Basic knowledge of seal cutting!

[Changes of seal names in past dynasties]: Before the Qin Dynasty, official seals and private seals were both called "seals" (also called "bells"). After Qin unified the six countries, it was stipulated that the emperor only called "Feng" and his subjects only called "Feng". In the Han Dynasty, kings and queens also called it "seal". Don Wu Ze changed his name to "Bao" because he thought "seal" and "death" were homophones. From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the old system was followed, and "seal" and "treasure" were used together. Han general print called it "Zhang". After that, according to people's habits, seals have various names, such as "seal", "seal", "record", "Zhu Ji", "covenant", "seal", "pledge" and "seal".

[Origin of Ancient Seals]: China's lettering, the oldest of which are Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Zhou and Qin stone carvings in Yin Ruins. All words engraved on gold, copper, jade and other materials are generally called "Jinshi". The seal is contained in the "stone". The origin of Xi seal, or three generations, or Yin dynasty, is still inconclusive. According to relics and historical records, it appeared at least in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and was widely used in the Warring States Period. At first, it was only used as a voucher for commodity exchange. After Qin Shihuang unified China, the scope of the seal was expanded to represent the rights and interests of those in power, and it was held by those in power as a tool for ruling the people.

[Use of Ancient Seal]: After the Han Dynasty, the use of paper became more common. After the seal was dipped in watermark color, it was covered with a wok, and then there was inkpad. Before that, most documents were written on bamboo slips. In order to avoid the loss of bamboo slips and seal the contents of documents, a piece of wood with a square groove was added to the written bamboo slips and tied with a rope. Put the knot in the square groove, add a piece of soft mud, and press the seal with mud. This kind of soft clay, which hardens after drying, is the seal that we see today for filling soft clay. It is clear in white, and it is better to engrave it on paper, so there are many white seals in big bones. There are also some extra-large seals, on which wooden handles can be inserted, which are specially used to brand horses as marks, and may also be used as seals for large items.

[How are the ancient seals handed down]: Most of them are ancient seals handed down from ancient cities, rivers and ancient tombs. Some were abandoned by the defeated in the war in exile, while others were abandoned by the dead in the battlefield. At that time, the practice was that the engine was handed over to the seal seized on the battlefield, and officials had to take off the seal after transferring their posts and dying. Many others, such as official posts with names, auspicious seals, Xiao seals, etc. Generally, they are sacrificial offerings, not physical objects. Other pottery and standard measuring tools in the Warring States period, as well as gold coins from some countries, were all stamped with seals and recorded with the names of craftsmen or icons, which were also handed down.

[Ancient seal of Warring States]: Ancient seal is the general name of pre-Qin seal. Most of the earliest seals we can see now are ancient seals in the Warring States period. Many words of these ancient seals are still unknown to us. Most ancient seals in Zhu Wen are equipped with wide edges. The strokes of the seal are very fine, and they are all cast. The ancient seal script in white language is made by adding more side bars or vertical grids in the middle, and the characters are cast and chiseled. In addition to the names of Sima and Situ, the official seal has various irregular shapes, and the content is also engraved with auspicious words and vivid objects.

[Qin seal]: Qin seal refers to the seal that was popular from the end of the Warring States Period to the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, and the character used is Qin Zhuan. Look at its calligraphy style and Qin and Han dynasties, Qin stone carvings and other characters are very similar, are more popular than the ancient Warring States period. Qin seals are mostly carved in white with a square surface. The official seal used by junior officials is about half the size of the general square official seal and is rectangular, which is called "semi-pass seal". Private seals are generally rectangular, but also round and oval. In addition to official names, personal names and Kyrgyz, there are proverbs and idioms such as "respecting things", "thinking about success" and "being harmonious with the people".

[Official Seal of Han Dynasty]: Broadly speaking, it is the general name of official seal from Han Dynasty to Wei and Jin Dynasties. Compared with Qin Zhuan, the seal is more neat, straight, square and vigorous in style. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the handicraft industry was very developed, so the official seal ("Xin" was the name of Wang Mang's dynasty) was particularly exquisite and vivid in the times, and the seal art of the Han Dynasty reached its peak. Therefore, it became a model for later seal engravers to learn. The official seals of the two Han dynasties are mostly white, all of which are cast. Only a few troops are in urgent need of carving the official seal of the brothers instead of casting it, which will be introduced later.

[China Private Seal]: The private seal in China is a private seal in Han Dynasty, which is the largest and richest in ancient seals. Not only do they have different shapes, but they are all made of cinnabar and white, or decorated with patterns such as four spirits, and there are also multi-sided printing, overprinter (mother-child printing) and hook printing. In addition to the name, the printed words often include Ji language, native place, table characters, and auxiliary words such as "seal", "private seal" and "letter seal". The button system is extremely diverse, which fully shows the ingenuity of Han craftsmen. Private printing in the Han Dynasty was still dominated by white, engraving in the Western Han Dynasty and chiseling and casting in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

[General seal]: General seal is also a kind of official seal of China. These seals are often temporary dispatches on the way to March, and they are engraved on the printed surface with a knife, which is also called "urgent printing". Pu Yin's unique style is full of interest and has a great influence on his later artistic style. In the Han dynasty, generals used seals, which are generally called "seals" rather than "seals", which is a major feature of military seals.

Han: Two handfuls of Han are very precious and rare in ancient seals. "Dai Yu" was also an elegant fashion of famous officials and celebrities in ancient times. Generally, the jade seal is well-made, with rigorous composition and rounded strokes. At first glance, the strokes are straight and upright, but they have no intention of stagnation. Because jade is hard and not easy to be cut by a knife, a special seal cutting technique, the so-called "knife cutting method", has emerged. Because jade is not easy to corrode and damage, it preserves its true colors.

[Seal of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties]: The official seal, private seal form and button system in Wei and Jin Dynasties followed the Han Dynasty, but the casting method was not as beautiful as that in Han Dynasty. The official seal handed down from generation to generation by brothers is like a knife, and the calligraphy style naturally came into being in Xu Ya-sheng, becoming the representative of seal cutting style in a period. There were not many seals handed down from ancient times in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, but the official seal was slightly larger, and the words were hastily carved, but the official seal was not cast.

[Bai Zhu]: Bai Shuwen's alternate printing style is very clever in China printing. It is said that it originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its ways are extremely diverse, and the position arrangement and word number of Bai Zhu characters can be flexibly changed without restriction. The number of seals cited here can be seen. Bai Zhu's principle is to look at the number of strokes, while Zhu Wen mostly has more strokes, Zhu Wen mostly has fewer strokes, while Bai Wen does the opposite, thus achieving the harmonious effect of Zhu Bairu and Bai Ruzhu. Most of these seals are privately printed and not used for official seals.

[Mother Seal]: Mother Seal, also known as "Xi Seal", originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties. It is a seal composed of two or three seals. A person's stomach is empty, and one or two baby seals can be properly inserted to form the shape of a mother's pocket. There are also two seals on one side (such as the "country one" seal in the right column) to form a group of three parties. There are several seals in the volume of one seal, which shows the technical level of ancient printing.

[Six-sided printing]: Six-sided printing is rare. This kind of "convex" print has a hole in the nose, which can be worn, and a small print on the nose, together with the other five printing surfaces, is called six-sided print. The typical style of six-sided printing handed down from ancient times is a white band with one line for each word, which is dense on the top and sparse on the bottom. The vertical strokes of the seal are long and drooping, and the tip is as sharp as a hanging needle, so it has the common name of "hanging needle seal". Although this style has the advantages of stroke stretching and contrast, it is easy to become vulgar, far less than that of China and India, so seal engravers have only done it occasionally.

[Miao Zhuan Seal] (with Bird and Insect Book): Miao Zhuan Seal and similar bird and insect books are all "artistic words" in China printing, and the former is full of twists and turns. The latter is to add fish-shaped birds and other decorations on this basis. This kind of handwriting was first seen on clocks and watches of ancient weapons or musical instruments, and some of them were embedded with gold wires according to the strokes of the handwriting, which was unique in style. The printing of bird and insect books is only seen in private printing, mostly white.

[Miscellaneous seal]: Miscellaneous seal is also a very unique seal since the Warring States Period. Its style is not fixed, ranging from a few inches to a few minutes, and the changes are extremely rich. In addition to the length and width of Fiona Fang, there are concave and convex patterns, squares, circles, triangles, two circles and three round beads, three-leaf unfolded shapes and so on. The reason why miscellaneous printing is only used for private printing is because of its unique humor and solemn and calm requirements different from official seals.

[Case seal]: There were pictures and seals from the Warring States to the Han and Wei Dynasties, with the Han Dynasty as the most. Also known as Xiao seal or pictographic seal. Various forms, concise and vivid, in addition to figures, birds and animals, horseback riding, auspicious sheep, fish and geese and other patterns, the four spirits of auspicious sheep are common. Dragon, tiger, sparrow and (phoenix and turtle) are printed, which is also called "four-spirit seal".

[Cheng]: Cheng has existed since the Warring States period, and there are more than 100 proverbs and idioms used. For example, there are many idioms, such as "doing the right thing", "respecting things", "benefiting the sky", "being lucky in coming and going" and so on. The number of words varies from one word to two, up to 20, which is used to express good luck and to mourn the dead.

[Flower Seal]: Flower seal, also known as the word "gambling", flourished in the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, so it is also called "yuan gambling". Yuan bet is mostly rectangular, generally engraved with regular script surnames, and engraved with Ba Si Ba Wen or Hua bet. From a practical point of view, most of the seals of past dynasties have the functions of preventing rape and distinguishing forgeries. As an individual's arbitrary writing, the changed "betting words" (some of which are not words, but personal symbols) are naturally more difficult to imitate and achieve the effect of anti-counterfeiting, so this kind of betting words has been used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

[Zhejiang School]: Zhejiang School is a famous seal cutting school prevailing at the same time as Huizhou School. Its founder is Ding Jing, followed by Jiang Ren, Xi Gang, Chen Yuzhong, Chen Hongshou, Zhao,. Because they are all from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, later generations called them "Zhejiang School" together with Indian artists who imitated their artistic style. Ding Jing and other eight people have their own achievements, and they are collectively called "Eight West Lengs". Like Huizhou School, Zhejiang School advocates the seal of Qin and Han Dynasties, and successfully expresses the style of Qin and Han Dynasties with a tough and firm knife. Because of its simple and vigorous style, it is different from the softness and smoothness of Huizhou School, so there is a comment that "Huizhou School is feminine and Zhejiang School is masculine". The art of Zhejiang School dominated the Indian altar in Qing Dynasty for more than a century, with far-reaching influence.

[Other schools]: At the end of Ming and early Qing Dynasty, when Anhui and Zhejiang schools developed and grew, there were other schools related to these two schools. Such as "Putian School" and "Yunjian School". ? The "Putian School", headed by Song Jue (Bi Yu), was born in Putian, Fujian in the Ming Dynasty, so it was also called "Fujian School". The works of Lin Gang, the late master of this school, are quaint and exquisite, shaped like a crown, and also have certain influence. The host of "Cloud School" is Wang Zenglu and his son. Most of the works of these schools lack originality, but at best they are the charm of famous predecessors, and finally they gradually retire and disappear from the printing altar.

[Deng]: Deng, formerly known as Yan, was one of the most outstanding seal engravers in the Qing Dynasty. In the early years, the study of inscriptions in Qin and Han dynasties, seal, official, truth and grass were considered to be the first in Qing Dynasty. He applied the advanced skills of seal script to seal cutting, breaking through the narrow world with Qin and Han seals as the only object to take the method, and expanding the scope of seal cutting. The works are vigorous, solemn, smooth and fresh, creating a generation of Indian style. It greatly influenced later Wu Xizai, Zhao, Huang Du Fu, Wu Changshuo and so on, thus laying the foundation for the five color printing circles in the late Qing Dynasty. Although Deng was also listed as "Huizhou School", it was generally called "Deng School" because of its far-reaching influence.

[Wu Xizai]: Wu Xizai, the word is given, the calligraphy and painting are fine, and the seal cutting skill is very deep. The Qing Dynasty theorist Bao's students. His seal cutting was originally made in French and Chinese. When he was about 30 years old, he saw Deng's works and admired them. Therefore, his seal cutting is imitating Deng, thus pushing the art of "Deng School" to a peak. Because Deng's works are rarely handed down from generation to generation, most of those who are called Deng School are actually Wu Weizong. His works had a great influence on Huang Du Fu and Wu Changshuo. Wu Changshuo once said, "After learning Bai (Deng), you must learn Qin Weng (Wu Xizai)". I admire it. Wu Xizai's seal script is elegant and vigorous, which is manifested in the use of a knife as a pen, the brushwork is round and smooth, the momentum is full, and the vinegar is full. The turning joint of each word structure and the continuation of lines fully show the role of pen. Most of the border sections are cursive, as beautiful as ink, which can be said to be unique. Xu Sangeng and others are also famous teachers of Deng School. Although they all have their own achievements, they are not as good as Wu Xizai. The achievements of Deng and Wu lie not only in their excellent works, but more importantly, they did not blindly imitate the works of their predecessors and made innovative contributions to the development of seal cutting.

[Zhao]: Zhao, nicknamed Uncle Bian, has many nicknames. He is another great artist with unique innovative spirit after Deng. Calligraphy, painting and seal cutting have made great achievements. Seal cutting is a combination of Huizhou School and Zhejiang School. On the basis of Qin and Han seals, it absorbed Qin Quan's seal script, imperial edicts, ancient coins, mirror engraving and inscriptions, expanded the field of obtaining funds for seal engraving and created a new style. Zhao seal cutting advocates pen and ink and has a strong sense of contrast between reality and reality. Zhu Wen is lively, while Bai Wen is steady and energetic. He even carved with a single knife and became a pioneer of the freehand brushwork school of seal cutting. He used the northern Wei calligraphy to engrave, or took the stone directly as a subtle brushwork, or imitated the "stone" as a masculine brushwork, which reproduced the grandeur and wonders of the northern Wei calligraphy between square inches, which can be said to be unprecedented. Zhao's achievements surpassed those of his predecessors Ding Jing and Deng, and also surpassed those of his contemporaries Wu Xizai. Seal cutting entered a new world through Zhao.

[Huang Shiling]: Huang Shiling, his name is Mu Fu. Yi county, Anhui. After his parents died, he took photos in Nanchang and lived in Guangzhou for a long time, so his school can be called "Cantonese School" in art. At the beginning of seal cutting, he started from Zhejiang School and gradually entered the research of Deng, Wu Xizai and Zhao. Later, a friend who came to Beijing saw a lot of information about epigraphy, which opened his eyes, so he took French coins further on the basis of Qin and Han Dynasties. Qin Quan, Han Jing and Bei Tie were particularly interested in Shang and Zhou bronzes and inscriptions on bronzes in Han Dynasty, and eventually formed their own family outside Anhui and Zhejiang Schools. Huang Shiling's seal cutting is smooth and simple. On the basis of Zhao, Bai Wen took the Taoist works from the French and the Han Dynasty, and made a knife with a thin blade, which reflected the strength and straightness of the Han Dynasty. Zhu Wen's pilot project is also in full swing. Composition pays attention to density, interpenetration, sharp and powerful lines, smooth and beautiful, not boring. It seems to inadvertently contain endless changes. It is also unique that Shu Wei is carved on the border with a punching knife.

[Wu Changshuo]: Wu Changshuo, formerly known as Jun Qing with many nicknames, was the first president of Xiling Printing Society. He was the last great painter in the Qing Dynasty, and he was also known as the four great painters in the late Qing Dynasty with Wu (present), Zhao (Zhi Qian) and Huang (Shi Ling). Poetry, painting and calligraphy are highly accomplished. His seal cutting began in Chen Hongshou of Zhejiang School, followed by Zhao. Finally, through Wu Xizai and Song Qian's knife skills, as well as the study of Qin and Han seal and clay seal, it was finally unified among many teachers who benefited from it, forming an old and vigorous unique face. Wu Changshuo dabbled extensively in his early years and specialized in Shi Guwen after middle age. Park Maoxiong combined Ji Jin's writing style, developed the method of seal cutting, highlighted the stereotype and started his own seal cutting career. Laid a solid foundation. His carving method of cutting stones with a blunt knife makes his seal cutting show a simple, vigorous and vigorous interest in nature. His seal cutting can be described as a freehand brushwork in painting. After the philosophers in the late Qing Dynasty, he rose suddenly and became the most influential master of seal cutting in modern times.

[Zhao Shifeng]:No. Shuru, a famous modern painting and calligraphy seal engraver. Gong Sishu is good at identifying calligraphy and painting inscriptions and drawing horses. In his early years, he adopted the method of Zhejiang seal cutting, and later learned from Zhao and Deng to catch up with the Qin and Han Dynasties, but he still has unique skills in Xiaohe and Zhuwen. In seal cutting, there are actually two schools of engraving imitating the Han Dynasty, and Zhao Shifeng is one of the representative writers who inherited the casting and printing school of the Han Dynasty in modern times.

[Zhejiang School]: Zhejiang School is a famous seal cutting school prevailing at the same time as Huizhou School. Its founder is Ding Jing, followed by Jiang Ren, Xi Gang, Chen Yuzhong, Chen Hongshou, Zhao,. Because they are all from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, later generations call them "Zhejiang School" together with Indian artists who imitate their artistic style. Ding Jing and other eight people have their own achievements, and they are collectively called "Eight West Lengs". Like Huizhou School, Zhejiang School advocates the seal of Qin and Han Dynasties, and successfully expresses the style of Qin and Han Dynasties with a tough and firm knife. Because of its simple and vigorous style, it is different from the softness and smoothness of Huizhou School, so there is a comment that "Huizhou School is feminine and Zhejiang School is masculine". The art of Zhejiang School dominated the Indian altar in Qing Dynasty for more than a century, with far-reaching influence.

[Other schools]: At the end of Ming and early Qing Dynasty, when Anhui and Zhejiang schools developed and grew, there were other schools related to these two schools. Such as "Putian School" and "Yunjian School". ? The "Putian School", headed by Song Jue (Bi Yu), was born in Putian, Fujian in the Ming Dynasty, so it was also called "Fujian School". The works of Lin Gang, the late master of this school, are quaint and exquisite, shaped like a crown, and also have certain influence. The host of "Cloud School" is Wang Zenglu and his son. Most of the works of these schools lack originality, but at best they are the charm of famous predecessors, and finally they gradually retire and disappear from the printing altar.

[Deng]: Deng, formerly known as Yan, was one of the most outstanding seal engravers in the Qing Dynasty. In the early years, the study of inscriptions in Qin and Han dynasties, seal, official, truth and grass were considered to be the first in Qing Dynasty. He applied the advanced skills of seal script to seal cutting, breaking through the narrow world with Qin and Han seals as the only object to take the method, and expanding the scope of seal cutting. The works are vigorous, solemn, smooth and fresh, creating a generation of Indian style. It greatly influenced later Wu Xizai, Zhao, Huang Du Fu, Wu Changshuo and so on, thus laying the foundation for the five color printing circles in the late Qing Dynasty. Although Deng was also listed as "Huizhou School", it was generally called "Deng School" because of its far-reaching influence.

[Wu Xizai]: Wu Xizai, the word is given, the calligraphy and painting are fine, and the seal cutting skill is very deep. The Qing Dynasty theorist Bao's students. His seal cutting was originally made in French and Chinese. When he was about 30 years old, he saw Deng's works and admired them. Therefore, his seal cutting is imitating Deng, thus pushing the art of "Deng School" to a peak. Because Deng's works are rarely handed down from generation to generation, most of those who are called Deng School are actually Wu Weizong. His works had a great influence on Huang Du Fu and Wu Changshuo. Wu Changshuo once said, "After learning Bai (Deng), you must learn Qin Weng (Wu Xizai)". I admire it. Wu Xizai's seal script is elegant and vigorous, which is manifested in the use of a knife as a pen, the brushwork is round and smooth, the momentum is full, and the vinegar is full. The turning joint of each word structure and the continuation of lines fully show the role of pen. Most of the border sections are cursive, as beautiful as ink, which can be said to be unique. Xu Sangeng and others are also famous teachers of Deng School. Although they all have their own achievements, they are not as good as Wu Xizai. The achievements of Deng and Wu lie not only in their excellent works, but more importantly, they did not blindly imitate the works of their predecessors and made innovative contributions to the development of seal cutting.

[Zhao]: Zhao, nicknamed Uncle Bian, has many nicknames. He is another great artist with unique innovative spirit after Deng. Calligraphy, painting and seal cutting have made great achievements. Seal cutting is a combination of Huizhou School and Zhejiang School. On the basis of Qin and Han seals, it absorbed Qin Quan's seal script, imperial edicts, ancient coins, mirror engraving and inscriptions, expanded the field of obtaining funds for seal engraving and created a new style. Zhao seal cutting advocates pen and ink and has a strong sense of contrast between reality and reality. Zhu Wen is lively, while Bai Wen is steady and energetic. He even carved with a single knife and became a pioneer of the freehand brushwork school of seal cutting. He used the northern Wei calligraphy to engrave, or took the stone directly as a subtle brushwork, or imitated the "stone" as a masculine brushwork, which reproduced the grandeur and wonders of the northern Wei calligraphy between square inches, which can be said to be unprecedented. Zhao's achievements surpassed those of his predecessors Ding Jing and Deng, and also surpassed those of his contemporaries Wu Xizai. Seal cutting entered a new world through Zhao.

[Huang Shiling]: Huang Shiling, his name is Mu Fu. Yi county, Anhui. After his parents died, he took photos in Nanchang and lived in Guangzhou for a long time, so his school can be called "Cantonese School" in art. At the beginning of seal cutting, he started from Zhejiang School and gradually entered the research of Deng, Wu Xizai and Zhao. Later, a friend who came to Beijing saw a lot of information about epigraphy, which opened his eyes, so he took French coins further on the basis of Qin and Han Dynasties. Qin Quan, Han Jing and Bei Tie were particularly interested in Shang and Zhou bronzes and inscriptions on bronzes in Han Dynasty, and eventually formed their own family outside Anhui and Zhejiang Schools. Huang Shiling's seal cutting is smooth and simple. On the basis of Zhao, Bai Wen took the Taoist works from the French and the Han Dynasty, and made a knife with a thin blade, which reflected the strength and straightness of the Han Dynasty. Zhu Wen's pilot project is also in full swing. Composition pays attention to density, interpenetration, sharp and powerful lines, smooth and beautiful, not boring. It seems to inadvertently contain endless changes. It is also unique that Shu Wei is carved on the border with a punching knife.

[Wu Changshuo]: Wu Changshuo, formerly known as Jun Qing with many nicknames, was the first president of Xiling Printing Society. He was the last great painter in the Qing Dynasty, and he was also known as the four great painters in the late Qing Dynasty with Wu (present), Zhao (Zhi Qian) and Huang (Shi Ling). Poetry, painting and calligraphy are highly accomplished. His seal cutting began in Chen Hongshou of Zhejiang School, followed by Zhao. Finally, through Wu Xizai and Song Qian's knife skills, as well as the study of Qin and Han seal and clay seal, it was finally unified among many teachers who benefited from it, forming an old and vigorous unique face. Wu Changshuo dabbled extensively in his early years and specialized in Shi Guwen after middle age. Park Maoxiong combined Ji Jin's writing style, developed the method of seal cutting, highlighted the stereotype and started his own seal cutting career. Laid a solid foundation. His carving method of cutting stones with a blunt knife makes his seal cutting show a simple, vigorous and vigorous interest in nature. His seal cutting can be described as a freehand brushwork in painting. After the philosophers in the late Qing Dynasty, he rose suddenly and became the most influential master of seal cutting in modern times.

[Zhao Shifeng]:No. Shuru, a famous modern painting and calligraphy seal engraver. Gong Sishu is good at identifying calligraphy and painting inscriptions and drawing horses. In his early years, he adopted the method of Zhejiang seal cutting, and later learned from Zhao and Deng to catch up with the Qin and Han Dynasties, but he still has unique skills in Xiaohe and Zhuwen. In seal cutting, there are actually two schools of engraving imitating the Han Dynasty, and Zhao Shifeng is one of the representative writers who inherited the casting and printing school of the Han Dynasty in modern times.