A rich history of Chinese inscription

NO civilisation has relied as much as the Chinese civilisation on carved stone inscription as a way of preserving the memory of its history and culture.

Records of important events were inscribed on bone and bronze as early as the second millennium BC and brick, tile, ceramics, wood and jade were also engraved to preserve writings and pictorial representations, but the medium most used for long inscriptions was stone.

By the beginning of the seventh century or perhaps much earlier, the Chinese had found a method of making multiple copies of old inscribed records, using paper and ink.

Rubbings in effect ''print'' the inscription, making precise copies that can be carried away and distributed in considerable numbers.

The Hongkong University of Science and Technology Library is presenting an exhibition of rubbings of Chinese inscriptions form the collection of the University of California, Berkeley's East Asian Library from now until May 30.

The collection is the second largest of this sort outside East Asia.