Shinto monument (English: shen dào bēi)

Japanese: 神道碑 - しんどうひ（英語表記）shén dào bēi

A genre of Chinese writing. A piece of writing inscribed on a stone monument erected in front of a grave to commemorate the owner of the tomb. It usually consists of a biographical section (preface) written in prose and an inscription (mei) praising the owner in verse. Shinto is said to refer to the southeast side of the tomb or the passage leading to the tomb, but in either case, the stone monument is actually erected in front of the tomb. Under the Tang system, only officials of the fifth rank or above were allowed to erect monuments, and those below this rank called similar writings "boketsumei" or "tomb tablets." [Shimizu Shigeru]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国の文章のジャンルの一つ。墓前に立てた石碑に刻して，墓主を記念する文章。ふつう散文で書く伝記部分〈序〉と韻文で頌揚する〈銘〉とから成る。神道とは，墓の南東方のこととも墓穴に通ずる羨道（えんどう）のことともいわれるが，いずれにしても，石碑は実際は墓前に立てられる。唐制では碑を立てることのできるのは，五品以上の官に限られ，それ以下の者は同様の文章を〈墓碣銘（ぼけつめい）〉または〈墓表〉と呼ぶ。【清水茂】

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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