Tombstone and Buried Table

The Mubei and muzhi are two different things that serve the same purpose. The Chinese tombstone (mubei), like its Western counterpart, is an oblong piece of stone, erected vertically in front of the tomb and engraved with an inscription (beiwen), The muzhi is usually in the from of a square stone table which is buried in the grave with the coffin and placed in front of it. The practice of burying a tablet as part of the Chinese funerary rites appeared later than the tombstone.

The earliest Chinese tombstone had no inscription. They were but simple rectangular slabs with small holes, through which ropes were run to lower the coffin into the pit. Some of the very ancient tombstones still show vestiges of the holes on them.

The inscription, which appeared later, generally gives a brief account of the dead person, listing the major events he experienced and the lofty qualities he possessed to perpetuate his name to later generations.

Important inscriptions or epitaphs, penned by eminent statesmen, men of letters or other public figures and engraved by master masons, are cherished as valuable relics important to the study of ancient literature, calligraphy and art in general.

Some inscribed epitaphs could be very long. One such on a great stele dedicated to the Prince of Qi or Han Shizhong(1089-1151), a Song Dynasty general famous for his resistance against northern invaders, has a total of over 13,900 characters, the longest ever found on any tombstone.

Other tombstones carry no inscriptions at all. A typical one ,and also the best known, is the tall stele standing at the front of Qianling Mausoleum in ShaanxiProvince. The crown of the stele is carved in the shape of several intertwining dragons, and the sides are decorated with cloud-and-dragon patters, but there are no words engraved on the face.

This is the monument that Empress Wu Zetian(624-705,reigned 690-705)erected for herself. She refrained from singing her own praise, but preferred to leave it for later generations to appraise her merits and faults.

Inscriptions are bound to reflect the age in which they are written. Though the practice of erecting tombstones is as a whole falling into desuetude in New China, the few that have been built are completelv new in content and form.