Black Tigers: A Grammar of Chinese Rubbings

Ink rubbings have been used in China since at least the sixth century CE to make precise copies of culturally valued material. The source surfaces include stone, metal, clay tiles and wood inscriptions, as well as pictorial images.

Kenneth Starr treats these paper copies as important in their own right. In many cases they are all that survives of works that have worn away, been destroyed in war or development, or been cut off by flooding.

The book suits readers interested in Chinese art and in how earlier cultures preserved and transmitted their most valued material.

Publisher: University of Washington Press. ISBN-13: 9780295988115.