The Great Craftsman’s Gate, the Lonely Way, the Wutang, Qi Baishi, Liu Xinhui (member of Xiling Seal Society, member of Chinese Calligraphers Association). Many people are familiar with Qi Baishi from his paintings, but Mr. Qi himself said: He The seal is better than the painting! Why is this? Objectively speaking, if Qi Baishi was just a simple painter, he could not and had no reason to become the master Qi Baishi. It can be said that Qi Baishi's seal cutting is the cornerstone of Qi Baishi's painting. Without Qi Baishi's seal cutting achievements, Qi Baishi's painting would have no artistic support. Why do you say that? First of all, Qi Baishi began to learn painting at the age of 27, but Qi Baishi first made prints at an earlier age. Before the age of 27, Qi Baishi had already begun the study and creation of seal cutting. It is not difficult for me to find the answer to this point of view from the early printing counter of Shiraishi in the Shiraishi Seal Exhibition at the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum. Qi Baishi was a carpenter in his early years. He had great wrist strength, accurate hands, and a strong sense of proportion, which laid a solid foundation for the later formation of Qi's seal style. Secondly, Qi Baishi's seal style is in the same vein as his calligraphy style and develops from each other. Thirdly, Qi Baishi's seal is the most ideal window to see through Baishi's artistic conception, creation and achievements. The biggest feeling we feel when looking at Old Man Shiraishi's seal is "pleasure". Many repetitive and monotonous words, in the view of Mr. Shiraishi, are just a good opportunity for him to be new and different. Calligraphy and painting appraisal Calligraphy and painting auction Art transaction Qi Baishi's calligraphy and painting Qi Baishi's seal In 1994, I visited Mr. Qi Gong, and Mr. Qi said to me: Mr. Baishi's seals are very interesting. He put the stone against the edge of the table, picked up the stone and looked at it up close, then looked at it from a distance, first carved horizontally, then vertically, and finally tidied up the joints of the strokes with the tip of a knife... Mr. Qi said it simply, but I However, he believes that Old Man Baishi must have taken a long time to conceive of the printing. He was strategizing and striking like the wind. Looking at Qi Baishi's seals, it is not difficult to find the following characteristics: 1. Using a knife instead of writing and calligraphy for sealing. Qi Lao's method of seal script is ancient. In the printing process, Lao Baishi gave full play to the strengths of calligraphy, being direct, calm and cheerful. 2. The white cloth uses the virtual and real calligraphy as the black and white of the printing method. At this point, it is the most subtle and difficult to understand. But this is also the key to understanding the beauty of seal cutting. 3. Especially those "invisible" places other than red and white, but they have huge energy. Taking "The Way of Loneliness" (Bai Wen) and Bai Shi (Zhu Wen) Seal as examples, you can appreciate the magical effect of the uncarved moment. 4. The contrast between red and white is huge, which adds a great epigraphic flavor to the composition of his paintings, which is something that epigraphers cannot do. And this flavor is not conjured up, but comes naturally and instinctively from Shiraishi's heart. 5. The knife technique is simple, the composition is exquisite, without thinking, skill and clumsiness complement each other. The lines of the white stone seal are smooth on one side and rough on the other, as if a swordsman was using a pen, all with a real knife. 6. The processing of words and words, words and edges is bold and unique. Borrowing edges, damaging edges, removing edges, thin edges, thick edges, square inches are full of wisdom. 7. Generally, printing materials with particularly fine texture are not used. Most of them are mainly Qingtian and supplemented by Shoushan. The biggest feature of Qingtian stone is that the stone is brittle and can be knifed, and its carving effect is most consistent with the feeling of Baishi's calligraphy. Therefore, when we look at Baishi's most representative works, "People from Xiangtan, China", "Plants and Plants May Not Be Ruthless", etc., they are all based on Qingtian. Old material for it.