There are many types of seals in calligraphy and painting, and the history is very long. The types of seals can be divided into the following:
First, the ancient seal of the Warring States Period
The ancient seal is a general term for the seal of the pre-Qin period. Most of the earliest seals we can see now are the ancient seals of the Warring States Period. The seal strokes are as fine as a hair, all from casting. Most of the ancient seals in Bai language are added with side bars or a vertical grid in the middle, and the characters are cast and chiseled. In addition to the names of Sima and Situ, the official seal has various irregular shapes, and the contents are also engraved with auspicious words and animal patterns.
Second, Qin Yin
Qin Yin refers to the seal that was popular from the end of the Warring States Period to the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, and the character used is called Qin Zhuan. Look at its calligraphy style and Qin and Han dynasties, Qin stone carvings and other characters are very similar, all of which are easier to understand than the ancient warring States period. Qin seals are mostly carved in white, with the word "Tian" on the surface, mostly square, and the official seal used by junior officials is about half the size of the general square official seal.
third, the official seal of Han dynasty
broadly speaking, it is a general term for the official seal of Han dynasty to Wei and Jin dynasties. Compared with Qin Zhuan, the seal is more neat, straight and square, and the style is vigorous and heavy. The handicraft industry was very developed at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, so the official seal of ("Xin" was the name of Wang Mang's dynasty) was particularly exquisite and vivid in the Xinmang era. The seal art of the Han Dynasty reached its peak, thus becoming a model for later seal engravers to learn.
fourth, Chinese private printing
Chinese private printing is the private printing in the Han dynasty, and it is the largest and richest type of ancient printing. Not only do they have different shapes, but they are all made of vermilion and white, or they are decorated with patterns such as four spirits, and then there are multi-sided printing, overprint (mother-child printing) and hook printing.
V. general print
general print is also one of the official seals of the Han Dynasty. These seals are often made in a hurry to be appointed temporarily during the March, and they are carved on the printing surface with a knife in a hurry, which is also called "urgent seal". General print's unique style is full of interest, which has a great influence on his later artistic style. In the Han Dynasty, generals used seals, which were generally called "seals" instead of "seals", which was a major feature of military seals.
Six, Han Yu Yin
Two Han Yu Yin are very precious and rare in ancient seals. "Wearing jade" was also an elegant fashion for famous officials and scholars in ancient times. Generally, jade seals are well-made, rigorous in composition, and round in strokes. At first glance, the strokes are square and upright, but they have no intention of stagnation. Because jade is hard and not easy to be cut by knives, a special seal cutting technique, the so-called "knife-cutting method", is produced.
VII. Printing in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
The official and private printing forms and button system in Wei and Jin dynasties all followed the Han Dynasty, but the casting was not as beautiful as that in Chinese. The official seal handed down from generation to generation for the brothers has many characters, such as carving with a knife, and the calligraphy style is natural in Frank Shu, thus becoming the representative of seal cutting style in a period. There were not many seals handed down from ancient times in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the official seal was slightly larger in size, and the words were hastily chiseled, but the official seal was not cast.
Eight, Zhu Bai Wen Yin
Zhu Bai Wen's alternate printing style is very ingenious in Chinese printing, and it is said that it originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its ways are extremely diverse, and the position arrangement and number of words of Zhu Bai characters can be flexibly changed without limitation.
IX. Mother seal
Mother seal, also known as "Xi seal", originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties. It is a seal made by two or three seals. A person's stomach is empty, and one or two small seals can be properly inserted to form the shape of a mother's pocket.
X. Six-sided printing
Six-sided printing handed down from generation to generation is rare. This kind of "convex" seal has a hole in the nose, which can be worn, and a small seal on the nose, together with the other five printing surfaces, is called six-sided seal.
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