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Bronze inscriptions are not only the most important category of historical sources for the Chinese Bronze Age, but also records of crucial rituals in ancient Chinese religious life. Addressed both to unborn descendants and to the spirits of deceased ancestors, bronze inscriptions, and the ceremonies they memorialized, connected the human world to the spirit world, and linked the generations of a lineage for all time.

This source book is a collaborative effort involving ten scholars, including Constance A. Cook, Wolfgang Behr, Robert Eno, Paul R. Goldin, Martin Kern, Maria Khayutina, David W. Pankenier, David Sena, Laura Skosey, Yan Sun. It begins with a general editorial introduction outlining the significance of bronze inscriptions, followed by more focused discussions of subjects such as the implied ceremonies of bronze inscriptions, typological trends, and modern interpretive methods. The body of the book consists of eighty-two illustrative inscriptions, each with a brief contributor's introduction detailing the historical value and distinctive features of the text, as well as a list of further readings. The book concludes with a glossary of technical terms, a comprehensive bibliography, and an index.