Introduction to Chinese Seal Carving (3)

The flourishing of seal carving by esteemed scholars brought Chinese seal carving into a new ear. Given the artistic standards of seal carving of the Qin and Han Dynasties, some scholars widely used the stone for seal carving to express their feelings and thinkings from the Ming Dynasty. Accordingly, a new technique of expression took shape. Meanwhile, different schools of seal carving were founded throughout the county. Wen Peng (Chinese: 文彭), He Zheng (Chinese: 何震), Zhu Jian (Chinese: 朱簡) and Wang Guan (Chinese: 汪關), accomplished masters of seal carving in the Ming Dynasty, represented the highest level of then seal carving.

Baiyun Feng Zhu, Ding Jing, Qing 清丁敬 - 白雲峰主Many schools with different artistic styles were established in the Qing Dynasty. Xiling Seal-Engraving Society (Chinese: 西冷印社) had a great influence upon the development seal carving in the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Ding Jing (Chinese: 丁敬) is the outstanding representative of that society. The society founded by Deng Shi-ru (Chinese: 鄧石如) expanded rapidly in late part of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, many masters of seal carving laid the emphasis on the expression of personality, unrestricted craftsmanship and distinctive styles of the works. All these provided the seal carving by scholars with fresh impetus to reach the peak of seal carving.

The adornment of the knobs of the seals, the indispensable part of the seal carving, also developed rapidly in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The varied craftsmanship and techniques of expression made it become the special artistic form with the practical purpose. Now Chinese seal carving is widely appeal very much to the more and the less cultured despite of their respective aesthetic standards.

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For ordering a Chinese seal, please contact us at arranke28@gmail.com.

References:
1. Sun Weizu 孫慰祖, Seal 印章. Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House 上海人民美術出版社: Shanghai, 1998. ISBN: 7532218937
2. ThinkQuest Internet Challenge: Chinese Seal Engarving

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