The so-called "epigraphy" refers to "the study of the name, form, system and evolution of epigraphy in China, as well as the style and style of engraved words and images, from textual research, article examples to artistic appreciation" (see "Epigraphy in Zhu Jianxin" on page 3). The so-called "gold" in epigraphy, that is, "auspicious gold", mainly consists of Zhongding Yi wares, including weapons, weights and measures, seals, coins, mirrors and so on. All belong to people with or without knowledge of ancient bronzes. " The so-called "stone", also known as "happy stone", mainly refers to the large number of inscriptions, and the cliffs, statues, buildings, columns, stone que and other things all have characters and images in ancient stone carvings (see Zhu Jianxin: epigraphy, page 3, Cultural Relics Publishing House, 65433). The word "Jinshi" is used as one word and should be found in the pre-Qin literature Mozi. "Mozi Tianzhizhong" is "written on bamboo and silk, engraved on stones, engraved on plates and handed down to future generations". The "stone" here refers to the words that the slave owners' ruling class carved major events or special honors on bronze or stone in order to be immortal, and prohibited future generations from using them forever. Before Qin Shihuang unified China, "the ancient emperor was only a thousand miles away, and the governors kept their fiefs, either facing each other or not, and they invaded and plundered each other. There were more than one felling, and they carved stones for their own discipline. Princes from all over the world competed to "carve stones" to commemorate their "merits", and even Qin Shihuang himself followed suit. Today, the emperor and the sea think that counties and counties are at peace with the world. Zhaoming ancestral hall, with virtue and great title. The princes recited the merits of the emperor and carved them on stones as classics (Historical Records of the First Qin Emperor's Biography). However, using epigraphy to define a science, that is, epigraphy, should begin in the Song Dynasty. Ceng Gong, a scholar in the Song Dynasty, first compiled Jin Shilu (the book has been lost), and then Zhao Mingcheng compiled Jin Shilu as the title. When compiling General Records, Zheng Qiao listed "Jinshi" as "a brief introduction to Jinshi" in the 20th edition. Since the Song Dynasty, epigraphy has been regarded as a special knowledge, which indicates that epigraphy has been formed through long-term study since the Qin and Han Dynasties, with special research objects and accumulated a lot of materials.

As the "gestation period" of modern archaeology in the history of archaeological development in China, traditional epigraphy research has a long history in China. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, it experienced a long period of "brewing" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and formally formed a special knowledge-epigraphy in the Song Dynasty. In the meantime, after the decline of Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it revived in the early Qing Dynasty and reached its peak in the late Qing Dynasty. With the great discovery of China's modern history and the introduction of western advanced historiography thoughts in the late Qing Dynasty, traditional epigraphy was injected with new blood and developed into an "antique" period. With the formation of modern archaeology in China, the institute of epigraphy applied the scientific method of field archaeology, thus bringing traditional epigraphy into the field of archaeology. Since then, epigraphy research has become a part of archaeological research, and "traditional" epigraphy research no longer exists.