An Introduction to Ancient Chinese Stone Carvings

赵超Zhonghua Book Company · ChinaOct 2019

Rating 4.2
Word count
1.4M words
Chapters
62
ISBN
9787101139310

Tags

History Books Rubbing AuthenticationArchaeologyStone Carving ArtInscriptionsEpigraphyAcademic MonographTextual InterpretationArchaeological CatalogTextual CriticismAncient Remains

Summary

This book provides an overview of the types and evolution of ancient Chinese stone carvings, their extant and discovered circumstances, the history of research on stone carvings across dynasties, and common formats of stone inscriptions. It summarizes how stone inscriptions should be interpreted and how stone carvings and their rubbings should be authenticated, making it a foundational work for a comprehensive and systematic understanding of ancient Chinese stone carvings. Originally published by the Cultural Relics Press in 1997, this edition is a revised and expanded version, with more than double the content and over 200 additional illustrations inserted in the text, enhancing readability and visual immediacy.

Editor's review

Zhao Chao's Introduction to Ancient Chinese Stone Carvings is a systematic, introductory work carefully written for academia and enthusiasts of traditional culture, drawing on the author's decades of research on stone carvings. Published by Zhonghua Book Company in accordance with its consistent rigorous academic standards, the book not only comprehensively surveys the development of ancient Chinese stone carvings but also deeply analyzes their multifaceted value as important material cultural heritage. In the editor's view, the book's most notable value lies in presenting specialized knowledge within a clear, systematic framework: it can serve as an introductory guide for researchers while also meeting the needs of advanced readers seeking deeper understanding. The discussion of stone carving forms, inscription content, calligraphic art, historical value, and preservation status reflects the author's broad scholarly vision and meticulous textual research. Compared with similar works, this book is particularly attentive to its positioning as an 'introduction,' avoiding overly fragmented textual criticism and instead striving to construct a cognitive framework for understanding ancient Chinese stone carving culture. Reading this book, readers will move beyond isolated appreciation of individual stone carvings to grasp the profound historical, institutional, intellectual, and artistic contexts behind them—an irreplaceably illuminating endeavor for rediscovering and engaging with traditional epigraphy in the digital age.

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Reading tips

  1. It is recommended to first read the table of contents and introduction to grasp the book's structure and core issues, then choose chapters of interest for deeper reading.
  2. While reading, relate the content to well-known examples of stone carvings (such as the Longmen votive inscriptions and Tang stelae) to deepen understanding.
  3. For sections involving specialized terminology and institutions, readers may slow their pace appropriately and use the references in the appendix for further study.

About the publisher

Zhonghua Book Company China · Founded in 1912

Zhonghua Book Company is a publisher known for collating ancient texts and academic publishing, with its output centered on Eastern philosophy, culture, classic works, art, and historical reading. Its library contains 532 titles, including Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, Guo Qingfan's Collected Commentaries on Zhuangzi, the four-volume Chinese Literature: Four Great Classical Novels, and the two-volume Table of Seal and Clerical Script Forms from Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin. These titles span historical classics, commentaries on the philosophers, classical novels, and philological reference works. Representative authors include Chen Shou, Guo Qingfan, Wu Cheng'en, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Luo Guanzhong, Xu Wenwu, and the Hanyu Dazidian character-form group, reflecting a focus on primary sources and scholarly editors. Its publishing character lies in combining authoritative editions and annotated texts with both accessible classics and specialized research. Public information on its fuller catalog is limited; this note describes only the directions evident in the library's holdings.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 初版前言
  3. 引言
  4. 第一章 中国古代石刻的主要类型及其演变
  5. 第一节 器物附属刻铭
  6. 一、舍利函铭
  7. 二、石棺刻铭
  8. 三、石屏风与石床题铭
  9. 第二节 建筑物附属刻铭
  10. 一、石阙
  11. 二、神道柱
  12. 三、黄肠石
  13. 四、石柱与柱础
  14. 五、经幢与墓幢
  15. 六、塔与石浮图
  16. 第三节 艺术雕刻附属刻铭
  17. 一、画像石
  18. 二、造像题记
  19. 第四节 专用文字石刻
  20. 一、刻石和碣
  21. 二、摩崖
  22. 三、碑
  23. 四、墓志
  24. 五、经版及各种佛教刻经
  25. 六、买地券与镇墓券、镇墓石
  26. 第二章 中国古代石刻的存留与发现
  27. 第一节 先秦石刻
  28. 第二节 秦代与西汉的石刻
  29. 第三节 东汉石刻
  30. 第四节 魏晋南北朝石刻
  31. 第五节 隋唐石刻
  32. 第六节 五代宋辽金元及明清石刻
  33. 第三章 历代的石刻研究情况
  34. 第一节 汉代至清末的石刻研究
  35. 第二节 20世纪初至20世纪70年代的石刻研究
  36. 第三节 20世纪80年代以来的石刻研究
  37. 第四章 石刻铭文的释读与常见体例
  38. 第一节 石刻文字的书体
  39. 第二节 释读石刻文字的基础——古文字学
  40. 第三节 汉唐之间异体字的流行状况
  41. 第四节 石刻异体字演变的基本规律
  42. 第五节 石刻文字的常用释读方法
  43. 一、根据其他文字材料及字书释字
  44. 二、根据铭文本身前后语义释字
  45. 三、根据古代文献记载释字
  46. 四、利用古代文史典故知识释字
  47. 五、利用地名、官名以及具有时代特征的姓、名、字号等体例特点确认异体字
  48. 六、结合石刻铭文本身的常见格式与体例等特征来释读文字
  49. 第六节 石刻铭文中常见的基本文体写作体例
  50. 第七节 碑志中涉及的古人世系、记时方式与用典
  51. 一、关于姓氏族系
  52. 二、关于记时
  53. 三、石刻中常见的文史典故
  54. 第五章 石刻及其拓本的辨伪鉴定与编目整理
  55. 第一节 辨伪与断代
  56. 第二节 石刻拓本的鉴定
  57. 第三节 石刻与拓本的编目整理
  58. 第四节 附录
  59. （附录一）新旧伪造各代石刻 马子云（摘自氏著《碑帖鉴定浅说》）
  60. （附录二）《八琼室金石祛伪》所收伪石刻目录 陆增祥
  61. （附录三）《汉魏南北朝墓志汇编》附伪志（包括疑伪者）目录
  62. 增订本后记

FAQ

What is this book's Douban rating? According to available information, the book has received high praise on the Douban Reading platform, with a rating above 8.5; readers generally recognize its academic authority and systematic content.
Can I understand this book without a background in archaeology? Yes. The author took general readers into account when writing: the language is clear, with emphasis on outlining developments and explaining concepts. A basic knowledge of history and culture is sufficient to read most of the content smoothly, and specialized chapters can be read selectively in depth.
How does this book differ from popular works such as A History of Stone Carvings? This book is positioned as an 'introduction,' focusing more on building a disciplinary knowledge system and introducing research methods. It is more systematic and theoretical, aiming to give readers a solid cognitive foundation rather than merely telling stories about stone carvings.

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About the author

赵超 Author

Zhao Chao is a Chinese author whose works span a notably wide range of subjects. Public information about him is limited, and his biography, nationality, and dates of birth and death cannot be confirmed. Judging from the four works held in the collection, he is involved both in the study of ancient Chinese stone inscriptions and epigraphy, as the author of An Introduction to Ancient Chinese Stone Inscriptions and In Memory of the Ancients: Studies in Ancient Inscriptions and Historical Archaeology, and in popular science and medical writing, including The Wonderful Hydrogen Chat: Clinical Records and its second edition. The former addresses readers interested in history and archaeology by outlining the basics of stone inscription materials, while the latter presents hydrogen-related topics in the form of clinical records with a popular-science flavor. Although these two lines of writing differ markedly, both show an emphasis on materials and a preference for records and overviews. Because background information about the author is lacking, his academic identity and the division of his writing roles remain difficult to establish, and readers may look to the works above to understand his areas of interest.