Chinese Seal Cutting

Related: Chinese Seals

As an art form born out of the combination of calligraphy (mainly seal script) and carving, Chinese seal cutting was once listed — along with calligraphy, painting and poetry — as one of the four essential skills required of an ancient scholar. A seal in red on a calligraphic work or a painting represents not only a signature, but also an indispensable touch to liven it up.

Though modern seal cutting did not appear until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ancient seal-cutting as an art existed as early as in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period with its unique style and high degree of artistry, laying a solid foundation for the seal-cutting art.

The art dates back about 3,700 years to the Yin Dynasty and has its origin in the cutting of oracle inscriptions on tortoise shells. It flourished in the Qin Dynasty of 22 centuries ago, when people engraved their names on utensils and documents (of bamboo and wood) to show ownership or authorship. Out of this grew the cutting of personal names on small blocks of horn, jade or wood, namely the seals as we know them today.

The earliest of ancient seals are the “guxi” (antiquated seals), most of which were made during the Warring States Period, with a few of them from the Spring and Autumn Period. There were private and official seals, both known as “xi” regardless of the owner’s superiority or power. The seals might be carved in relief or intaglio and into different shapes, with contents ranging from official post, names to auspicious words and sketchy graphics.

The Han Dynasty witnessed the prosperous development of seal cutting. At that time, only the royal seals were called “xi”, and the others “yin.” Besides, the official seals were often referred to as “zhang” or “yinzhang,” and the private ones “xinyin” or “yinxin.” That’s why seals are called “yinzhang” in Chinese. Seals of this time were richer in both form and content, especially in the variety of private seals, bearing zhuanshu or curly script, which explains why the art of seal-cutting is still called zhuanke and also why the zhuanshu is also known in English as “seal characters.” As time went on, the other script styles appeared one after another on Chinese seals, which may now be cut in any style except caoshu (cursive hand) at the option of the artist. The Han seals fell into two types: cast or chiseled. Most of the Western Han seals were cast while the Eastern Han seals were largely chiseled. This was because in the late years of that period, officials were constantly transferred or died due to the chaos caused by unceasing wars, and there was no time to cast new seals for newly appointed officials. Hence, contents were chiseled on the prepared seal bases. Featuring completely different styles, the two types of seals significantly influenced and inspired the seal cutting art of the later generations.

Chinese Seal Cutting

To go with the use of seals, the lute (red ink paste used for seals) came into existence. Prior to the invention of paper, ancient people wrote official document or letters and kept record of accounts on bamboo slips. In order to keep the contents well in secret and to prevent forgery, lute was used right on the knot where seal was stamped. This was the so-called “jian (seal),” which remained in use until the appearance of inkpad.

The seals of the Three Kingdoms Period and thereafter carried on with the form of the Han seals and the way they worked. By the Southern and Northern dynasties, paper had become very popular, and consequently a new way of stamping seals with the invention of inkpad. Seals of the following dynasties featured a larger seal surface and were largely carved in relief. At the same time, with the great progress in calligraphy and painting, it became popular for calligraphers and painters to stamp the seal to identify the authorship or for collectors to show ownership, which giving rise to prevalence of various seals, such as collector’s seals and library seals, signaling that the practical seals were transiting towards the seal-cutting art. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, importance was gradually attached to seal cutting, with the appearance of many scholars and artists specializing in it. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, seals had evolved from a practical utility and an accessory to a calligraphic work or painting to become an independent art form.

The materials for seals vary with different types of owners. Average persons normally have wood, stone or horn seals, whereas noted public figures would probably prefer seals made of red stained Changhua stone, jade, agate, crystal, ivory and other more valuable materials. Monarchs in the old days used gold or the most precious stones to make their imperial or royal seals. Today, Chinese government offices at lower levels still use wood seals.

Seals cut as artworks should excel in three aspects– calligraphy, composition and the engraver’s handwork. The artist must be good at writing various styles of the Chinese script. He should know how to arrange within a limited space a number of characters — some compact with many strokes and others sketchy with very few — to achieve a vigorous or graceful effect. He should also be familiar with the various materials — stone, brass or ivory — so that he may apply the cutting knife with the right exertion, technique and even rhythm. To watch a master engraver at work is like to see a delightful stage performance.