A Study on the Restoration of the Inscription on the Wang Sheren Stele and Related Issues

Abstract

The Wang Sheren Stele unearthed in Pingdu City of Shandong province in 1982 is the earliest discovered Chi headed turtle shaped stele of its time.As a famous calligraphy masterpiece of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the Wang Sheren Stele has received widespread attention from scholars in the fields of epigraphy, art, and more since its excavation.Due to the early destruction of the monument, some parts of the upper part were damaged, and over time, the inscriptions at the bottom of the monument have also been erased. Some of the inscriptions have not been deciphered to this day.In fact, from the rubbings, characters such as "膺期光", "经藉", "忠", "数", "生者", "正" and "掩" can be released at the bottom of the inscription.According to the context, characters such as "登" and "逢"can be added. The word "各" in the inscription is actually a misinterpretation of the word "咎". After restoring the inscription, it is known that the Wang Sheren Stele originally had 243 characters, plus 8 characters in seal script on the inscription, for a total of 251 characters.From the content of the inscription combined with literature records, it can be seen that the owner of the epitaph, Wang Sheren, should have a close relationship with the so-called "unclear apprenticeship" faction in the Ouyang School of Shangshu.
Keywords： Stele of Wang Sheren: Textual Supplementation and Interpretation: Inscription Restoration: Ouyang School of Shangshu