The collection and identification of ancient seals can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, when appreciating seals was very popular. In the Song Dynasty, the wind of archaeological stone collection rose, with more than 60 pieces collected by public and private; In the Ming Dynasty, the circulation of Ji Gu and Pu Yin exceeded 3,000 copies. The style of collecting seals was the most popular in Qing Dynasty, and calligraphers and seal engravers mostly collected seals. There are as many as 10284 seals in the book Ten Prints in Fang Zhongshan. Therefore, to collect ancient seals well, we must master the ability to distinguish the authenticity of seals.
Ancient bronze seals: most of the bronze seals collected by the people were privately printed, of which the most were privately printed in the Han Dynasty. Materials are silver, jade, copper and so on. , the content is mainly name seal, graphic seal, ancient seal. There are all kinds of buttons, such as tortoise button, bridge button, tile button and so on. When you see an ancient bronze seal, collectors must not be impulsive. Because an ancient bronze seal is not easy to survive for thousands of years, a bronze seal with good appearance appears in the market, and the price often doubles.
When collectors get bronze seals, most of them will prepare a clay pill, cover it with clay seal, observe the mental state of the glyph, then carry out rubbing, correct the words and distinguish the authenticity from the rust color of the seal. In ancient times, the private printing of copper was mostly made of copper. More than 2,000 years ago, there were different corrosions such as green paint cobalt, red paint cobalt, mercury cobalt and black paint cobalt. Will it be more because of the different unearthed areas? A puddle? 、? Dry pit? 、? Shengkeng? Wait, the rust color is different, too. These rust colors are formed by the chemical changes of copper itself, which are integrated with the seal and are not easy to fall off and scrape off. Forged rust color is mostly painted on the surface of the seal with pigment, which is easy to be scraped off and the fire will also produce a chemical smell.
Recently, fake jade seals have gradually flooded the domestic market. Because the ancient jade seal is expensive, counterfeiters are particularly clever. These ancient jade seals are of good quality and standard shape, but the lettering can't reach the artistic conception of the Han people. Among them, the forgery technology of newly carved ancient jade appeared in Hong Kong market in large numbers, which deceived many ancient seal collectors and industry enthusiasts.
At the same time, there are a lot of Xi's incense in the domestic market? Where is Qin? . Because the country is short, and Qin's seal mud is muddy, most of them are seal mud printed by Qin officials, so it is not easy to preserve it today. Therefore, the vast majority of markets? Where is Qin? This is fake. When you see Qin sealing mud, you must carefully observe mud, handwriting, official position, sealing method and so on. Lots of fakes? Where is Qin? They are all made by imitating the unearthed samples of Qin pipa. Although the official position and form are basically similar, but in such as? Hey? However, there are many words like Chinese characters.
Ming and Qing dynasty proofreading: The collection of Ming and Qing dynasty proofreading is also a hot spot, so we must master some knowledge of Ming and Qing dynasty proofreading. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, seal cutting entered the modern era, and there was a clear relationship between the seal cutting masters of various factions, with the emphasis on knife work. Steady, accurate and ruthless? , the style is obvious. According to legend, there are thirteen methods and seventeen methods for using a knife, and the edge-knot technique also comes into being with the method. In the Ming dynasty, many knives were used for engraving, and some postscript was added to the name of stamps. After the reign of emperor Qianlong of Qing dynasty, it was carved with a single knife. We can also identify the authenticity of the seal from the artistic attainments and calligraphy skills of the Ming and Qing schools. In addition, the Ming and Qing dynasties seal button knife method is fine, polished and carved neatly, simple and elegant, mostly from the hands of professional button carving masters.
To appreciate the seal of seal cutting, first look at the image of seal structure. Positive, elegant, changeable and pure? . As the ancestor of the Han dynasty, elegance is bookish, but Zhu Wen has books, and the pure seal is not mixed. Zhu Wen is smart and round. Pale and smooth, calm and even. Give it at will, rather than paint it neatly, such as a painter's stippling. The beauty of operation lies in natural interest. Abundance and ups and downs, the beauty of the body is superb. No imitation, no affectation. Achieve vivid charm, wonderful workmanship.
Second, look at the rules of layout, the ancients said that composition is to write layout. The method of one word is the method of one chapter. Word, number Zhu Wen. The size of a seal. The density of words is tricky The second phase is mutual seeking and coherent. In a word, you are full of expectations for life. Positive pitch, left and right back. The upper one inclines downwards and the lower one inclines upwards. Feelings are affectionate. Power and appearance, power and potential, fear and strength, appearance and image, beauty and loveliness. Strong is vigorous, not crazy, handsome is elegant, not graceful. Zhu Wenxu is not attached to the sidebar, and the white text is still red. The cross is long and narrow and the seal script is flexible. Calligraphy and painting are hidden, curved and reflected. This is from the arrangement and arrangement of seals. I appreciate the methods of seals, such as clear water producing hibiscus, which I can never get tired of.
Third, look at the brushwork of seal script with a knife. Seal script is naturally not artificial. The words are oblique and straight, even wrinkled. Circle is connected with missing, missing and folding. The shape of nature, the pen has its source. Dense and balanced dots are drawn into words. When you move with a pen, the mover floats and flies, and the quiet one is quiet. There is indeed a reason, but odd numbers happen to be clumsy. Strange but not strange, just but not vulgar. Clever to hide others, clumsy to succeed. Yue Feng is fat and thin, but anticipates committing crimes, painting less, overlapping is intentional, and less is intentional. Fat must have bones, thin must have meat. Boneless meat is vain and unhealthy, and boneless bones are dry and moist. No contradiction, the book itself is potential, and vice versa. Zhu Wen is round, and Bai Wen is multifaceted. This is seal cutting with a pen and a knife to reflect the beauty of lines. Seal cutting must be knowledgeable, familiar with six books, and magical in knife cutting.
The ancients awarded the seal for six years. Seeking beauty in long and thick brine; Seek strength in two long sketches; Fill in the blanks and ask for money; Four strengths are weak, seeking boldness of vision: five strengths are eccentric, seeking truth, and six strengths are vigorous, seeking moisture? .
What's the tri-print? ? Vigorous and vivid, out of nature, it is called a divine product; Exquisite brushwork, from ancient times to the present, is a wonderful work; According to the ancient system, without jumping the rules, it is called product. ? This is a quotation from the ancients' appreciation comments on seal cutting.
Types of ancient seal collections A- Ancient seals in the Warring States Period
Most of the ancient seals in the museum are from the Warring States period. Most ancient seals are equipped with wide edges, and the strokes are relatively thin, all of which are cast. The ancient seal script in white language is made by adding more side bars or vertical grids 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 content is also engraved with auspicious greetings and vivid animal patterns.
lesser/small seal character
The popular seal script from the late Warring States to the early Western Han Dynasty was written in Qin Zhuan.
Qin seals are mostly carved in white with a square surface. The official seal used by low-level officials is about half the size of the general square official seal, and it is rectangular, with the word "day" as it is called "semi-pass seal". Private seals are generally rectangular, but also round and oval. In addition to official names, personal names and Kyrgyz, there are aphorisms and idioms such as "respect for things", "think of success" and "harmony with the people".
C- Official Seal of China
Official seal from Han Dynasty to Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The structure is straight and square, and the style is rich and heavy.
Seal cutting reached its peak in the Han Dynasty, thus becoming a model for later seal engravers to learn. Most of the official seals of the two Han dynasties were white, all of which were cast, but a few were urgently needed by the army, and were chiseled for the official seals of the brothers, without casting.
D- Chinese private printing
China private seal is a private seal of Han Dynasty.
It is one of the richest types in ancient India.
Not only do they have different shapes, but they are all made of cinnabar and white, or decorated with patterns such as four spirits, and there are also multi-sided printing, overprinter (mother-child printing) and hook printing. In addition to names, printed languages often add Kyrgyz, native place, ideographic characters and? Seal? 、? Private printing? 、? Envelope? And other auxiliary characters, the buttons are extremely diverse, which fully shows the ingenuity of craftsmen in the Han Dynasty.
Private printing in the Han Dynasty was still dominated by white, engraving in the Western Han Dynasty and chiseling and casting in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Electronic universal printing
General seal is also a kind of official seal of China.
These seals are often temporary dispatches on the way to March, and they are engraved on the printed surface with a knife, which is also called "urgent printing". Pu Yin's unique style is full of interest and has a great influence on his later artistic style.
In the Han dynasty, generals used seals, which are generally called "seals" rather than "seals", which is a major feature of military seals.
F- Han yuyin
The imperial seal of the Han Dynasty is very precious and rare in ancient seals.
"Dai Yu" was also an elegant fashion of famous officials and celebrities in ancient times. Generally, the jade seal is well-made, with rigorous composition and rounded strokes. At first glance, the strokes are straight and upright, but they have no intention of stagnation.
Because jade is hard and not easy to be cut by a knife, a special seal cutting technique, the so-called "knife cutting method", has emerged. Because jade is not easy to corrode and damage, it has been passed down from generation to generation, which better preserves its true colors.
Seal of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
The official seal, private seal and button system in Wei and Jin Dynasties followed the Han Dynasty, but the casting was not as beautiful as that in Han Dynasty. The official seal handed down from generation to generation by brothers is like a knife, and the calligraphy style naturally came into being in Xu Ya-sheng, 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, but the official seal was slightly larger, and the words were hastily carved, but the official seal was not cast.
Bai Zhu text printing
Bai Zhu's alternating printing style is very ingenious in China printing.
It is said that it originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Its ways are extremely diverse, and the position arrangement and word number of Bai Zhu characters can be flexibly changed without restriction. The number of seals cited here can be seen. Bai Zhu's principle is to look at the number of strokes, while Zhu Wen mostly has more strokes, Zhu Wen mostly has fewer strokes, while Bai Wen does the opposite, thus achieving the harmonious effect of Zhu Bairu and Bai Ruzhu. Most of these seals are privately printed and not used for official seals.
typographic/letterpress printing
The female seal is also called "Xi seal".
Originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties. It is a seal printed by two or three parties. A person's stomach is empty, and one or two baby seals can be properly inserted to form the shape of a mother's pocket. There are also two seals on one side (such as the "country one" seal in the right column) to form a group of three parties. There are several seals in the volume of one seal, which shows the technical level of ancient printing.
Six-sided printing
There are few six-sided prints handed down from generation to generation. This kind of "convex" print has a hole in the nose, which can be worn, and a small print on the nose, together with the other five printing surfaces, is called six-sided print.
The typical style of six-sided printing handed down from ancient times is a white belt with edges, and each word is a line, which is dense on the top and sparse on the bottom. The vertical pen of the printing is long and drooping, and the end is tapered like a hanging needle, so it is commonly known as "hanging needle printing". Although this style has the advantages of stroke stretching and contrast, it is easy to become vulgar, far less than that of China and India, so seal engravers have only done it occasionally.
K- Miao seal (with bird book)
Miao Zhuan Seal and similar early books on birds and insects are all printed in Chinese? Calligraphy? The former is buckled and wound, and the latter is decorated with fish-shaped bird heads.
This kind of handwriting was first seen on clocks and watches of ancient weapons or musical instruments, and some of them were embedded with gold wires according to the strokes of the handwriting, which was unique in style. The printing of bird and insect books is only seen in private printing, mostly white.
L- shaped seal
Among the seals since the Warring States Period, miscellaneous seal is also a very unique category.
Its style is not fixed, ranging from a few inches to a few minutes, and the changes are extremely rich. In addition to the length and width of Fiona Fang, there are concave and convex patterns, squares, circles, triangles, two circles and three round beads, three-leaf unfolded shapes and so on. The reason why miscellaneous printing is only used for private printing is because of its unique humor and solemn and calm requirements different from official seals.
M type printing
Pictures were printed from the Warring States to the Han and Wei Dynasties, with the Han Dynasty as the most, also known as seal script or pictographic seal.
Various forms, concise and vivid, in addition to people, birds and animals, horseback riding, auspicious sheep, fish, geese and so on. Generally, the four spirits of auspicious sheep (dragon, tiger, sparrow, phoenix and turtle) are printed, which is also called "Four Spirit Seal".
Bei cheng Yu hai Bao
Cheng Yuyin was born in the Warring States Period.
There are more than 100 proverbs and idioms used. For example, there are many idioms, such as "going straight", "respecting things", "benefiting the sky" and "being lucky in coming and going". The number of words varies from one to two, up to 20, which is used to express good luck and to commemorate the dead.
O-flower printing
Hua Yin is also called "Bet Word", which flourished in Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, so it is also called "Yuan Bet".
Yuan bet is mostly rectangular, generally engraved with regular script surnames, and engraved with Ba Si Ba Wen or Hua bet. In practical sense, most of the seals of past dynasties have the functions of preventing rape and distinguishing forgeries. As an individual's arbitrary writing, the changed "betting words" (some of which are not words, but personal symbols) are naturally more difficult to imitate and achieve the effect of anti-counterfeiting, so this kind of betting words has been used until the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
P- sealing mud
Mud seal, also known as "mud seal", is not a seal, but a precious object preserved from the remains of ancient seals-a dry and hard mud mass covered with ancient seals.
Because the original seal was a negative seal, the clock became a positive seal on the mud, and its edge was a mud surface, so it formed a wide edge and different edges. Pipa was used from the Warring States Period to the Han and Wei Dynasties, until after the Jin Dynasty, when paper, silk and silks gradually replaced bamboo slips and wooden slips, pipa could not be used. Later seal engravers borrowed these precious seal engraving rubbings for printing, thus expanding the range of seal engraving methods. Basic training and creation
Q button system
Most ancient seals had buttons, so that the buttons were punched and tied to the belt. This is the ancient way of "wearing a seal".
Since the Han Dynasty, emperors and officials have distinguished themselves by buttons such as tortoise, camel and horse. For example, the turtle button, camel button and snake button used in the history of senior officials were common button systems for granting official seals to brothers in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. There are many buttons in past dynasties, among which altar buttons, nose buttons and multi-bucket buttons are the most common. Now, some button systems are listed on the right to see a point.
R- Official Seal since Sui and Tang Dynasties
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, official seals began to increase. With the wide application of paper, Zhu Wen gradually replaced Bai Wen. Many official seals began to engrave year numbers on the back. In terms of characters, the Sui Dynasty used seal script and began to use the "nine-fold" printing (the number of "nine" in ancient times is ultimate, so it doesn't have to be ten-fold, but it can change with the simplification of strokes) to fill the printing surface.
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, official script printing began. The official seal of the Qing dynasty is Manchu, which is used in both Chinese and Chinese, and is engraved in one seal.
The official seals left by the peasant regimes in Ming and Qing dynasties are also cultural relics worth cherishing.
S- Song Yuanyuan Zhu Wenyin
Since Wei and Jin Dynasties, paper and silk have gradually replaced bamboo slips. By the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the use of seals had directly covered the printing cymbals. In the Yuan Dynasty, during the heyday of literati painting, the seal written by literati seal had been integrated with poetry, calligraphy and painting, which played a distinct role and was loved by calligraphy and painting.
At this stage, firstly, Zhao Mengfu, a painter at the end of Song Dynasty and the beginning of Yuan Dynasty, advocated seal cutting manpower. Due to the influence of Li's seal script on calligraphy, the seal script is smooth, round and beautiful, resulting in a unique seal-"round" seal, which was adopted by later seal engravers.
T-shaped seals in minority languages
Under the influence of Han culture, since the Song Dynasty, ethnic minorities have created their own characters based on China's calligraphy, and their characters have been used as official seals, which are rarely circulated. The seals they saw were Jin Guo (Jurchen) book, Yuan Dynasty Basiba script and Xixia script.
Modern style seal
In China's calligraphy, seal script has become the main body of seal cutting because of its strong decoration.
However, after the Qin and Han Dynasties, with the development of calligraphy, seal script is not the only calligraphy used for seals. In addition to the seal of Kai Lee in the Tang and Song Dynasties and the seal cutting in the Yuan Dynasty, there was a precedent of Li Jieyin in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Since the Qing Dynasty, seal engravers have also begun to try to print in modern styles (official script, regular script and cursive script), among which there are many excellent works. This makes us realize that the embodiment of seal cutting is not limited to the use of a certain style, but the key lies in the high application ability of composition, calligraphy and knife cutting.