Introduction: What are muzhiming?; Simple records of interment; Entombed stele inscriptions; Early standard muzhiming : the case of Liu Dai; Essential characteristics and distinctive features of muzhiming; The structure of this book
The social functions of early medieval muzhiming
The religious functions of entombed epigraphy
Mortuary epigraphy moves underground
Entombed epigraphy in an era of political instability
Historiographical biography and commemorative biography
The rise of muzhiming as a literary genre
Conclusion
Appendix A: Entombed epitaphs from the western Jin and eastern Jin dynasties
Appendix B: Northern Wei entombed epitaphs prior to 494 CE.