China traditional culture seal seal cutting seal

China traditional culture seal seal cutting seal

The ancient seal was inherited and carried forward by the later seal engravers for its superb art. Although it didn't have the name of later seal engraving, it played a decisive role in the development of seal engraving.

So the origin of seal is also the origin of seal cutting. From ancient times to the present, seal cutting has been shaped by artists' knives, played by literati's hands and appreciated by the exhibition halls of museums and art galleries. Where does seal cutting come from? According to the sacrificial records of the Han Dynasty, "There have been books and agreements since the Five Emperors, and as for the Three Kings, the custom of engraving has gradually flourished, and there is a seal to stop rape."

The origin of seal cutting is very early, and it has gone through more than ten dynasties in the long history of three years. During the Warring States, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, seal cutting experienced two highly developed historical stages.

One is the Warring States, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties. The seal cutting materials in this period were mainly used in the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties of jade articles, but they were in decline in the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. During this period, due to the application of regular script instead of seal script and the separation of official seal and private seal, seal cutting went downhill. This situation took a turn for the better in the late Yuan Dynasty, when the painter Wang Mian discovered that the flower milk stone could be printed, thus making it an ideal material for printing.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, seal cutting entered the revival period. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, seal cutting has ushered in the second peak of development, and its artistic characteristics are mainly various schools. During this period, Wen Peng and He Zhen played an important role in seal cutting creation.

Wen Zhiming's son, Wen Peng, accidentally discovered that "light stone" frozen stone can be used as a seal.

Materials. After his advocacy, stones were widely used.

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many schools in seal cutting, and seal cutting artists such as Cheng Sui, Ding Jing, Deng, Zhao and so on appeared. Seal cutting once presented a prosperous scene. It was not until Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi, the modern masters of seal cutting, that a complete history of seal cutting in China was formed.

Seal cutting is a perfect combination of calligraphy, composition and knife cutting. On the one hand, there are magnificent and elegant calligraphy strokes, beautiful painting composition and vivid knife cutting and carving charm. It can be described as "between square inches, there are thousands of weather."