This rubbing of a clay tomb tile from Sichuan province dates to the Second Century AD. The inscription in the circle refers to long life. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

These characters "sui han" refer to the coldest time of the year. The rubbing is from the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD). Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

This rubbing is from a Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) tile inscription and has the meaning of "lasting happiness." Tofu also was created during the Han Dynasty. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

In terms of pure design and a passage to life in Asia centuries ago, visit The Field Museum’s site for its Chinese Rubbing collection.

The online images, mostly in black and white, range from a classical poem talking about wind gusting at the top of a pagoda overlooking a field to the curving back of a celestial dragon, known as Qing Long.

The Chicago museum has one of the largest collections of Chinese rubbings outside of China. Museum staff has done a great job explaining the types of rubbing – bei and tie – and their work.

Here’s a summary from the museum’s introduction, which notes that rubbings have been crucial in China for more than 1,500 years:

Because they are easily transported, rubbings quickly became the primary means to faithfully reproduce and share historical data, poetry, scholastic texts, calligraphy, and art throughout China. Due to the loss and deterioration of many original stones through the centuries, rubbings frequently are the sole remaining evidence of a significant portion of China’s artistic and cultural heritage.

What else do they tell us?

Well, a lot.

Even if you can’t read Chinese, you get a sense of balance and how simplicity and elementary shapes and lines can please the eye.

And that humans back then – yes, in this case, often people from privileged backgrounds - yearned for lasting happiness and aesthetics.

When I’ve traveled in China, I’ve spotted rubbings either at legitimate antique stores or souvenir stands.

I think I even have a copy of this image of the Buddhist saint Bodhidharma, who brought the religion to China.

It’s tucked away in one of my boxes. He was a monk from India.

I’ve also hiked around Shaolin Temple, one of the major birthplaces of Chinese martial arts.

In that area, I visited a cave where, legend has it and to the best of my recollection, Bodhidharma meditated inside for so long that his shadow is on its wall.

With China, it’s easy these days to focus on certain topics – that it’s the world’s largest automobile market, that it’s the globe’s third-largest economy, that its military has become more modern.

But I’ve always wanted to tell my friends and family in the United States about the eye-catching rubbings – and of course, carvings – that I’ve seen in China.

Certainly, if you have the time, head to China and see the carvings and rubbings for yourself.

If it’s your first visit, you also can stand and just look at the buildings in the big cities and the people around you.

For some reason, I’ve always liked museums and history.

After you’ve seen rubbings such as these, you can probably see why I can stand for hours and just study the images and characters.

Many of us, though, are busy these days.

So because of The Field Museum’s project, I can refer people to an intriguing collection of a time when emperors – seen as gods or “sons of heaven” – controlled dynasties.

And, of course, I want to thank the museum for granting permission for me to post images of the rubbings.

My wife, Dan, as always, has been a tremendous help in explaining Chinese literature and history to me. She translated the classical poem and other words in the rubbings.

This is one part of a poem and talks about a pagoda rising from the ground and how its curved, symmetrical roof is pleasing to the eye. It dates from the Song Dynasty. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

This Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) rubbing shows a bronze vessel. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

This stone rubbing is of the Azure Dragon Qing Long, a celestial guardian. The original image is from the Han Dynasty. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

This tomb tile rubbing is from the Chengdu area of Sichuan province. It is also from the Han Dynasty. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org

This rubbing dates from a 1547 AD image, taken from the tomb of an official's wife. It also shows an earlier script style for Chinese characters. Image credit: Copyright The Field Museum, fieldmuseum.org