金石活动是古人实现"不朽"之愿的有力方式。欧阳修在其金石活动中，则展现了对于"不朽"的异乎寻常的焦虑。他为前人编纂《集古录》，为逝者写作墓碑墓志，为地方官创作记文并刻石，都极为精进、积极，并做出精心安排。与此同时，他又频繁表达对于"易失""易坏"现象的敏感与忧惧，体现了庆历新政失败和地方官迁转制度的消极影响。上述心态及活动，都不是孤立、封闭的，而是仁宗朝诸多士大夫的共识与风气。"不朽"的焦虑的存在及其表现方式，能够反映社会转型时期新兴阶层的成熟进程，具有思想风候的意义。

Performing epigraphy activities was a powerful way to realize their dream of being "immortal" for ancient Chinese people. In his epigraphy activities, OUYANG Xiu demonstrated his extraordinary anxiety concerning "immortality". With great enthusiasm, OUYANG compiled Records of Ancient Inscriptions(Jigu lu), wrote lots of epigraphs for the departed, and composed articles and engraved them on the stones for local officials. However, from time to time, he showed his sensibility and anxiety about "vanishing" and "fading away" of life and things, which reflected the negative impact of the failure of political reform during Emperor Qingli's reign and the shifting system of local officials. OUYANG's mentalities were shared by many scholar-officials who engaged in similar activities during Emperor Renzong's reign. The anxiety concerning "immortality", as well as its manifestation, was intellectually symptomatic in the sense of reflecting the process toward maturity of the new class in the period of social transformation.