Prof. Feng Guodong, Dean of the School of Literature at Zhejiang University and a Changjiang Scholar of the Ministry of Education of PRC, at the invitation of the School of Humanities of TU, delivered an academic lecture titled “Stone Inscription Literature and Buddhist Studies” on April 15. The event was chaired by Prof. Luo Zhengming, Dean of the School of Humanities.
At the start, Prof. Feng outlined four key themes of his lecture: the role of new materials in historical memory, historical reviews of stone inscription literature and Buddhist studies, the contributions of stone inscriptions to Buddhist research, and the unique characteristics and usage of stone inscription sources. Quoting Chen Yinque’s perspective from Preface to Chen Yuan’s Catalogue of Surviving Documents from Dunhuang, Prof. Feng emphasized that “memory is selective,” yet forgotten elements are never trivial. He urged vigilance against historical amnesia and a steadfast pursuit of historical authenticity. Citing Rao Zongyi’s Epitaphs of the Tang and Song Dynasties: A Collection of Rubbings from the French School of Asian Studies (EFEO), Feng noted that stone inscription materials, compared to oracle bones, bamboo slips, Dunhuang manuscripts, and archival texts, represent relatively newer sources capable of filling gaps unaddressed by traditional materials. Prof. Feng then reviewed scholarly milestones in stone inscription-based Buddhist studies, citing works by Shen Zengzhi, Hu Shi, Yanagida Seizan and Ishii Shūdō, while also highlighting current academic debates in the field.
Focusing on the value of new materials, Feng underscored two critical functions: firstly, they can uncover new historical facts. For instance, previously obscure terms such as Da Ming Bao and Huangshan Ti have been clarified through newly unearthed inscriptions. Secondly, and most crucially, new materials enable scholars to re-examine long-standing questions. Using the shifting scholarly emphasis between the Diamond Sutra and the Discourse on the Prajnaparamita Sutra by Bodhisattva Manjusri across historical periods as an example, Feng stressed that “language is like a finger pointing to the moon”—the focus should remain on the “moon” itself, that is, the content and contextual connections.
Addressing methodological rigor, Prof. Feng advised researchers to first understand the formation and textual variations of stone inscriptions, noting that discrepancies in versions reflect historical priorities across eras. He also highlighted the importance of authenticity verification, framing it not merely as a technical task but as a value judgment requiring chronological frameworks rather than skepticism for its own sake.
Q&A Session with Prof. Feng Guodong
During the interactive session, when asked “How should one collect stone inscriptions for research?” Prof. Feng shared four practical approaches: First of all, scrutinize Qing Dynasty transcriptions for references; Second, utilize post-1949 published catalogs, rubbings, and annotated texts; Third, leverage digital databases; Fourth, conduct field investigations.
