Collected Rubbings of Stamped Bricks with Inscriptions

Qin dynasty (221�207 b.c.e.) through Six Dynasties period (222�589), variously dated and undated pieces

Album of 28 leaves from a set of 7 albums, ink rubbed on paper; each leaf: approx. 35.0 x 23.0 cm; dimensions of individual rubbings vary; rough-edged binding

Date of rubbings not given, late Qing dynasty (1644�1911), ca. second half of 19th century

Inventory number: Shanta 135

The earliest bricks with inscriptions appeared during the Warring States period (ca. 470�221 b.c.e.).� Initially the majority of inscriptions on the bricks were stamped, with only a small number having been manually incised.� Because very few characters were used, as was the case with inscriptions on tiles and earthenware vessels from the same period, they were once all known as tao wen (inscriptions on earthenware).� After the reign of Emperor Wudi (r. 141-87 b.c.e.) of the Western Han (206 b.c.e.�C.E.9), the inscription contents on bricks became more and more rich; their formal appearance was also liberated from the constraints of the xi yin shi (carved-seal style) of earthenware inscriptions, allowing the establishment of a unique artistic manner.� In the Eastern Han period (206 b.c.e.�9 c.e.) bricks with inscriptions spread from the Shaanxi area to the North China Plain and the Jiangnan region.

Bricks with inscriptions not only provide scholars of history, archaelogy, epigraphy, and calligraphy with reliable and invaluable records but constitute a body of ancient inscribed sources as important as writings found on oracle bones, bronze vessels and instruments, carved seals, and stone surfaces.� This album of rubbings of bricks with inscriptions once belonged to the collector Chen Jieqi (1813�84).