Are you talking about a seal?
Throughout the ages, celebrities and elegant scholars who like to collect books all love to stamp their books. In addition to the name, there are often other words left on the seal to reflect the character and temperament of the book collector, making readers feel full of interest and endless charm.
The earliest book collection seal dates back to the Tang Dynasty. It is said to be the two-character "Zhenguan" seal written by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin himself. After that, Tang Xuanzong Li Longji's "Kaiyuan" seal with two characters, Li Mi's "Duanju" seal, and Li Yu's "Jianye Study" seal were also quite famous.
After the Ming Dynasty, the use of book seals gradually became popular, and private book collections paid special attention to the use of book seals. The seal of the book collection of Huang Zongxi, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, is engraved with the words "If you are poor, you will not forget to buy it; if you are in trouble, you will not forget to carry it with you; when you are old, you will not forget to read it; your descendants will learn from my heart." The love for books is all in it. The rich collection of books by Mao Jin, the owner of "Ji Gu Pavilion" in the Ming Dynasty, is known to the world. He has a 56-character seal for a large collection of books. The seal reads: "Zhao Wenmin said at the end of the book that my family is a Confucian scholar and works hard to write books to bequeath to his descendants. What are his ambitions? If future generations do not sell them, they will become vulgar and decadent. The sound of his family is not as good as that of a calf. If you return to another house, you should recite these words, and you will not be ashamed of it. "It can be said to be magnificent.
Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" in the Qing Dynasty, his personal seal embodies his character between the lines and is quite charming. Common seals include "seven-grade official ear" and "if it moves, it will lead to slander, and the name will follow." At first glance, the seal is plain, but upon closer inspection, it becomes more valuable. The master of collecting books, Ma Tailong, carved a seal for his own book collection, with the inscription "Yinnu". Because of his large collection of books, his books were often stolen. In a fit of anger, he engraved a "police seal" on the title page of the book: "Stealing books is not an elegant thief."
Many modern writers and artists have unique seals on their collections. Qu Qiubai and Yang Zhihua often used a seal on the title page of the book. The seal was "Autumn White Flower", including their names. It was an ingenious idea and profound intention. The "Collected Commentary of Zhuangzi" collected by Mao Dun is stamped with the imprint of his collection of "Xuanzhu read after the age of 68", which is quite meaningful. Zheng Zhenduo often only signed the covers of western-style books, and only added the seal of "Zheng's Collection of Changle Books" to thread-bound books. Wei Jiangong engraved two seals for him. The long one is called "The Collection of Zheng's Books in Changle" and the square one is called "The Collection of Books by Zheng Zhenduo in Changle". They are all written in Zhuwen style, with each word in the previous one framed, which is pure and endearing in ancient style. Most of Zhang Daqian's book collection seals, a master of traditional Chinese painting, were written and engraved by himself. The more intriguing ones include "Master of the Great Thousand", "Hidden of the Great Thousand", "North, South, East and West can only be together without separation", etc. His love for books is beyond words.
Mr. Lu Xun collected many stone rubbings, ancient books and other books. The book collection seals he used include "Collected by Zhou Shuren", "Collected by Zhou Shuren in Kuaiji", "Qitang", etc. Lu Xun once met Chen Shizeng, a famous Chinese painter and epigrapher. Chen Shizeng successively carved five seals for Lu Xun, including "Possessed by Zhou Shuren" and "Qitang". Mr. Deng Tuo's book collection seals are also unique. He once had a book seal engraved with "Scholar's spirit is indispensable", which vividly expressed his scholarly demeanor of being upright and diligent in doing things. Dong Biwu loved collecting books, and all his books were stamped with an oval-shaped book collection seal of "Leyi Hall". "Leyi Hall" was the plaque in the living room of his house.