Introduction

If by "inscription" we mean any kind of text that is carved into a solid material, then inscriptions are the oldest kinds of texts we have in China, dating back to the "oracle bones" of the Neolithic era and, somewhat later, to texts found (though often cast, not carved) on bronzes from the Zhou. By the beginning of the imperial era, the inscription of official texts in prominent places was already a technology in wide use to make permanent public announcements. Fast forward a millennium, and inscriptions of all sorts are everywhere: mountainsides, temples, yamen, bridges, lineage halls, graveyards, villages, city walls, open fields; in addition, people were busy collecting rubbings taken of these inscriptions and of thousands more that did not survive. The scholarly study of inscriptions on bronze, stone, or any surface - known as epigraphy (金石學 in Chinese) - is thus a vital part of the late imperial historian's toolkit. Inscriptions from temples, huiguan, or from stele erected to commemorate particular events are frequently valuable sources, particularly because they functioned as “public” documents and we can presume to know something about their intended audiences. Particularly in south China, the number of inscriptions has risen dramatically in recent years as field work by historians, anthropologists, and scholars working at the intersection of these disciplines, have brought thousands of previously unknown texts to light. These materials are perhaps most valuable for social, legal, and economic history, and for local history generally.

Inscriptions

The Harvard Library's collection of Chinese Rubbings is accessible through the fine arts library. It includes 2,602 rubbings of both images and text, dating from the Qin Dynasty through the Ming. There is search functionality through Hollis as well as through a collection-specific search tool specific to the collection.

Many of the library's holdings of older compilations of inscriptions have been digitized through Google books, including the following books compiled by Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764-1849), a noted scholar official and proponent of Han Learning 漢學:

Shanzuo jinshi zhi 山左金石志: Inscription from Shandong, from pre-Han through Yuan.

Liangzhe jinshi zhi 兩浙金石志: From Zhejiang.

Two general introductions to the study of historical inscriptions:

Zhongguo gudai shike gailun 中國古代石刻概論. Zhao Chao 趙超. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1997.

Contains information on genre, chronological development, current research problems, and authenticity. Especially useful is the extensive discussion of language and characters (Ch. 4), which includes tables of commonly encountered yitizi (pp. 191-201) and taboo characters (p. 189).

Gudai shike tonglun 古代石刻通論. Xu Ziqiang 徐自強 and Wu Menglin 吳夢麟. Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe, 2003.

Contains coverage of major inscriptions, discussed first by date, and then more extensively by geographical provenance. Includes a thematic bibliography, and an index (!).

A recent catalog of collections

Xinbian beikeji shumu 新編碑刻集書目. Li Ren-yuan comp. Webpage.

Exemplary collections

Beijing tushuguan cang Zhongguo lidai shike taben huibian 北京圖書館藏中國歷代石刻拓本匯编. 101 vols. Beijing: Zhongzhou guji, 1989-1997. Vols. 61-89 are Qing.

Very extensive facsimiles of hundreds of Qing-era inscriptions in the collection of Beitu. Though reduced in size, the reproductions are large, clear, and easy to use. Vol. 101 is an index.

Beijing daxue tushuguan cang lidai jinshi taben jinghua 北京大學圖書館藏歴代金石拓本菁華. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1998.

Beijing daxue tushuguan cang Xu Guowei juanzeng shike tuoben xuanbian 北京大學圖書館藏徐國衛捐贈石刻拓本選編. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2007.

Lidai shike shiliao huibian 歷代石刻史料彙編. 16 vol. Beijing : Beijing tushuguan chubanshe, 2000.

Vols. 14-16 are Ming and Qing.

Jinshi cuibian 金石萃編. Wang Chang 王昶, comp. Beijing Shi: Beijing tushuguan chubanshe, 2003.

An inscription collection complied by Qing official and literati Wang Chang. Wang was known to be an expert on epigraphy and poetry.

Mengguxue jinshi wenbian tilu 蒙古学金石文编题录. Sha Rina 莎日娜, et al., eds. Huhehaote: Nei Menggu daxue chubanshe, 2005.

An index to stone inscriptions from throughout China included in secondary works recent and otherwise (e.g. gazetteers) that pertain to "Mongolian studies 蒙古學". As here defined, this entails all inscriptions dating to the Liao 遼, Xi Xia 西夏, Jin 金, and Yuan 元 dynasties and all Mongolia-relevant inscriptions from later periods. The works containing these inscriptions are listed alphabetically by pinyin, with publication and editorial information included; the titles of inscriptions, their dates, and their place in the book (page and/or juan 卷) are indicated.

Ming-Qing shike wenxian quanbian 明清石刻文獻全編. 3 vols. Beijing, Beijing tushuguan chubanshe, 2003.

This compilation contains about 3,600 inscriptions from the Ming and Qing. They were all selected from Jinshi monographs published in the Republican era and before, many of which were parts of local gazeteers. The index was arranged according to geographical regions in which the inscription was found.

Qingdai beizhuan quanji 清代碑傳全集. 2 vol. Shanghai : Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1987. 

Guang Qing beizhuanji 廣清碑傳集. Suzhou: Suzhou daxue chubanshe, 1999.

Qingdai mushi shike yishu 清代墓室石刻艺术 (The art of the carved stones of Li's tombs of the Qing dynasty in Dali country). Xi'an: Sanqin chubanshe, 2008.

Qingdai beizhuanwen tongjian 清代碑傳文通檢. Taipei: Wenhai chubanshe, 1977. reprint.

Ming-Qing Shanxi beike ziliaoxuan 明清山西碑刻資料選. Taiyuan: Shanxi jingji chubanshe, 2009.

Ming-Qing yilai Beijing gongshang huiguan beike xuanbian 明清以來北京工商會館碑刻選編. Li Hua, comp. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 1980.

Ming-Qing Suzhou gongshangye beike ji 明清蘇州工商業碑刻集. Suzhou Historical Museum et al., comps. Jiangsu: Jiangsu renmin chubanshe, 1981.

Ming-Qing yilai Suzhou shehuishi beike ji  明淸以来苏州社会史碑刻集. Wang Guoping, Tang Lixing, eds. Suzhou: Suzhou Univ. Press, 1998.

Shanghai beike ziliao xuanji 上海碑刻資料選集. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1980.

Shanghai fojiao beike wenxian ji 上海佛敎碑刻文献集. Chai Zhiguang 柴志光 and Pan Mingquan 潘明權, eds. Beijing Shi: Shiji chuban jituan; Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2004.

A collection of 245 inscriptions of major temples in Shanghai. The inscriptions are arranged chronologically from the Nanchao Liang period to the present. Majority of the inscriptions included in this volume came from the Ming-Qing and contemporary times.

Guangdong beike ji 廣東碑刻集. Guangzhou: Guangdong gaodeng jiaoyu chubanshe, 2001.

Epigraphische Denkmäler aus China. Otto Franke and Berthold Laufer, eds. Berlin-Hamburg, 1914.

A landmark publication that contains enormous reproductions of the inscriptions (Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan) from Tibetan Buddhist temples in Beijing, Chengde, and Xi’an. A copy is kept in the RBR.

Ningxia lidai beike ji 宁夏历代碑刻集. Yinchuan: Ningxia renmin chu ban she, 2007.

A collection of inscriptions from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Manzhou jinshi zhi 滿洲金石志. Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉. Beijing: Beijing tushuguan chubanshe, 2003.

Inscriptions in Manchuria attracted interest of inscription collectors relatively late, and Luo Zhenyu was one of the greatest contributors in this endeavor. This collection included hundreds of rare inscriptions, dated back to the Wei and Jin era. Although it doesn't contain any Qing items, it nonetheless provided valuable information on the history of that region before the rise of the Qing.

Fujian zongjiao beiming huibian, Xinghua fu fence 福建宗教碑銘滙編, 興化府分冊. Zheng Zhenman and Kenneth Dean, comps. Fuzhou: Fujian renmin chubanshe, 1995.

Fujian zongjiao beiming huibian, Quanzhou fu fence 福建宗教碑銘彙編, 泉州府分册. Zheng Zhenman and Kenneth Dean, comps. Fuzhou : Fujian renmin chubanshe, 2003.

The two volumes contain huge collections of religious inscriptions in the Xinghua and Quanzhou prefectures of Fujian.

Qingdai lama jiao beike lu 清代喇嘛教碑刻錄 in Qing zhengfu yu Lama jiao 清政府與喇嘛教. Zhang Yuxin 张羽新. Lhasa: Xizang ren min chu ban she, 1988.

A collection of inscriptions regarding Tibetan Buddhism and political affairs in the Qing dynasty.

Kyōto Daigaku jinbun kagaku kenkyūsho shozō sekkoku takuhon shiryō 京都大学人文科学研究所所蔵石刻拓本資料

The collection of stone rubbings and inscription rubbings from different localities of China and different time periods of Chinese history, stored in the Institute for Research of Humanities of Kyoto University. Requires djvu plug-in.

Ritual Alliances of the Putian Plain: A Survey of Village Temples and Ritual Activities. Kenneth Dean and Zheng Zhenman. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2010.

Volume 2 of Dean and Zheng's Ritual Alliances of the Putian Plain. Contains inscriptions from the Putian 莆田 region.

Shike shiliao xinbian 石刻史料新編 99 vols. in 4 series., Taipei, Xinwenfeng, 1979, 1982, 1986, 2006.

• This massive congshu reprints an innumerable number of collections of inscriptions in various formats. They include general works, which reproduce inscriptions from all over China, as well as local works containing texts only found in local gazetteers or nowhere else at all. Quality ranges from typeset late-Imperial works to manuscript drafts.
• In order to navigate this work, to which its editors otherwise provide neither annotation nor a useful ordering scheme, it is necessary to consult Kuhn and Stahl's Annotated bibliography to the Shike shiliao xinbian (New edition of historical materials carved on stone), Heidelberg 1991. The authors provide a good description of each work, including its temporal and geographical coverage, date, and provenance. They also include an index of authors. NOTE: This books only covers series 1-3. Series 4, which appeared in 2004, has only its own table of contents to guide you.

Huaxian dizhen shiliao huibian 华县地震史料汇编. Xi'an: Shaanxi Renmin Chubanshe, 1984.

This collection contains transcriptions of all of the stele containing information on the 1556, Hua County earthquake. This earthquake killed approximately 800,000 people, and near the epicenter in Hua County, an estimated 80% of the county's population died.

Departed, yet present: Zhalan, the oldest Christian cemetery in Beijing. Edward Malatesta and Gao Zhiyu, eds. Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, 1995.

Detailed photographs, rubbings, and commentary concerning inscriptions in Zhalan, a Chinese Catholic cemetery where many of the early Jesuit missionaries and members of the Christian community in China are buried.

Chinese Local History: Stone Inscriptions from Fukien in the Sung to Ch'ing Periods. Eduard B. Vermeer. Boulder: Westview Press, 1991.

Useful introduction. Chinese texts with translation.