We are pleased to announce the publication of Volume 1–2 of JOSPL. Issue 2 features a special section, “The Development of Literary Media and the Formation of Art,” which investigates how physical media such as stone, wood, and paper shaped artistic practices and aesthetic thought across the premodern Sinographic sphere. Focusing on epigraphic and calligraphic traditions, the section traces how inscribed texts—whether on steles, mokkan, or rubbings—evolved from functional documents into objects of cultural memory and artistic value.

Articles in this issue explore the semantic and material dimensions of “king’s documents” in early Korea, the reception and philological study of Chinese epigraphic rubbings in Chosŏn, the multisensory aesthetics of wooden documents as communicative tools, and debates over authorship and authenticity in calligraphic inscriptions attributed to Wang Xizhi and their Korean reinterpretations. Together, these contributions illuminate how writing media were not only textual but also visual and tactile forms, integral to the historical formation of literary and artistic culture in East Asia.

The characters inscribed and written on diverse media have long embodied a distinct East Asian aesthetic and now form part of the region’s unique cultural heritage. This issue brings together studies that illuminate the premodern uses of such media and propose new approaches for their modern scholarly analysis.

JOSPL is an online publication. Please visit our website at jospl.org for submission guidelines, current and past issues, and more information. The Table of Contents for the inaugural issue is available at jospl.org/newsletter/TOCAlert.php. 

We encourage scholars from around the world to engage with East Asia’s humanistic heritage, contributing fresh perspectives and innovative methodologies that promote new interpretations of traditional East Asia, challenge established nation-state-centered narratives, and advocate for studying the region through a broader comparative and global lens. We are especially interested in work that highlights the distinctive practices of creating, transmitting, and preserving humanistic knowledge across the Sinographic sphere.

The JOSPL Team