以抒情為主流的傳統鋪上先路。 漢代文學作者，身處儒術獨尊的時代，面對重視群體綱紀的環境，卻能擺脫政教倫理的束縛，放情高歌，直抒己情，流露對個體生命的關懷，對個人生命意義的體味，以及對個體人格獨立的尊重。強調的往往是個人生命價值的實現，重視的是一己情懷志趣的表達。 本文即是以現存漢代楚歌、辭賦、樂府、古詩諸不同類型作品為例，論證漢代文學作品中個體意識的自覺，不僅是個別作家的表現，也是有漢一代文學的整體傾向。

In terms of Chinese literary history, the individual’s self-awareness first budded in the works of Chuci 楚辭 and then grew to flourish in the literature of the Han dynasty. Han writers, while living in a period that stressed the collective, began to assume new ways of looking at the wor1d and even themselves. Naturally, they continued to describe their ties with the political regime and their subservient relation to the sovereign. At the same time, though, they became more and more concerned with expressing their personal feelings in the face of life’s joys and sorrows. This essay critically examines Han literary works in order to show that the individual’s self-awareness is not confined to the works of certain writers of the time, but rather was a general trend in the literature of the Han dynasty.