Yu DUAN

The aim of this paper is to study the position of Song dynasty epigraphy（ Jinshixue）in Chinese academic history. The first part of the paper seeks to clarify the connotation of Song dynasty epigraphy by critiquing the traditional definition of Chinese epigraphy held by many contemporary scholars. By reviewing the process of the establishment of the field of Song dynasty epigraphy, this elegant hobby of inscriptions is explained as an aesthetic art form which then developed into an academic discipline.Finally, the paper illustrates the relationship between the formation of the Song dynasty epigraphy and the maturity of the scholar-official society. It would become the representative knowledge of the Song dynasty, prompting the well-known scholar Wang Guowei to say, "It is in fact the academic discipline of the Song era", inseparable from the characteristics of the scholar-official class, such as geography, regionalism and the formation of the knowledge community.