Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 11, 2023

 

The Left-to-Right Writing Format in Tang Dynasty Stone Inscriptions

(Abstract)

 

Liu Qinli

 

It is evident that the left-to-right writing of these stone inscriptions have the following characteristics: first, they have a strong private and non-governmental character; the left-to-right format is rare for stone inscriptions inscribed in the name of the government. Second, they have a strong textual selectivity, with a relatively large number of different types of records including poetry and epitaphs using this format. Third, the influence of carvings on stone means that it is more common to find cliff carvings, cave wall inscriptions, attached carvings and epitaphs, whereas other forms of stone carvings are rare. During the Tang, this writing format gradually spread from religion to the secular realm and showed a territorial trajectory of a spread from the north to the south. The popularization and application of left-to-right writing in the Tang was closely related to the royal house, the literati and the bureaucrats, whose acceptance and use, together with officials’ territorial mobility, played an exemplary and driving role which broadened the scope of the space and textual use of this writing format. It was largely influenced by the writing format of Sanskrit Buddhist sutras, which shows a rich picture of the integration and mutual learning of Chinese and foreign cultures in the Tang dynasty.