This paper follows a field survey by the team of the ANR project Altergraphy project (2023-2027). The participants document a series of inscriptions in a mountainous context, engraved on unpolished cliffs, and attributed to Zheng Daozhao, a local prefect and ordained Taoist active in the 6th century. This peculiar form of writing allows us to reconsider the complexity of epigraphic data.
Through experiments in mapping and storytelling, the project aims to integrate the legacy of Chinese antiquarian practices. This tradition, established from the 10th century CE by a network of literati, erudites and collectors, has played an determining role in the transmission and valorization of these lithic "monuments". By recognizing the legacy of antiquarian practices in contemporary epigraphic studies, the material and symbolic framework of the inscribed landscapes, as well as the social aspect of their reception, are enriched with a sensitive dimension.