Date：2023-07-07 - 2023-10-08
Location：No. 3 Exhibition Hall, 4F

Ever since the pre-Qin era, bronze and stone artifacts, a vital documentary medium in China, have recorded a massive volume of precious historical information. In order to preserve, study, and spread the information on these artifacts, people in ancient China, with their wisdom and skillfulness, developed a simple yet productive technique for duplicating the information—rubbing. To make a rubbing, a craftsman first overlays a bronze or stone artifact with paper and then employs the skill of ink-rubbing to precisely copy onto paper the features of the artifact, including the shape, patterns, and inscription. The objects suitable for rubbing range from cliff-carved statues to oracle bones and seals. Throughout its long history, the technique has evolved from a practical skill for duplicating the information into a genre of art in its own right, integrating epigraphy with painting. Nowadays, included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, rubbing is still in wide use in such fields as archaeology and museology. It continues to assume a vital role in the preservation and promotion of the Chinese civilization.

Most of the exhibits for this event come from the collection of the Shanghai Museum. Some rubbings are displayed with their corresponding artifacts. A few of the rubbings even have a well-documented history of collection. Our sincere gratitude goes to the Shanghai Library, which adds luster to the exhibition with a loan of their treasures. We firmly believe that the current exhibition of the time-honored rubbing technique will be a unique experience for all its viewers, as we accentuate the promulgation of traditional Chinese culture.

A Rubbing of the Rectangular Ding (food vessel) with the Inscription: "Si Mu Wu"

A Rubbing of the Preface to the Holy Teachings in the Translation of the Tripitaka in Collated Calligraphic Characters of Wang Xizhi

Wu Dacheng's Collection of Artifacts (first part), handscroll

Wu Dacheng's Collection of Artifacts (second part), handscroll

Goose Foot Lamp Made in the First Year of the Jingning Era

Rectangular You (wine vessel) by Xi, a Junior Minister

Scraping the Patina off the Lamp (rubbing by Liuzhou and painting by Chen Geng) (print)

A Hanging Scroll of the Life-prolonging Matrimony Vines and Chrysanthemums by Zhao Zhiqian and Cheng Shouqian

Full-surface Rubbing of the Ding (food vessel) of the Duke of Mao and its Inscription, seal script, hanging scroll

Oval Sheng (measuring vessel)

A Composite Rubbing of Da Yu Ding (food vessel)

Antiquities Portrayed through Rubbing-like Brushwork by Su Jiankuan (in four hanging scrolls)

An Ox Scapula with a Cinnabar-filled Inscription

• More Information
• 【Poster】 Advancing with the Times: The Technique of Rubbing