In 2012 and 2013,six tomb bricks with inscriptions from the Northern Wei Dynasty were excavated at an Eastern Han cemetery in the east of Zhucang Village,Mount Mangshan,Luoyang.The bricks,in the size of normal rectangular bricks,are mostly made of blueish-gray mud,with plain surfaces or one side decorated with rope patterns.The inscriptions are on the front or back sides,mostly with date,all engraved in regular script with a hint of official script style,which record the name,hometown,age,identity,time of death,and other information of the tomb owner.There are four main writing formats:only the name and related content;time of death,native place,identity and name;native place,name,and time of death;time of death plus identity.Through a comprehensive review of 10 tomb bricks previously discovered in Luoyang which have clear chronological inscriptions,sizes,and ingredients,we find that the tomb owners of these Northern Wei tomb bricks with inscriptions in Luoyang were mostly civilians;most of the inscription bricks were simply adapted from common tomb bricks,which did not have a clear correlation to social stratum;the inscriptions are similar in writing format and calligraphic style,which is the combination of regular script and official script,reflecting the formative period characteristics of folk tablet inscription calligraphy of Northern Wei;there is a concentration between the first year of Taihe period under Emperor Xiaowen's reign(477)and the second year of Xiaochang period under Emperor Xiaoming's reign(526),which was a relatively prosperous period of Northern Wei.Compared with previously collected tomb bricks with inscriptions,most of which lack archaeological context therefore the possibility of forgery cannot be ruled out,the newly discovered tomb bricks with inscriptions through archaeological excavation is of great significance.
LuoyangMount MangshanNorthern WeiTomb bricks with chronological inscription
万方数据
维普
