Ancient Script Books Compilation: Lishi; Lixu

Author: Hong Shi (Song Dynasty)
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Features: The Lishi (Twenty-seven Volumes) compiles one hundred and eighty-nine types of Han and Wei dynasty steles in the first nineteen volumes. Each piece is written in regular script based on the stroke order of the clerical script, followed by annotations that include historical introductions, descriptions of the steles, and textual research on Han clerical script, among other aspects. The twenty-first volume appends the list of Han and Wei steles from The Commentary on the Waterways Classic, Ouyang Xiu's Collected Antiquities, Ouyang Fei's Collected Antiquities Catalogue, Zhao Mingcheng's Records of Inscriptions and Bronzes, and the anonymous Catalogue of Steles Across the Nation (the Han and Wei sections), serving as references. The Lixu (Twenty-one Volumes) is a continuation of The Lishi, collecting additional steles and annotating them according to the same method. The original editions were scattered and later gradually compiled into a complete work. The Lishi and The Lixu are the earliest specialized books compiling the texts of Han and Wei dynasty steles, serving as important documents and valuable resources for studying the evolution of Chinese characters, stone inscriptions, and Han and Wei dynasty history today.