A Study On Rubbings Originally Collected By Xu Naichang Preserved In East China Normal University Library

As a famous bibliophile, publisher, epigraphist and lyricist in Anhui Province, Xu Naichang enjoyed a high reputation in the art circle of late Qing Dynasty and following Republic period. Apart from his achievements in book collecting and publishing, Xu also collected inscriptions and rubbings and conducted intensive study on his collections, which was appreciated by his contemporaries. Currently, the studies related to Xu Naichang mainly focus on his book collections, published books, lyrics and biography, which have got a certain amount of achievements. In terms of his inscription collections, however, few researches on this topic have been conducted, due to the lack of resources. Presently, more than 4,000 pieces of rubbings collected by Xu Naichang are kept in the library of East China Normal University. On these rubbings, there is a large amount of annotations and comments on textual criticism written by Xu, which have great documental and historical value. This thesis, by researching the rubbings collected by Xu Naichang in the library of ECNU, intends to present an overview of Xu’s achievements in epigraphy.This thesis contains five chapters. Chapter One presents a thorough study on the biography of Xu Naichang based on previous studies, and also discusses Xu’s engagement in epigraphy on the basis of related historical literature. Chapter Two is an overview of the rubbings collected by Xu in ECNU library, intending to analyze the value and features of his collections. Chapter Three investigates Xu’s achievements in epigraphy by focusing on the annotations and comments demonstrated on these rubbings. Chapter Four presents four case studies on Xu’s collections and Chapter Five, the conclusion, summarizes Xu’s achievements and contributions to epigraphy.