Seal seal, a Chinese word, means seal seal, a seal engraved with seal script. Source: Qing Liu Dakui, a gift? Preface to the Scholars: "I am poor and humble, specializing in literature, but I also use the rest to seal the Qin and Han Dynasties."
Broadly speaking, seal script includes all the characters before official script and their extended genera, such as bronze inscriptions, Shi Guwen, ancient prose of Six Kingdoms, small seal script, Miao seal script, overlapping seal script and so on. In a narrow sense, it mainly refers to Da Zhuan and Xiao Zhuan. The font of seal script is round and the structure conforms to the meaning of six books, so Sun said in the Tang Dynasty, "Seal script is graceful and smooth".
Seal cutting is a higher level of seal cutting. Rooted in profound knowledge and profound calligraphy and seal cutting skills. This is to identify the author's personal style of books, paintings, styles and seals. Of course, "Xi Xi" has formed an independent body, making it irreplaceable and impossible for others to imitate it. In this way, each "seal" has its own personal style.
A brief history of seal cutting
The seal originated from the class society, initially as a symbol of documents, and later became a certificate of rights and interests. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, seals were widely used, including articles, gold coins and standard instruments.
Qin and Han dynasties were the prosperous period of seals, and the official seals in Han dynasty had formed a whole set of systems, and the forms of seals were more diverse. Most of the printed texts are printed by Miao. Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties basically followed the tradition of Qin and Han seals. In the Tang Dynasty, the size of the official seal increased, the seal was Xiao Zhuan, and most of the inscriptions were Zhu Wen.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the scope of private printing began to expand, and book collection printing, book collection printing and word printing rose. The shape, material, carving and layout of seals have changed significantly. In particular, literati, calligraphers and painters participated in seal cutting, which expanded from craftsmen to literati, and seals entered the era of seal cutting.
Because Zhao Mengfu strongly advocated seal cutting in Yuan Dynasty, Wang Mian carved it with Elaeagnus at the end of Yuan Dynasty. Because of the convenience of seal cutting, seal carvers have a world to display their talents. Scholars advocate self-printing and self-engraving and combining with calligraphy and painting, which is more popular.