Stone Drums of Ch’in

Discovered early in the 7th century A.D., the ten Stone Drums (shih-ku) remain the earliest stone inscriptions unearthed in China to date. The objective of the study of G. L. Mattos is to elucidate as much of these texts as the Sung rubbings (uncovered in the early 1930 s) permit and to examine their linguistic and material (i.e., script) properties in the light of other Chou dynasty texts, with the intent of establishing the probable reasons for and the date of their manufacture."