Fonds SC58 - Copy of the Inscription from a Stone Tablet, Baidicheng, China

Zone d'identification

Cote

GB 891 SC58

Titre

Copy of the Inscription from a Stone Tablet, Baidicheng, China

Date(s)

  • 1880-1972 (Création/Production)

Niveau de description

Fonds

Étendue matérielle et support

1 tracing and accompanying envelope

Zone du contexte

Nom du producteur

(1823-)

Histoire administrative

The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Sir Henry Thomas Colebrooke on the 15th March 1823. It received its Royal Charter from King George IV on the 11th August 1824 'for the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia'. It continues as a forum for those who are interested in the languages, cultures and history of Asia to meet and exchange ideas.

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

Histoire archivistique

It is unknown who created this tracing or drawing on tracing paper.

Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert

in 1972 the tracing was found in an envelope addressed to the Librarian of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society from E.J. Brill-Leiden, postmarked 10 May 1971. The envelope was pinned to a copy of 'The Currency of the Far East' by Fr. Schöth, published in 1929. This book came into the collection in March 1930. It is not known how the copy of the inscription came to be inside the book,

Zone du contenu et de la structure

Portée et contenu

A copy of the inscription from a late-19th century stone tablet in Baidicheng, an ancient fortress and temple complex on an islet in the Yangzi River near Fengjie town in Sichuan, China. The original tablet depicts a pair of phoenixes amongst peonies, overshadowed by a wutong tree, with inscription near the picture. The inscription tells how Baidicheng, literally meaning White Emperor City, was founded by the first-century general Gongsun Shu and named after the dragon-like swirls of white mist which gathered about a well there. It also recalls how Bao Chao [鮑超], retreated to Baidicheng and practised calligraphy. Bao Chao is also identified as the creator of the picture of the tablet.

The copy of the inscription is on tracing paper and is a copy of the complete inscription but none of the surrounding image.

The original envelope in which it was found has been kept with the inscription. Addressed to the Librarian of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society it has been annotated by hand with details of the book in which the inscription was found and dating this discovery to 12 September 1972.

Évaluation, élimination et calendrier de conservation

Accroissements

Mode de classement

Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation

Conditions d'accès

Open. Please contact the archivist using the email address given here: https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID

Conditions de reproduction

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Langue des documents

  • chinois

Écriture des documents

    Notes de langue et graphie

    Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques

    Instruments de recherche

    Zone des sources complémentaires

    Existence et lieu de conservation des originaux

    Existence et lieu de conservation des copies

    Unités de description associées

    For further information please see the article: A warrior’s phoenixes by David Leffman, published 23 December 2022, https://www.davidleffman.com/blog-1-1/a-warriors-phoenixes. Grateful thanks to David Leffman for pointing me to this article and to Sven Osterkamp who pointed me to Harvard library's entry: https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/chinese-rubbings-collection/catalog/6-W280196_URN-3:FHCL:949884 when I asked for help in identifying the inscription on social media

    Descriptions associées

    Zone des notes

    Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)

    Mots-clés

    Mots-clés - Sujets

    Mots-clés - Lieux

    Mots-clés - Noms

    Mots-clés - Genre

    Zone du contrôle de la description

    Identifiant de la description

    gb 891 sc58

    Identifiant du service d'archives

    Règles et/ou conventions utilisées

    Statut

    Niveau de détail

    Dates de production, de révision, de suppression

    This catalogue was created by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2024.

    Langue(s)

      Écriture(s)

        Sources

        For further information please see the article: A warrior’s phoenixes by David Leffman, published 23 December 2022, https://www.davidleffman.com/a-warriors-phoenixes/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2XJCrSYg3dKDmv3t8t3sLrjAnhoSIlNB6RnOngQHWOfu2LUP91Q-TO0qs_aem_ASGDW-btdGuH_BkcsgouvhUe9LYgfW0fDzQypuuzmEcht19tbgGl8LMUMqpNz_k-uwk78Q_C3dkA8pmgilEyK6nl.
        Grateful thanks to David Leffman for pointing me to this article and to Sven Osterkamp who pointed me to Harvard' library: https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/chinese-rubbings-collection/catalog/6-W280196_URN-3:FHCL:949884 when asked for help in identifying the inscription on social media

        Zone des entrées