Epigraphy refers to studying the source and age of inscriptions, identifying the types, ages, authenticity and textual research of rubbings, and identifying the ancient Chinese character structure in stone carvings. It also refers to the calligraphy school that advocates inscription calligraphy. In the Qing Dynasty, Ruan Yuan advocated the theory of the North-South School of Calligraphy, and classified Gu Mo, who was graceful and elegant, into the "Tiexue" of the South School, while the inscriptions of Gu Zhuo and Jiankuo were classified into the "Stele Study" of the North School.

The concept of "stele study" used in the representative works of Book History can be summarized into three situations:

First, specifically the North Monument. Zhang Zongxiang's "On the Origin of Calligraphy" said: "Since the application for Expo, the study of steles has gradually flourished, and only Zhao and San can become famous." (On the Origin and Development of Calligraphy, Different Articles at Different Times, edited by Cui, collated by Cui: Selected Papers on Calligraphy in Past Dynasties, Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 1993, p. 888) Kang Youwei's article "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji Zun Monument" says: "Up to now, the study of immortals, children and steles has been broadcast. His five reasons for proposing the monument are also based on this. (Kang Youwei: Guang Yi Zhong Shuang Zhou, Selected Calligraphy Papers in Past Dynasties, Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 1979, 1, p. 756) Sha Menghai's Calligraphy in the Past 300 Years has a special subtitle "Wei Bei as the mainstay". (Sha Menghai: Calligraphy in Three Hundred Years, Collected Works of Sha Menghai, Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, June 1997, p. 52. )

Second, add seal script to the North Monument. Kang Youwei's article "Compilation of Guang Yi and Zhou Shuang's Talks on Topics" says that "those who study steles today (that is, those who study steles in the north and seal script in the Han Dynasty) mainly earn steles" (Kang Youwei: Tan, Selected Calligraphy Papers in Past Dynasties, Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, 0979, 65438+65438). Sha Menghai's "Calligraphy in the Past 300 Years" lists seal script and official script separately, but a subtitle is added after the section of "Epigraphy", which specifically states that "Generally speaking, epigraphy includes Qin Zhuan and Han Li". (Sha Menghai: Calligraphy in the Past 300 Years, Collected Works of Sha Menghai, Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 1997, p. 52) It is in this sense that many works now use the concept of "stele study".

Third, the Tang stele is added to the North stele, excluding the official seal. The section of Sha Menghai's Calligraphy in the Past 300 Years says that "in terms of the original meaning of the word" tablet ",the tablet of Family Temple and the record of Ma Gu Xian Tan are tablets, while the tablet of General Pei and the tablet of contending for seats are tablets", and "the study of tablet and paste listed in the third and fourth chapters of this paper is narrow". Some works include Tang steles, but not seals and official seals. For example, Ma Zonghuo said in the twelfth summary of Lin Zao Ji: "At the beginning of the rise and fall of epigraphy, epigraphy was able to take advantage of the situation. ..... The turn of Jia Dao can be described as the Tang Dynasty stele period. ..... When the salt is the same, it can be said that it is the Northern Monument period. ..... The study of steles is not limited to the Tang and Wei Dynasties, but it can be imitated by Qin Zhuan, the second ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and the so-called hero of Sri Lanka, and changes the customs without changing. " (Ma Zonghuo: The Algae in the Woods, Cultural Relics Publishing House, May New 1 Edition, 192- 193).