The Legacy of the Early Emperors: Inscriptions from the Qin Period

2025. 05.

On November 27, 2025, the exhibition “Guardians of Eternity – The Terracotta Warriors of the First Chinese Emperor” opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. On view until May 25, 2026, the exhibition is accompanied by a series of thematic programs exploring diffe-rent facets of Chinese culture. One of these was the lecture “Qin Shi Huangdi and the World of Qin-Era Inscriptions,” held on December 5, 2025, as the latest event in the Many-Faced China cultural history series.

讲座现场

The lecture was delivered by calligrapher and typographer Horváth Janisz, who examined inscriptions preserved on objects excavated from the tomb complex of Qin Shi Huangdi. Through this material, he traced the formation of the writing system of the period. This body of finds is not only of outstanding archaeological and art-historical significance; through its inscriptions and texts, it also constitutes one of the most valuable documentary corpora for understanding administrative and military practices in the early imperial era.

The object inscriptions allow scholars to follow the process of standardizing written characters in the 3rd century BCE, while also offering insights into the operation of the state-run workshop system responsible for producing artifacts and sculptures.

During the event, visitors could also view a small exhibition showcasing works created in the autumn landscape painting course.

Further information about the exhibition “Guardians of Eternity – The Terracotta Warri-ors of the First Chinese Emperor” is available via the links below.
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