墓志流变考论

Research on the Evolution of Epitaphs

墓志发展,受到文学思潮的影响,从东汉到初唐,以骈文为主导,中唐之后,墓志文体完成了新变,以纪传体为主导;墓志与告地书、镇墓文、买地券等丧葬文书,既有联系更有区别;墓志出自行状,故应当客观评估其文史价值。

The evolution of epitaph had often been influenced by literary trend. For example, the parallel prose was the major form of epitaph from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, while biographical epitaph became the mainstream epitaph after the middle Tang Dynasty. Epitaph is somewhat connected with other texts related with the funeral of the deceased, such as gaodishu, or ＂introduction letter＂ to the other world, zhenmuwen, or ＂purchase bond＂ of a place for the deceased in the other world, etc. , but it is also different from them in some ways. Epitaph is derived from biographical sketch of the dead, and we should have an objective assessment of its historical value.