Memorial Stele for the Buddhist Master Daoyin (Ink Rubbings)

In Chinese ink rubbing, dampened paper is applied to a carved or incised surface and dabbed with ink. This practice traces an object’s surface so that raised areas appear darkened and recesses are left white in the final print.

This is an early 19th-century rubbing of a commemorative stele, or stone tablet, for the Buddhist master Daoyin that was erected in 663. According to the inscription, Daoyin translated Buddhist scriptures with Xuanzang, who traveled to India from 629 to 645 and brought back hundreds of Indian texts. The original rubbing was cut into strips and pasted into an album, a format conducive to collecting and learning calligraphy.