The Late Han Dynasty Inscription

By studying the inscriptions on the tablet dating from147A.D (when Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han dynasty) to 205 A.D (when CaoCao ordered to ban the practice of writing tablet inscriptions), this paper probes into the ups and downs of the inscriptions in the late Han dynasty in an attempt to lay bare the organic relations between the evolution of literary styles and social systems, social conventions as well as cultural conceptions. Meanwhile, equal attention is paid to the biographical comments on individuals prevailing in the late Han dynasty, so as to trace the changing value conceptions of the scholars.Chapter One discusses the emergence of inscriptions on the tablet. The paper traces the inscriptions back to the origin, analyses the causes behind as well as the literary situations and cultural significance prior to Emperor Huan. It also discusses the ties between the inscriptions and the filial culture of that time.Chapter Two expounds the thriving and changing of inscriptions. This paper argues that the popularity of"pure talks"plays a key role in promoting the prosperity of inscriptions around the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. Due to various social changes, the inscription writing fell apart in style. One school followed the practice before Emperor Huan, which featured descendents of the dead erecting tablets to pay just their tribute. The other, however, grew and predominated. They were inscriptions contributed by the students, friends, colleagues and comrades of the dead to show the value conceptions of their class as well as to praise him. They were also meant to help recover the moral standards of Confucianism, reflecting the loyalty of clique and the spontaneity of scholars. Besides, as an important part of biographical comments on individuals living in the late Han dynasty, the inscriptions are studied from this point of view.Chapter Three discusses the decline of inscriptions. There were a very small number of inscriptions written during the period from the end of Emperor Ling'reign to the 10th year of Jianan (205A.D). At the same time, the mainstream inscriptions continued to be dominant with some new characteristics appearing. The discussion in this chapter focuses on discovering the reasons for the decline of the inscriptions. Because of the policy made by some emperors and eunuchs to debar scholars from holding office, scholars, for the sake of their own safety, began to shift from"pure talks"to"pure conversations", thus losing the foundation of fostering moral role models. This is the internal cause of the decline of inscriptions. On the other hand, CaoCao's ban on the practice of writing inscriptions is only the external cause. In the final analysis, these two factors combine to result in the decline of inscriptions.