To truly understand seal cutting, we must first understand the definition of seal cutting. The "seal character" of seal cutting and the ancient Chinese character "_" are defined as follows in Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "Turtle and jade are signs, _ also." So, _ means jade. Only later, bamboo and silk became a popular writing tool, and the symbol of seal script changed from "jade" to "bamboo". As for the word "carved", it means digging and carving with a knife. Together, the meaning of seal cutting is clear. So seal cutting means carving on jade.
Seal cutting is a traditional art closely related to calligraphy. You know, the seal cutting of an excellent seal can't be separated from the well-designed calligraphy Yin Gao at first, and then, the seal cutter needs to use his well-made knife method to carry out vivid and vivid carving. It can be described as "between square inches, there are thousands of weather." During the Qin and Han Dynasties, seal cutting works were mostly "jade seal" used by emperors or "seal" or "seal" used by dignitaries. Seal cutting was once considered as a symbol of identity and rights.
In the long history, seal cutting has experienced two glorious periods. First, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, the main materials for seal cutting at this time were mostly precious gold, silver and jade. Second, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, seal cutting in this period showed the characteristics of various schools. It was during this period that stones were widely used as raw materials for seal cutting. There are many famous sculptors, such as Ding Jing and Wu Rangzhi. Famous sculptors such as Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi appeared in modern times. From this perspective, the history of seal cutting in China is indeed brilliant.