Abstract
A salient cultural characteristic of traditional China was the constant and persistent interaction with its past. This was especially to be found in scholars’ examinations of ancient texts both engraved in stone and cast in bronze; also their interpretations of the literary or religious contents; and the appreciation of archaic calligraphy. The Stele of the Divine Chen-Prophecy Revealed by Heaven (Tianfa shenchen bei 天發神讖碑), produced in 276 ad, is among the ancient monuments intensely scrutinized by scholars and antiquarians from the Song through the Qing periods. This essay, which includes a transcription and annotated translation, explores the belief generally in divine prophecies and their connection to imperial rituals. It also examines the talismanic power of the bold and irregular calligraphy designed to empower visually the prophetic and political messages contained in them.
Keywords
chen-prophecy, feng and shan rites, calligraphy, epigraphy, rubbing, antiquarianism, stone inscription, stele, evidential research, historiography
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