Chapter 6 Section 2 Seal Materials

The materials used to engrave seals mainly include metals, minerals, ceramics, bone, bamboo and wood, and chemicals. Metal materials include gold, sterling silver, copper, iron, etc.The so-called gold and silver seals used by the royal family in the past were actually not pure gold or silver, because pure gold and silver are soft and can only be used as printing materials after being mixed with copper.There are also gilt copper tires.The ancient copper seals are black, which is an alloy of copper and lead-silver.The yellow one is an alloy of copper and gold.But the general copper seal is mostly an alloy of red copper and tin or lead, which is blue-gray in color, hard in texture, has a long-lasting luster, and has good corrosion resistance.Therefore, a large number of ancient copper seals have been unearthed and handed down from generation to generation. Although they have been weathered and water-eroded for thousands of years, many of them can still maintain a bright luster.

Iron is the easiest to oxidize and rust, so there are fewer iron marks.In addition to the branded horse seal made of iron, the doctor of imperial censors in the Ming Dynasty also used iron seals, which means "the iron face is selfless". Most of the seals made of metal materials are cast and stamped, and there are also chiseled stamps, mainly military seals. Mineral materials include jade, agate, emerald, crystal, beeswax, coral, pyrophyllite, etc.The ancients often used jade seals to take the meaning of "a gentleman wears jade" and "a gentleman is as beautiful as jade".The jade seals of the Qin and Han dynasties can only be enjoyed by emperors.Emperors of all dynasties also used jade seals more often.

Among the above-mentioned mineral printing materials, except pyrophyllite, the texture is too hard. Although the material is precious, it is difficult to engrave.To make seals with such materials, the method of grinding (also called printing) is used, which is similar to the method of engraving jade.In the process of learning, because the roller can't rotate freely, the characters produced by the learning lack the meaning of the brushwork, so it is difficult to express the charm of the characters. Ceramic printing materials include pottery, porcelain, tile, and clay.The private seals of the Tang and Song Dynasties have ceramics.The texture of porcelain printing is similar to jade but looser and thicker, but the printed text has a thick and simple feeling. Therefore, although the texture of ceramic printing is loose, the printed text has a unique and interesting effect.

Bone printing materials include ivory, animal bones, rhino horns, ox horns, etc.The official seals of the Tang and Song dynasties were made of ivory. From the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties to the present, there are still ivory seals that like to use. The ivory is light and easy to carry. Bone is also not easy to use as printing material, so most seal carvers do not use it. Bamboo and wood printing materials include boxwood, bamboo knots, bamboo roots, fruit stones, melon pedicles, etc.Although this kind of printing material is soft and easy to engrave, but the handwriting is dull, but it is used occasionally to engrave some leisure chapters and store them for fun.

Chemical materials include fake ivory, plexiglass, rubber, etc.This kind of material has emerged in recent decades. Rubber stamps are mainly used for official seals of units, while fake ivory and plexiglass are mostly used for personal daily use, and they cannot be called works of art. The use of stone for printing was first adopted by Wang Mian (1287-1359 A.D.), a famous painter in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, he used Qingtian flower milk stone. Because the texture of the stone is moderately soft and hard, it is easy to carve with a knife, and it can best express characters and characters. Since then, the charm of knife technique has been widely accepted by people.Most of the seal cutting works handed down by famous masters are made of stone.

There are many stone materials produced in China that can be used to engrave seals, but since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people have used mainly Shoushan stone, Qingtian stone and Changhua stone.Balin stone mined in recent years is also a good material suitable for printing.These stones belong to pyrophyllite and are named according to the place of origin.Among them, "Tianhuang" and "Tianbai" in Shoushan stone, and "chicken blood" in Changhua stone are all extremely precious seal stones. Shoushan stone, or pot stone, tower stone, is produced in Shoushan Township, 40 kilometers north of Fuzhou City.This is a beautiful mountain village with overlapping mountains and gurgling water.The mining of Shoushan Stone began in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In 1965, in the tombs of the Southern Dynasties excavated on the construction site of Erfeng Mountain in the northern suburb of Fuzhou, unearthed Shoushan Stone Carvings were found, which shows that as early as 1500 years ago, people have begun to use Shoushan Stone to carve crafts. up.

Shoushan stone is a secondary ore, which is formed by the alteration of magnesium silicate and is a dense aggregate composed of fine fresh flakes.Common stone colors are yellowish, brown, and green.It has a waxy luster and a hardness of 1-2 on the Mohs scale.The texture is pure, and it is printed with a carbon steel knife, which is strong and does not stick to the knife. It is a printing material with strong adaptability. Shoushan stone is divided into three categories: field pit, water pit and mountain pit, with a total of more than 100 varieties.Among them, Tianhuang and Tianbai stones produced in Tiankeng are the most precious, followed by Duling stones.

Tiankeng stones Tiankeng stones (or called Tianshi) are scattered and buried in the ancient sand layer at the bottom of paddy fields on both sides of the stream that surrounds Shoushan Township for several miles.The stone produced in Tiankeng has always been known as the "king of stones".Field stones are divided into Uesaka, Nakasaka, Shimosaka and Ushitasaka due to their different origins, among which the stones produced in Nakasaka are the most valuable.Field stones are classified by color, including yellow, white, red and black, with yellow being the most common. Huangtian, commonly known as "Tianhuangshi", is world-famous, and is known as "one or two fields of yellow and one or two gold". If the quality is good, it may be several times easier to gold.Tianhuang stone is mainly produced in Zhongbantian. The texture shows radish lines or red veins. The stone colors include golden yellow, sweet-scented osmanthus yellow, cooked chestnut yellow, loquat yellow, etc. "golden yellow" is the best.Among them, the particularly transparent one is also called "Tianhuang jelly".There is another kind, which is white on the outside and pure yellow on the inside, which is called "silver wrapped in gold".

Baitian, commonly known as "Tian Baishi", is produced in Shangsaka and Nakasaka. Its color is white with a slight yellow or egg blue color. Like Tianhuangshi, it has a fine texture, crystal clear and moist texture, and the texture also has radish patterns.There is another kind, which is yellow on the outside and white on the inside, which is called "gold wrapped in silver". Kuroda is produced in Shimosaka.There are three kinds of black skin, pure black and gray black.Black leather is also known as "crow skin" and "toad skin". It has a black leather layer on the outside, and the texture is still yellow.Pure black is the whole body black with ochre.Gray black is light gray, also known as gray field.

The color of red field is like orange peel, also known as "orange peel red field". This kind of stone is rare. Since Tiankeng stone is precious, it must be the object of plunder by the rulers and the profit of merchants.Local officials in Fuzhou even used this special product as a tribute to curry favor with the imperial court. The royal family in the Qing Dynasty collected many Tianhuang stone products, including the three Tianhuang stone seals of Emperor Qianlong, which were linked together by three Tianhuang stone chains. The carvings are extremely exquisite. . Shuikeng Stone Shuikeng Stone is produced in Kengtou, about 1.5 kilometers away from Shoushan Township, which is the source of the Kengtou tributary of Shoushan Township.Due to the abundant groundwater here, the ore is eroded by it, and most of them are transparent. The various "crystals" and "frozen" in Shoushan stone mostly appear here.

Puddle stones are mainly divided into pit head stone, crystal jelly, fish brain jelly, jelly stone, yellow jelly, eel grass jelly, horn jelly, sky blue jelly, peach blossom jelly, agate jelly and ring jelly.Among them, crystal steatite is transparent and clear like crystal; fish brain jelly has a texture and shape like cooked fish brain; asphalt stone is slightly transparent like frozen oil wax; the color of sky blue is as blue as clear sky after rain... Puddle Stone Each stone is a poem or a painting, which is pleasing to the eye and thought-provoking.Its worth is no less than Tiankeng stone. Shankeng rocks Shankeng rocks are distributed in rocks with a radius of more than ten kilometers in Shoushan and Yueyang Townships, and there are dozens of names. Alpine stone: Alpine stone is produced from the main peak of Shoushan Mountain and various caves in the mountain.It has the largest output and variety, with red, yellow, white, purple, black, gray, ocher and other colors, and the shades and shades of each color are varied.The names are mostly determined by color, such as red mountain, yellow mountain, white mountain and so on.Each color is named after its appearance. For example, in "Red Mountain", there are many kinds of litchi red, peach blossom red, meat red, beauty red, and melon flesh red.Another example is the one that is as white as a fish bone, which is called "mesh bone white".Alpine stones often have various colors intermingled, or from shallow to dark, or with distinct color layers. This kind of stone is customarily called "Qiaoshan Alpine". Duchengkeng: This pit is also known as Dulingkeng, Duling, and Ducheng, all of which have the same pronunciation.During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850 A.D.), large-scale mining began.The most common stone colors are yellow, red and white.There are also mixed colors, which are called "all colors are complete".The stone is harder and purer than Tianhuang stone, and also has radish patterns and red tendons, second only to Tianhuang.Some of them are rocky and contain more quartz fine sand, so it is not easy to use a knife. Luyin: also known as "Luyin".It is named for the shade of reeds beside the stream in the northeast of Kengtou, and the stone is as warm and moist as "Ducheng Keng".Good reed stones also have radish patterns or red tendons, and the stone color is mainly yellow, but also red, blue, gray, white and other colors. Micuiliao: also known as "Meizuiliao".It is produced on the top of Ducheng pit, and its stone nature also belongs to Ducheng pit.The yellow color is like Tianhuang, and there are also red, white, gray and other colors, and the quality is mostly impure. Hugang Stone: also known as "Tiger Gen" and "Hutougang".Produced in Shoushan Neiyang Hugang Mountain.The stone is brittle and slightly hard, with stripes like tiger skin.The color of the stone is mainly yellow, which is called "tiger yellow".The blue-gray one is called "tiger blue." Lumuge: Produced in the sandy soil of the "Duchengkeng" mountain depression.The stone is fine and moist, with yellow or white stone skin on the outside, and yellow, red or dark ocher texture.The yellow stone resembles "Tianhuang", but has no radish pattern; the red with ochre, shaped like a pigeon's eye, is called "pigeon's eye sand". Moontail Stone: also known as "Oxtail".It is produced in the mountains next to Yuewei River in the north of "Duchengkeng".There are two colors of purple and green, called "moon tail purple" and "moon tail green".There is a deep purple like fresh pig liver color, called "pig liver purple", which is the best among moontail stones. Diaojian (jianjian) stone: also known as "Dougeng" and "Diaoken".Produced in Diaojian Mountain in the northeast of the mountain.The most common is black, and there are also gray, white, blue and other colors, but they are mostly mixed with black.Among them, the blue color has a good texture, which is called "Diaojia jelly", and the texture has black streaks.There is another kind of tawny with gray and white or black tiger skin markings, which is called "tiger skin jelly". Occasionally, there are red ring-shaped patterns in the Diaojian stone, which is even more interesting. Lianjiang Huang: Produced in the northeast of the mountains near Jinshan Peak in Lianjiang County.The color of the stone is mostly gamboge, so it is called "Lianjiang yellow".This kind of stone is hard and brittle, has cracks, and has hidden stripes in its texture, which resembles radish patterns. Therefore, some people sell Lianjiang Huang as "Tianhuang". If this kind of stone is taken to the north, cracks will appear soon. Laoling Stone: also known as "Liuling".It is produced in Laoling Mountain, about 4 kilometers north of the mountain.The stone is firm and brittle, slightly transparent and bright.The stone colors are mainly green and ocher yellow.It is called "Lao Ling Qing" and "Lao Ling Huang". "Laoling Stone" is produced from Huzui Rock, and the stone surface has a pattern like a tiger's mouth, so it is called "Huzui Laoling". Bean leaf green: also known as "bean leaf green".It is also a kind of "Old Ridge Stone".It is named for its stone color like bean leaves.There are red tendons between the textures. Guibei stone: also known as "chicken back stone".It is of the same stone nature as "Douyeqing".The stone color is as green as "Fengmenqing" produced in Qingtian, Zhejiang. Furong Stone: Produced in Furong Mountain in the northwest of Yueyang Township.White hibiscus stone is the most typical, and others also have yellow, red and other colors.The white ones are called "Bai Furong" or "Bai Shoushan". There are white jade, lard white, and lotus root white.In addition, there are yellow hibiscus, red hibiscus, and hibiscus green. There are several mines in Furong Stone, namely "Jiangjun Cave", "Shangdong" and "Half Mountain", among which "Jiangjun Cave" has the purest texture. Shankeng stone has the largest output among Shoushan stones. In addition to the mines introduced above, there are dozens of mines such as Sanjiehuang, Sipingshi, Niudanhuang, Jijiaoling, Liupingshi, Houchaidao, and Jinshifeng. . Shoushan stones are the largest among the seal materials sold in the market, but the famous seal carvers in my country, especially literati seal carvers, are not all high-quality stones. Most of them are ordinary Baishoushan, Hongshoushan, Heishhoushan or Huashoushan. Huashou Mountain has the largest number. Qingtian stone is produced in Fangshan and Shankou, about 10 kilometers south of Qingtian County, Zhejiang Province.There are Shushan, Baiyangshan, Fengmenshan, Makengshan and other mines, collectively referred to as "Qingtian Stone". The structure and hardness of Qingtian stone are similar to those of Shoushan stone.However, there are many stubborn rocks in the rock-producing mountains, and the volume of stones that can be used for carving is not large.The Song Dynasty began to mine and make small craft carving vessels.Wang Mianchuang, a painter at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, used flower milk stone for engraving. Inspired by this, Wen Peng, a painter of the Ming Dynasty, chose Qingtian lighted steatite for engraving. Because of its ease of operation, it was popularized and became the main variety of lithographic materials.Qingtian stone is fine and moist, slightly transparent and lustrous.Stone colors include white, yellow, red, green, blue, gray, sauce, and black, with light green being the most produced.The quality of Qingtian stone is high, and its value is high, and it can be several times as expensive as gold.According to reports, during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, Qingtian stone carvings had been exported to India, Nanyang Islands and France.Qingtian stone is as famous as Shoushan stone and is the most famous stone carving material in my country.Its categories mainly include the following types. Light jelly: also known as "Lighting".The color is yellow-green, the quality of the stone is pure and smooth, and the whole body is transparent under the light. It is the top grade of Qingtian stone. Fish brain jelly: The color is bluish white, translucent, and the texture pattern resembles cooked fish brain.But it is different from Shoushan's fish brain steatite in density. White jelly: also known as: "ginkgo green field".The color is waxy white, opaque, and the stone is as delicate as suet. Soy sauce jelly: also known as "soy sauce Qingtian".The color is brownish yellow, or dark yellow with gray, also known as "horn jelly". Red sandalwood jelly: the color is purple with a slight yellow, translucent is better. Fengmenqing: It is named after it is produced in Fengmen Mountain.Color green, translucent.There are top-grade stones with fine and smooth stone texture, and there are also nail-textured ones, which are rough and difficult to carve. Artemisia argyi qingtian: dark green with a slight yellow tinge. Douban Qingtian: The color is light green with a slight yellow tinge. Changhua fossils are produced in Changhua County, Zhejiang Province.There is a difference between a water pit and a dry pit. The stone produced in the water pit is warm and moist; the stone in the dry pit is dry and stubborn, and has sand nails, which are difficult to withstand the knife when carving.The Chang fossil is a magnesium silicate structure containing cinnabar. The stone color is white, black, yellow, gray, and has red plaques or silk wadding lines.Known as "chicken blood red".Chang Fossil is famous both at home and abroad for its "chicken blood red".To evaluate Chang fossils, it is better to have erythema with fresh color, large aggregate area or contiguous pieces, and a certain thickness.Those with bright red spots are called "Huoxue", those with red spots all over the stone are called "Dahongpao", those with red spots cleverly placed on the top of the seal are called "Crane Dinghong", and those with red spots interpenetrating with yellow-black or yellow-white background are called "Liu Guanzhang". , are rare treasures.The evaluation of Chang fossils also pays attention to the texture of the stone, and the blue-gray bean green ground and the light gray lotus root powder are the best.The best one is almost transparent glass or white jade (also known as suet).The common one is a dark gray stone called cement, which contains impurities and is not easily affected by knives. Balin stone is produced in Yamatu Mountain (Mongolian: Huangyang Mountain) in Balin Right Banner, Zhaowuda League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; it is a new type of pyrophyllite mined in the north since 1973.Balin stone is mostly a variety of translucent "frozen material", after polishing, it has a glass luster.The stone is rich in color and fine in texture, softer than Shoushan Stone and Qingtian Stone.There is also a precious "blood stone" in Balin stone, which is called "Bahrain chicken blood".At present, when the mining volume of Shoushan stone and other stones in the south of my country is decreasing day by day, some carving manufacturers in the south have come to the north to buy a large number of Balin stones, and dozens of manufacturers in the country also use Balin stones.The stone property of Balin stone is suitable for carving, and it has been mined in large quantities in recent years.