Basic knowledge of seals

The origin of seal is an art category with national historical and cultural characteristics. Seal, like a wonderful flower, constantly exudes unique fragrance in the extensive and profound China art garden, attracting people into this square world.

The origin and evolution of seal is a unique historical and cultural product of China. In ancient times, seals were mainly used as tools for identification and driving authority. Its origin is due to the actual needs of social life.

As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, seals had been produced. Today's seal has become a unique artistic treasure that integrates practicality and artistry.

There are many nicknames for seals in different historical periods, some because of different uses, and some just have different names. Oracle Bone Inscriptions's "seal" is to hold a person down with his hand and make him kneel.

By the end of the week, the word "seal" has become a claw shape, which shows that the word "seal" has evolved from "suppression" Today, we still use "yin" as a verb, such as "yin" and "yin", which shows that "yin" as a trustworthy noun is transformed from use.

In the Zhou Dynasty, India was collectively called India or India Festival. According to the sealing system of Qin dynasty, only the emperor can call it sealing.

At this time, the seal has become a symbol of status and power. The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system, and the emperor called it a seal, and the general officials called it a seal, seal or seal.

After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the official seal gradually became larger, mostly Jiuding. After Wu Zetian came to power, she died of the evil "seal" sound and ordered to turn the seal into treasure. After Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, "Bao", as the special name of the emperor's seal, continued until the Qing Dynasty.

In addition, there are some nicknames for seals, such as Ji, Zhu Ji and Qi in the Song Dynasty, pawn in the Yuan Dynasty, Fu, Qi and Xin in the Ming Dynasty, which were gradually eliminated after the Qing Dynasty. Only the "seal" and "Zhang" have continued to this day, still maintaining a strong vitality. As a symbol, the characteristics of seals have remained basically unchanged since ancient times. However, the frequent appearance of leisure stamps after the Tang and Song Dynasties shows that seals are gradually changing to artistic appreciation.

Among the famous literati, Zhao's page (1254- 1322) was the first to advocate seal cutting and was also the first famous figure to use Qingtian ice sculpture. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Indian people rose to catch up with Qin and Han Dynasties.

With the joint efforts of several generations of Indians, the aesthetic value of seals has become more and more prominent. Since the Qing Dynasty, seals have become independent works of art alongside calligraphy and painting. The development of seals has a long history. There were two * * * periods, one was the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the other was the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After Qin unified the six countries in the Qin and Han Dynasties, while strengthening centralization, it absorbed local cultures and merged them into a major source of ancient culture in China. Reflected in the seal field, it is the hierarchy of the system, the unity of the text and the simplicity of the style.

Systematically speaking, the Qin Dynasty formulated a relatively perfect official seal system. Literally, the seal of Qin Dynasty changed the complicated situation of the Warring States font, and unified the seal with imitation.

Stylistically, three fat pays attention to practicality, and presents a simple and natural aesthetic feeling in printing, composition and button style. Although the history is short, the achievements made by Qin Yin and its role as a link between the past and the future are very significant and important.

Han Dynasty is the heyday in the history of seal development. This period not only inherited and perfected the official seal system established in the Qin Dynasty, but also made the specifications, buttons and shapes of seals more unified, forming a profound and colorful artistic style unique to Chinese seal. This lofty and almost perfect artistic realm has become a model for future generations to look up to learning, appreciation and admiration. The achievements of Han and India can be summarized as the following five aspects: complete system, various categories, standardized writing, natural composition and exquisite skills.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the era of seal fever. Since Wen Peng vigorously promoted the lamp-frozen stone, for a time, "everyone has a brush, and every family has a A Qin Han", which set off a heat wave of layers of seals.

During this period, famous artists competed with each other, schools competed with each other, and the collection of printed spectrum and printed theory added fuel to the flames, which ushered in the second * * * period in the history of seal development. Appreciation of seal art The aesthetic value of seal can be summarized in two aspects: the artistic beauty of seal and the material beauty of seal.

The beauty of printing art can be divided into four parts: printing, printing, printing spectrum and printing decoration. To appreciate seal script, we must first master the characteristics of artistic expression techniques such as calligraphy, composition and knife cutting, and then understand the interest and implication contained in the content of seal script, and then savor it carefully and experience it slowly.

Printers who have always made great achievements in calligraphy attach great importance to calligraphy. In the previous chapter, we have learned that "no mistakes" is an important prerequisite to ensure the appreciation value of seals. As we all know, calligraphy is the art of writing. If you can't even read, there is no artistic appreciation.

The reason why seals have been respected and loved by intellectuals in past dynasties is precisely because of his difficulties and the challenges brought by his difficulties. What is easy to get is neither challenging nor attractive, not to mention the appreciation value.

For connoisseurs, understanding seal script has become the primary task. At first glance, seal script is a bit strange, but it is actually very easy to learn and difficult to master.

The development of seal script is centered on "shape". Although it later became an "image", there are always tangible traces to explore its origin, so seal script is artistic from the beginning. The method of seal printing is the method of position arrangement and overall layout between words and lines.

Reasonable rules and regulations can give people high-grade enjoyment, while unreasonable rules and regulations can make people know at a glance that the details are insufficient or even fake. The basic requirements of rules and regulations are balance, honesty, generosity and correctness. Most of the rules and regulations in China and India are based on this, and further require naturalness and vividness for negotiation and pondering.

It is difficult and complicated for ancient people to cut copper and carve jade with knives. Good stone is extremely suitable for stress, just like good paper is subject to pen and ink, where the iron pen passes, stone chips are scattered, showing the effect of natural cracking, leaving traces of lines and bearing the vigorous stone flavor of Gu Zhuo.

Knife method can be roughly divided into two types: punching knife and cutting knife. Punch and knife moves quickly, rushing thousands of miles, much like the brushwork of calligraphy, which can show vigorous momentum; The cutter moves slowly and cuts continuously with a short-range chopper, one step at a time, just like a pen in calligraphy.

2. What are the details about the inscription and seal?

Inscription, also known as inscription, inscription, painting, inscription and so on.

All the names, dates, poems, etc. What is marked on the painting and calligraphy is called an inscription. It plays a stable and balanced role in composition, which can make up for the deficiency of painting composition and is an important part of the whole work. At the same time, it can add poetry and supplement what the painter wants to express.

Specifically, writing poems on the screen is called "title", as well as painting words, including painting praise, painting notes, painting postscript, painting poems (words) and so on. Indicate the date, name, seal, etc. The painting is called "Duan"

You can also write down your native place, age, etc. If you paint for others, you often have to write down the name of the recipient. Inscriptions require higher literary talent and calligraphy level, and the font is not limited, but they must match the content, style and artistic conception of the painting.

The seal of traditional Chinese painting can be divided into surname seal, name seal, name seal, name seal, year seal, collection seal and leisure seal. Seal can be divided into big seal, small seal, official script, cursive script and running script, and the font and shape of seal must also be combined with painting. All kinds of chapters have corresponding requirements for their position and content, and they can't be casual, but only idle chapters can have flexible position and vivid content, such as epigrams, poems, idioms, short sentences, etc., but the so-called "idle chapters are not idle" is not dispensable.

In some famous ancient paintings, we can often see all kinds of collecting stamps, and some even cover the blank with collecting stamps. Up to the Yuan Dynasty, Qian Xuan's Fu Yu Shan Ju Tu spread to the late Qing Dynasty, with more than 300 seals on it, which played a great role as evidence to identify the authenticity.

3. Common sense of seal calligraphy seal cover method

First, the artistic function of the seal The seal on a calligraphy work is an indispensable part of a calligraphy work. Without a seal, it is not a complete calligraphy work.

The seal was originally a token, which played the role of verification. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, calligraphers gradually realized the artistic function of seals and attached importance to them in their calligraphy works, which led to the emergence of the art of combining book and seal.

Books and seals set each other off and become interesting, which not only adds color to calligraphy works, enlivens the atmosphere and plays the role of "icing on the cake", but also adjusts the center of gravity, makes up for the lack of layout and plays a stable and balanced role in works. Calligraphy works are signed and sealed to show solemnity and prevent forgery; Covered with elegant and meaningful leisure chapters, you can also pin your ambitions and interests in the book.

Therefore, calligraphers have always attached great importance to the use of seals, even their own seal cutting, so that the combination of seals and books has a more beautiful and stronger artistic appeal. Second, several seals (1) commonly used in calligraphy works are the signature seals of the inscription.

Some names are linked together, while others are separated. The inscription is stamped with the word "one surname" as positive, and a surname can also be used.

The name of the printed paragraph; The word, and then use the name stamp. If money has a surname, you can use a name stamp. If money has no surname or no signature, you should use a name stamp to identify the author.

The ancients used chapters and paid attention to etiquette; Anyone who is humble and young should be honored by books and should use a name seal; Words and seals used between peers; If the elders want to give it to the humble and young, they can use another stamp. On the contrary, it is ridiculous and generous.

Zhang Daqian, a modern painter, believes that the shape of the name stamp is "square is the best, round is ok, and the waist is naturally not." Famous seals are generally divided into Zhu Wen (Yang Wen) and Bai Wen (Yin Wen).

When a calligraphy work is stamped with two seals, it is best to have one Zhu and one white, and the two seals are appropriate in size. When multiple chapters are used at the end of a paragraph, the order is that the name chapter comes first, and the words and numbers chapter comes last.

(2) Leisure chapter is also called layout chapter, including introduction chapter, boundary chapter, corner chapter and waist chapter. 65438+

Whether to quote the first chapter of calligraphy works depends on the need. If the first paragraph is too neat, it needs to be "deformed"; The seal at the end of the paragraph is too heavy and needs to be "upgraded"; The distribution of seals on the works is monotonous, so when it is necessary to "adjust", the first chapter should be considered. (1) The seal of the house number began with the imperial seal of Li Biduan's bedroom in the Tang Dynasty.

After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, this trend became more and more popular, and almost everyone in calligraphers had the seal of fasting. Wen Zhiming, a calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty, said, "Many of my bookstores are printed."

Zhai Hao is usually called Zhai, Tang, Shi, Lou, Ge, Guan, Xuan, An and so on. , such as Zhai, Tang, Shi, Lou, Ting, Lai Qin Ting, Yu Shang Xuan, An Le Tian and so on. (2) Elegant essays, that is, ancient auspicious words and phrases, are rich in meaning and gentle, or compile philosophical and thought-provoking idioms and aphorisms, or record your hobbies and ambitions.

There are many elegant chapters that encourage people to learn, such as "cutting", "learning from others", "liking books", "being diligent", "learning from the past", "learning from others", "enjoying reading", "being eager to learn makes people understand" and "getting it by accident over time". Those who express their feelings, such as relying on morality, being clear-minded, having fun, having fun in hardships, cherishing shade, being willing to be a scalper, being pure and ice-clear, being indifferent to nature, being square and so on. There are also expressions of pen and ink interest, splashing ink, using a pen, fragrant fields, spiritual interest, hiding from people, clinging, pursuing with hands, and working in inkstone fields. Some people wish good luck, such as "Wish", "Changle", "Beauty is not old", "Lucky Day", "Longevity" and "Eternal Life". (3) The year stamp is used to record the year of calligraphy works, such as Jia Zi, Yi Chou, Bing Yin or 19 * * *, 1990, 1980, 1990.

(4) The month stamp is used to record the month order of calligraphy works, such as last spring, such as the moon and silkworm moon. 1. Edge seal refers to a seal that covers one side of a calligraphy work and plays the role of blocking the edge and gathering gas.

2. The seal that covers the corner of the calligraphy work is called the corner seal. Take the one in the upper right corner as the "response" and the two corners as the "betting angle".

Stop the side chapter and take only one side; Corner sealing can control both sides, and it plays the role of "blocking edges and sealing corners", "supplementing emptiness" and adjusting and stabilizing the picture near the corners. 3. For long calligraphy works such as banners, if only a leading chapter is stamped on the upper right, and the middle looks like a space, a waist chapter can be stamped, the content of which is mostly the native place of the calligrapher, or it can be printed into a small shape by the calligrapher's zodiac.

The middle chapter is smaller than the first chapter and the famous chapter at the end of the paragraph, and the three chapters cannot be covered by a straight line. The leisure chapter mentioned above is actually not "idle". If printed properly, the clock can not only play the role of pen and ink, but also play a role that pen and ink can not play.

As Pan Tianshou, a modern painter, said, "Opening a chapter, pressing a corner chapter and a famous chapter can play the role of making the color changes on the screen echo, breaking the flat plate and stabilizing the balance." (3) Collection seal is a seal for collectors to appreciate.

According to records, the seal collection also began in the Tang Dynasty and prevailed after the Song Dynasty. Tang Taizong wrote the word "Zhenguan" with Lian Zhuyin, and Tang Xuanzong wrote the word "Kaiyuan" with Lian Zhuyin, both of which were royal Tibetan calligraphy and painting.

Later collections have many names, such as collection, keeping secrets, examination and approval, appreciation and reading. The seal for collection should be based on the size of the calligraphy and painting to avoid damaging the calligraphy and painting.

For the sake of their immortality, some collectors often destroy the map when they stamp it, so be careful. Third, the seal on the artistic calligraphy works printed by the seal is not stamped at will, but has certain statutes.

Improper stamping will not only add icing on the cake, but will be self-defeating and destroy the artistic effect of the whole work. Therefore, how to seal it needs to be taken seriously and carefully considered.

Usually, we can grasp the following points: 1, the size is suitable for the size of the seal, it should match the size of the work, it should be equal to the inscription, it can be smaller, and it should not be bigger than the inscription and indecent. If the words are small and the paper is tight, you can use small joint beads to show consideration.

When using two seals of different sizes in a work, in order to stabilize and avoid the shortcomings of top-heaviness, the seal at the top should be small and the seal at the bottom should be large. If several people cooperate, their seals should be the same size.

2. The quantity should be less than the sealed quantity. There is a "useful" seal.

4. Common sense of calligraphy and painting works and seals

Common sense is as follows: 1, calligraphy and painting are sealed, and the seal is greater than the word.

Of course, it is natural to stamp a big seal and a small seal. 2. Chinese painting is stamped under the lettering, down to the bottom corner, and corner capping is not allowed.

For example, the upper right corner and the lower left corner can be stamped with leisure stamps, and the upper left corner and the lower right corner can be stamped. If the above words are printed near the lower corner, there is no need to stamp the leisure stamp.

3. Chinese painting banners are signed, and the left and right corners are not allowed to be stamped. Square leisure stamp can be affixed to the upper right corner, square leisure stamp can be affixed to the upper left corner and square leisure stamp can be affixed to the lower right corner.

If there is no need to stamp a leisure stamp here, it will be self-defeating if you barely stamp it. 4. Rectangular, circular and rectangular leisure chapters should not be covered in the position of the corner-pressing leisure chapter in the lower corner.

5, the square leisure chapter can not be covered on the painting and calligraphy, usurping the host's role. Extended data:

There are many kinds of seals with a long history. Let me start with the history and types of seals: 1. The ancient seal of the Warring States period is the general name of the pre-Qin seal.

Most of the earliest seals we can see now are ancient seals in the Warring States period. The strokes of seals are as thin as hair, 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.

2. Qin seal refers to the popular seal from the end of the Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty, and the characters used are called. Look at its calligraphy style and Qin and Han dynasties, Qin stone carvings and other characters are very similar, are more popular and easy to understand than the ancient prose of the 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, rectangular and square, 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".

3. In a broad sense, the official seal of the Han Dynasty is the general name of the official seal from the Han Dynasty to the 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. seal cutting in the Han Dynasty reached its peak and 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.