Inscribed Copies: Manuscript Models in South, Southeast, and East Asian Epigraphy

Inscriptions are often regarded as the ultimate textual 'originals' - authentic, authoritative, and unique. This volume challenges that longstanding assumption by showing that formal inscriptions were commonly produced with the help of manuscripts and are, in many cases, copies of preexisting models. Bringing together studies from China, India, Laos, and Siam, the book explores the complex processes of drafting, copying, and transferring texts across a wide range of materials and media. The contributions reveal previously little-known manuscript practices, highlight the tension between fidelity and creativity in inscription-making, and uncover the sociocultural, political, and technological forces at play. Moving beyond the traditional stemmatic approach, this book redefines how we understand epigraphic texts and contributes to current discussions on methodology and terminology in epigraphic research as well as to broader theoretical debates in the fields of philology, textual criticism, and manuscript studies.