Carving out the living legacy of ancient steles

A new exhibition showcasing carvers and stone tablet carving techniques in present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu province, kicked off at the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum on Friday. It will run until Aug 9.

In ancient China, craftspeople were required to carve their names on the artifacts they made so that each piece of their work would remain traceable, accountable, and enduring enough to be passed down through generations.

With the clue of "inscribing the maker's name on the object", the exhibition guides visitors on a journey from tracing the origins of craftsmanship to the evolution of techniques, and from masterpieces by renowned artisans to this intangible cultural heritage's living legacy. It reveals how every chisel mark carries the artisan's spirit, and every stone stele records a chapter of history, allowing viewers to experience the enduring power and timeless glory of steles passed down through millennia.

The exhibition spans the Song (960-1279), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and the early 20th century up to the present day. A highlight of the exhibition is the rubbing of the Pingjiang Tu (Map of Pingjiang), presented in two versions side by side: one taken before and one after the stone was restored in 1917.

The original stele was carved in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), showing the layout of the Pingjiang prefecture (today's Suzhou).

The pre-restoring rubbing preserves the original state of the inscription, with its blurred and partially missing characters, while the post-restoring version presents a clear and complete urban layout. This juxtaposition reveals the division and collaboration among modern literati, scholars and stonemasons in the restoration of cultural relics, providing valuable visual materials for the study of Suzhou's urban form during the Southern Song period, as well as the modern history of stele conservation, says Wang Yihan, curator of the display.

"Stele inscriptions serve as an important carrier of traditional Chinese culture, integrating calligraphy, epigraphy and craftsmanship. The art of carving steles has enabled texts and culture to be preserved and transmitted over a much longer span of time, transcending the limits of time and avoiding oblivion across the ages," says Li Qing, head of the museum.

"This process and its significance were consistent across all regions of ancient China. As a museum in Beijing dedicated to the collection, research, and exhibition of stone cultural relics, it is highly fitting and deeply meaningful to organize such a display," she adds.