The "Sinographic Forays into the Epiverse" conference, held at INALCO Paris in October 2024, brought together scholars of epigraphic cultures in East Asia from different branches of the social sciences and humanities. The event aimed to foster collaboration and define new research paths on stone inscriptions and inscribed landscapes. Ultimately, the goal was to improve understanding of these artifacts and their historical and cultural significance and to share methodological reflections across the diverse disciplines the invited scholars represented.

The notion of the Epiverse conveys the idea of an interdisciplinary research field aimed at a holistic study of the epigraphic fact. As a systematic tool, it aligns with an ontology based on the act of inscribing and the relations it weaves among objects, places, persons, and time. Inscribed landscapes, for example, are part of the Epiverse, where specific physical contexts and writing supports, along with various forms of writing and modes of reproduction and circulation, challenge the limits of existing approaches to Chinese epigraphy.

The conference was set against the backdrop of the ALTERGRAPHY project's research on medieval inscribed landscapes in Shandong province. Framing the conference, an exhibition showcased the first fieldwork campaign of the project. It offered a tangible representation of the project's research on inscribed landscapes. Complementing the theme, Sakata Genshō delivered the keynote lecture, reflecting on his lifelong dedication to the inscriptions on the four mountains. He shared his experiences visiting the sites in the early 1980s. He discussed the changes he has witnessed over time, emphasizing the importance of fieldwork and the enduring allure of these inscriptions.

Eight roundtables explored diverse facets of epigraphic research, from the use of digital tools and collaborative platforms to the challenges of describing calligraphic variation and style, the relationship between inscriptions and space, the dissemination and changing access to epigraphic knowledge over time, the transformation of mountains in China, the role of epigraphy in shaping individual and collective identities, the challenges of preserving epigraphic heritage, and the need for new methodologies to study the sensorial aspects of stone inscriptions and their reproductions.

This report summarizes the conference to facilitate further reflections on its key themes.