Chapter 11 The first section

Seal method is the foundation of seal cutting art. Seal characters are mainly used in seal script. How to make the printed characters not only conform to the structural norms of seal script, but also adapt to the expression form of the seal surface, so that the seal characters are full of high artistic connotation is the subject of seal method research. . The formation of Chinese characters has gone through three stages of development: graphics, lines, and strokes.Seal script is the first form of calligraphy. It is in the transition period from graphic to linear, and still retains graphic features. Its stippling, radicals, radicals, turnings, and structural shapes have certain norms.To master the seal method is to be familiar with the composition rules, modeling characteristics, and style of various seal scripts.As a common text, seal script has completed its historical mission in the Qin Dynasty.However, after the Han Dynasty, there were still a considerable number of utensils and buildings with engraved seal characters, such as Quanquan, tiles, coins, steles, etc.The same seal script, written by people of different ages, presents different styles of the times, known as Tang seal script, Song seal script, and Yuan seal script.One should be fine in engraving seal characters, and one should be proficient in knowing seal characters.Pay attention to accumulating all kinds of seal characters, and then memorize and copy them until the various seal characters are vividly stored in the memory of the brain. Every time you create, when you judge that the content of the seal is suitable for the seal script, you can use it at your fingertips and operate it into the seal .This kind of learning is the process of broadening the realm of knowledge and the process of accumulating artistic skills.It is the foundation and knowledge necessary for mastering seal art.

It can be said that abiding by the norms is a rule that has been passed down in the history of seal development for more than 2,000 years.All works with vitality embody this principle.Emphasizing the standardization of seal script does not exclude the artistic treatment of seal script in the process of seal printing.For example, for the needs of the layout, some simplifications are made to characters with too many strokes, and changes such as accentuating strokes or overlapping radicals are carried out for characters with few strokes.In the Han Dynasty, it was noticed that there was a difference between the printed seal script and the written seal script. "Shuowen and seal cutting are self-separating", on the premise of conforming to the seal script standards, adding or subtracting strokes, omitting and borrowing radicals for certain seal scripts is a means of artistic creation, and is often the ingenuity of the business layout of artistic seals.This is completely different from making seal characters by imagining or piecing together radicals without paying attention to norms.

In one seal, using different seal characters at the same time, does it conform to the seal method?In this regard, the seal cutting circles have different opinions.One opinion holds a negative attitude, thinking that miscellaneous use of seal characters will easily cause messy seals, especially for beginners.Another opinion is answered by practice. The printed works of Zhejiang School not only have different seal characters interspersed, but also use variant characters as a processing method to enhance the overall sense of the work. This is the creative characteristic of Zhejiang School.The prevalence of the seal cutting art of the Zhejiang School can be said to have made an answer to this question that has withstood the test of history and is recognized by society.But the first opinion is not unreasonable. Artistic creation can use any means to achieve a perfect artistic effect. Just like the Zhe School, the use of seal characters is not messy but enhances the overall sense of the work. This is the result of high-level artistic attainments. For beginners, although you might as well try boldly, you should focus more on improving your skills in seal script.

Calligraphic style and calligraphy style are two different categories. Advocating adherence to seal script standards is not contradictory to encouraging adaptation to the fashion of the times, developing artistic individuality, and creating new seal script styles.A new style of printing can be formed only when new seal characters are introduced into the seal.The art of seal cutting is an ancient art. In order to rejuvenate this traditional art and maintain its vitality forever, the era calls for the emergence of seal script that embodies the spirit of the new era.This requires us to follow the policy of making the past serve the present and weeding out the old to bring forth the new, to critically inherit and promote the heritage of the motherland's seal cutting art, to emancipate our minds, and to innovate boldly.

For your reference, here is a brief introduction to seal script. Seal script is divided into big seal script and small seal script, and big seal script includes oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, 籀 inscriptions and so on. Oracle bone inscriptions are also called tortoise inscriptions, chastity inscriptions, oracle bone inscriptions, Qi inscriptions, etc.During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, they believed in witchcraft. When the royal family and nobles held sacrifices, foreign expeditions, major political affairs or field hunting, weather forecasting, and disease prevention, they had to hold divination ceremonies in advance, and used them on tortoise shells, ox blades or deer skulls The inscriptions are written with ink or cinnabar, and then carved with a blade or written with lacquer, or painted with cinnabar after engraving.Oracle bone inscriptions contain many records about political and economic life conditions and historical events in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and have become valuable documents for studying Shang and Zhou society and ancient history, culture and technology.At the same time, it is the oldest surviving Chinese script.

Before 1899, oracle bones were called dragon bones. Villagers in Xiaotun, Anyang, Henan Province excavated them underground and sold them as medicinal materials to Chinese medicine shops. In 1899, Wang Yirong, the Guozijian Jijiu (an official of the National University at the time) in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, accidentally saw the inscriptions on the keel, which were confirmed to be ancient characters after research.Then it attracted the attention of the cultural circles and began to collect and collect them. Foreigners also took the opportunity to buy them, resulting in more than 20,000 pieces of oracle bones being scattered abroad. More than 150,000 pieces of oracle bones have been unearthed in succession over the past 90 years, and more than 5,000 characters have been counted. More than 2,000 characters have been identified and read using the method of combining shape, meaning, and sound.There are more than 100 kinds of works describing and researching oracle bones, forming an important branch of history - oracle bone studies.Famous Chinese scholars engaged in oracle bone studies include Wang Xiang, Dong Zuobin, Chen Mengjia, Tang Lan, Zhang Zhenghong, Li Xueqin, Li Xiaoding, Yan Yiping, Rao Zongyi, etc.

Oracle bone inscriptions also play an important role in the study of philology and linguistics.The strokes in oracle bone inscriptions are straight and relatively standardized; the structure is symmetrical and the center of gravity is stable; the composition rules mainly include pictographs, guises, and pictophonetics, which are already relatively mature characters.Possesses the basic form of Chinese character structure.The grammar of oracle bone inscriptions is also basically consistent with Chinese grammar.The characteristics of the oracle bone inscriptions are that there are no fixed rules for complex and simplified strokes, unstable shapes, reverse and positive writing styles, and there are no certain rules for a character with multiple shapes, increasing radicals, and part directions.The font style of oracle bone inscriptions varies with different eras and writers.The oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty are divided into five periods according to various dating bases such as Zhenren (the person who wrote the inscriptions), and the characteristics of the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties are introduced as follows:

Most of the oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty were found in Anyang City, Henan Province. Through the study of oracle bone inscriptions, it is known that this is the site of the royal capital of the Shang Dynasty from the 14th century BC to the 11th century BC.Most of the oracle bones were piled up together when unearthed, and only a few were scattered on the palace ruins of the Yin Ruins. It can be inferred that the oracle bones were consciously stored after divination.It is likely that the Shang royal family kept it as a document archive. During the period from Pan Geng to Wuding (14th century BC), the style of calligraphy was majestic, and the writers were Wei, Gen, Jing, Yong, Bin, etc.;

During the period from Zu Geng to Zu Jia (12th century BC), the calligraphy style was rigorous and neat, and the writers included Lu, Da, Xing, Ji, etc.; From the period from Linding to Kangding (the middle and late 12th century BC), the fonts were rough and scattered, and there were some mistakes and missing pens. The writers were He, Ning, Peng, Di, etc.; The period from Wuding to Wending (late 12th century BC) was steep and varied in style, reflecting the increase in chastity writing, but most of them did not sign their names; During the period from Emperor Yi to Zhou (11th century BC), the calligraphy style was regular and correct, and the laws were strict.Writers include Yong, Huang, Li and so on.

The oracle bone inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty were found in Hongzhao, Shanxi, Baifu, Changping, Beijing, Fengxi, Qishan, Fufeng, Shaanxi and other places, with a total of more than 20,000 pieces, of which less than 500 have characters.The character structure, engraving method and burial method of the oracle bone inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty are similar to those of the Shang Dynasty.The characters in the inscriptions are short, the fonts are as small as millet grains, and the strokes are as thin as hair.The smallest characters are only one millimeter long and wide, and can only be seen with the help of a 5x magnifying glass.The Zhouyuan oracle bone unearthed in Fengchu, Shaanxi Province was written in the period from King Wen to King Zhao of the Western Zhou Dynasty (mid-11th century BC to second half of 10th century BC).The carving skills are superb, showing the interest of starting and stopping the knife freely.None of them were signed by chastity.The oracle bone inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty were first discovered in 1954, and the research on them is still in its infancy, and there is no generally accepted discussion on textual research, interpretation and periodization.

Since the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions in 1899, it has also had a profound impact on the art of calligraphy and seal cutting. In modern times, many calligraphers have written oracle bone inscriptions, among which Luo Zhenyu and Ding Foyan are more influential.Many seal carvers have absorbed oracle bone inscriptions into their seals, or selected their strong and steep strokes, or promoted their simple and simple structure, forming an old-fashioned and innovative printing style. Bronze inscriptions are also called Zhongdingwen and Jijinwen.Inscriptions cast on bronze vessels used by slave owners and nobles in various ceremonial occasions such as sacrifices and banquets from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Warring States period.The slave-owner nobles used etiquette to reflect the hierarchy and maintain the ruling order.The bronze ware used in ceremonial ceremonies became a symbol of the power and will of slave owners and nobles.When making various ritual vessels, inscriptions are used to describe the reason for making the vessel (to commemorate an ancestor or a major event), time, place, and the name of the person who made the vessel. Bronze inscriptions have rich historical value and are important documents for the study of slave society, the early history of feudal society, and social politics, economy and culture.At the same time, bronze inscriptions are the records of the language at that time, and they preserve rich philology and linguistics materials, which are highly valued by the academic circles. The study of bronze inscriptions has formed an independent discipline-bronze inscriptions. More than 10,000 bronzes with Shang and Zhou inscriptions have been discovered.The style, content and font of the inscriptions all have different characteristics due to different times.The inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period were all cast, and the bronze inscriptions from the Warring States Period were mostly chiseled on the bronze wall.The casting method of the inscription, according to the research of archaeologists, is to first make a piece of clay with the same shape as the vessel according to the position of the inscription on the vessel.From the book history of Shanshu, the inscriptions are written with ink or cinnabar, and then carved with a knife to form Yinwen.After the clay tablets with inscriptions were dried and shaped, they were attached to the inner form of the vessel and printed in Yangwen.When the entire vessel is cast, the inscription becomes an inscribed inscription on the vessel wall.Bronze inscriptions were written first and then engraved and cast, with more traces of writing in ink. Therefore, the evolution of bronze inscriptions reflects the evolution of calligraphy art in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. No inscriptions have been found on bronzes from the early and middle Shang Dynasty (16th century BC to 14th century BC).After Pan Geng moved to Yin, short inscriptions appeared, generally within 10 characters, and some with only one or two characters, mostly family emblem images, names of people, names of fathers and ancestors, such as "Fu Hao" and so on.At the end of the Shang Dynasty, there were longer inscriptions, the most of which had 30-40 characters, indicating that a certain person made tools for his father and grandparents because he was rewarded.Part of the inscription font is a stroke with a sharp start and end, with a fat pen in between, which is majestic; a part is slender, with straight strokes, no fat pen, and no sharp edge.The representative bronze inscriptions of the above two styles can be found in the inscriptions "Simuwu Ding" and "Xu Sizi Ding". Bronze inscriptions in the early Western Zhou Dynasty (from the 11th century to the 10th century BC) were prevalent in bronze casting inscriptions, and the number of inscriptions increased, and long and huge writings of several tens or hundreds of characters were common.The inscriptions are rich in content. In the records of praising ancestors' virtues, recording achievements, and receiving awards, historical materials about the social politics, military affairs, land system, and social changes of the Western Zhou Dynasty are preserved.The structure of the characters is rigorous, the square folded strokes are sharp from the beginning to the end, there are fat pens, and the changes of the lifting and pressing are highlighted, which is called the wavy style.The inscription "Da Yu Ding" can be cited as a representative. The full text is 29 lines and 291 characters. Bronze inscriptions from the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty (late 10th century BC to early 9th century BC) had a strict and standardized calligraphy style, with no fluctuations in the strokes and strokes, and the two ends were as even as round chopsticks. The inscription "Historical Wall Plate" is the representative of the bronze inscriptions of this period. The inscription is 20 lines long and 290 characters distributed in a square grid with vertical grid lines. Bronze inscriptions in the late Western Zhou Dynasty (9th century BC to 771 BC) have well-proportioned fonts, harmonious structure, and standardization, marking the maturity of seal script. The inscriptions "Mao Gong Ding", "Guo Ji Zi Bai Pan" and "San Shi Pan" are masterpieces of calligraphy in this period. Bronze inscriptions of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (770 BC to 221 BC).With the rise of various kingdoms, all the vassal states cast their own bronze wares one after another, and the inscriptions have obvious regional characteristics.The fonts in the Wu and Chu areas are slender and beautiful, and the patterns of strokes and curves appear in the calligraphy of the craftsman's word Chongniaoshu. .During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, bamboo slips were gradually used, and the inscriptions on bronze wares changed from book history to decoration.During the Warring States period, the inscriptions on bronze wares turned to be chiseled, and exquisitely crafted inscriptions on gold and silver seals appeared. Bronze inscriptions had a great influence on the development of modern calligraphy and seal cutting.After Qianlong and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty, a large number of Shang and Zhou bronzes were unearthed one after another, which shocked the academic circle. Many scholars, calligraphers, and seal carvers were able to see ancient art treasures that had never been seen before. The study and reference of Chinese literature, this kind of academic fashion, makes the vigorous and simple charm of gold and stone become the aesthetic style pursued by the art of calligraphy and seal cutting. Zhenwen is also called Dazhuan.According to Xu Shen's "Shuowen Jiezi" in the Han Dynasty, it was created by Tai Shizhen during the reign of King Xuan of Zhou (823-782 BC).Wang Guowei, a modern scholar, argued that it was a common language in the Qin State during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods.The connotation characters in Zhenwen are like bronze inscriptions, and the strokes are rounded and more rhythmic. The inscription of "Qin Gonggui" and stone drum inscriptions can be representative. In the early Tang Dynasty, 10 drum-shaped stone carvings carved with granite were discovered in Chenlun (now Fufeng), Shaanxi Province. Each of them is about 90 cm high and 60 cm in diameter, so it is named Stone Drum.Each drum is engraved with a piece of rhyme, which is named according to its content: Zuoyuan, Ershi, Ma Jian, Wushui, Wu Ren, Wuche, Qianju, Tianche, Luanche, Lingyu.When it was discovered in the Tang Dynasty, the writing was already scattered, most of the writing was incomplete, and there was no writing in Yigu.According to the original stone, there should be more than 600 characters in the 10 drums, but only 272 characters exist now.Stone drum inscriptions are the earliest inscriptions and calligraphy inscriptions in our country. They have academic value in history, literature, social customs and other aspects, so they have been regarded as national treasures in the past dynasties.In the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu and Wei Yingwu wrote a long poem "Song of the Stone Drum" to praise; the Song and Jin dynasties moved the stone drum to Bianjing and Yanjing with the capital of the country, and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty carved stone carvings and placed them in Taixue.During the War of Resistance Against Japan, in order to avoid disasters in Shigu, it was planned to be moved to the rear area for preservation, and then transported to Shanghai.After the founding of the People's Republic of China, a palace was built in the Palace Museum in Beijing for collection. There have been many textual researches and debates on the content of the stone drum characters and the age of engraving since they were discovered in the Tang Dynasty.Ma Heng, a modern scholar, proposed that in the era of Duke Mu of Qin Dynasty (659-621 BC), "a four-character poem describing the fishing and hunting situation at that time was engraved on each drum", which was regarded as a public opinion. Shiguwen is a representative of calligraphy in the transitional stage from bronze inscriptions to Xiaozhuan, presenting a new look of writing and structural symbolization.The body is thick and solemn, the strokes are round and smooth, and the structure is free and easy, showing the writer's high artistic accomplishment in controlling lines, structures and composition.Shiguwen occupies an important position in the history of philology and calligraphy. Philologists, calligraphers, and seal carvers of all dynasties have all looked forward to this peak in the history of calligraphy.Yang Yisun, Wu Changshuo, etc. have made the highest achievements in learning stone drum script.Rubbings in Shiguwen, handed down from the Northern Song Dynasty, contained 422 characters, which were burned during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.During the Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty, three kinds of rubbings in the Northern Song Dynasty, "Pioneer", "Zhongquan" and "Steady Strength" were discovered, and they spread to Japan.Only photocopies of these three original extensions can be seen now. Xiaozhuan is also called Qinzhuan.Qin Shihuang adopted a series of measures in order to strengthen the centralized rule after unifying China after ending the Warring States period.In terms of characters, Li Si sorted out a unified standard font, and abolished the parts of the six languages ​​that did not match the characters of Qin.Li Si simplified and symbolized on the basis of Qin Guozhengwen.It is known as Qin Zhuan and Xiao Zhuan in history.Compared with Dazhuan, Xiaozhuan pays more attention to law and order, and pursues the beauty of order and static beauty.The strokes and structure are reduced, the center of gravity is stable, the density is well-proportioned, the position of radicals is fixed, and the layout of the composition emphasizes the order of ranks and columns, which further finalizes the seal script and completes the reform of the final stage of ancient prose. Traces of small seal script, handed down from generation to generation include coins issued by Qin Shihuang and Emperor II, seals, engraved characters on weights and measures, and stone inscriptions on steles.Qin Shihuang was erected when Qin Shihuang toured all over the country in the 28th year (219 BC). It is engraved with the edict of Qin Shihuang and the inscriptions of the accompanying officials, as well as the edict engraved by Qin II 10 years later.It is said that both were written by Li Si.There were seven steles erected at that time.They are respectively called: "Taishan carved stone", "Langyatai carved stone", "Yaoshan carved stone", "Kuiji carved stone", "Dongguan stele", "Zhifu stele" and "Jieshi".Among them, there are no traces of Zhifu Stele, Dongguan Stele, and Jieshi; the original stones of Yishan Carved Stone and Kuaiji Carved Stone have been destroyed, and there are Song Dynasty engraved copies handed down.There is only a residual stone left in the Taishan carved stone, and there are still glued fragments of the Langyatai carved stone. Taishan carved stone, also known as Fengtaishan carved stone, is to praise the great achievements of Qin Shihuang. "Historical Records The Chronicle of Qin Shihuang" contains the history of standing stones and the imperial edicts in detail.According to records, there were 220 characters left in the fashion in the Northern Song Dynasty, and only 29 characters in the late Ming Dynasty. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was destroyed by fire.Now the remnant stones are preserved in Dai Temple in Tai'an. There are only nine and a half characters that are unclear, and only seven complete characters can be recognized. The Langya Terrace was carved with stone, and the original stone stood on the Langya Terrace in the east of Zhucheng County, Shandong Province.In the Northern Song Dynasty, only the edict of Qin II and the inscriptions of the accompanying officials remained, with a total of 13 lines and 104 characters.During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the stone was destroyed, and only some fragments were glued together. It is now in the Chinese History Museum.The carved stone characters have rich and powerful lines, well-proportioned density, rigorous structure, steady and solemn, and the arrangement of branches is white and square.It is a representative of the neat script style of official proclamations in Qin Zhuan, and also a model of Xiao Zhuan script.Taishan stone rubbings, the earliest handed down was rubbings in the Northern Song Dynasty, there are still 165 characters, which have spread to Japan.The more common original rubbings are the 29-character version of the Ming Dynasty.Photocopies are available for study. Xiaozhuan is strict in law, neat and symmetrical between strokes, it is not easy to write, and cannot meet the needs of social life.Therefore, it was replaced by the relatively fast official script with the fall of the Qin Dynasty before it could be popularized throughout the country.After that, the seal script will no longer be the mainstream script in the whole society.However, as a calligraphy style that has reached a mature stage after nearly a thousand years of transmission and evolution, it has a long-lasting and huge impact on the development of calligraphy and calligraphy in later generations. It not only directly promoted the formation of official script, but also evolved into Miao seal, which flourished in the Han Dynasty and was respected by all generations. Endless.All official proclamations, talisman festivals and even public and private classics are still written in seal script in order to express grandeur and historical value, such as monuments, building plaques, seals, currency, etc.The styles and styles of seal script rich in the characteristics of each era have been formed, making seal script a long-standing, profound and colorful calligraphy style in the history of Chinese calligraphy.And there appeared Li Yangbing in Tang Dynasty, Xu Xuan and Mengying in Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu, Tai Buhua and Zhou Boqi in Yuan Dynasty, Li Dongyang and Zhao Huanguang in Ming Dynasty, Deng Shiru, Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Changshuo in Qing Dynasty, etc. who made contributions to inherit and develop seal script calligraphy . The development of ancient prose to Xiaozhuan has already possessed strict stereotyped rules. In terms of strokes, horizontal, vertical, and arc turning are all smooth and solid; there is no dot hook, lifting, and empty white changes; the structure is uniform, symmetrical, and the center of gravity is stable and neat. full.There are certain standards in terms of homophony, near meaning, and similar characters, or polymorphic characters. At the same time, there are changes in different styles such as oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, 籀 inscriptions, small seal script, and Miao seal script.In the creation of seal cutting, the seal method should be used correctly to avoid confusing use or fabrication.When using different seal scripts, the conventional practice is that the back can be integrated with the front, and the front does not sandwich the back.If the oracle bone inscriptions are used, it is not appropriate to mix bronze inscriptions or small seal scripts. The use of small seal scripts can borrow from previous seal scripts.For new characters not found in Xiaozhuan, it is allowed to combine radicals according to the principle of "Six Books" to create characters.Don't try to make things up without a basis.Seal script is an excellent cultural heritage of the motherland. Like other art categories, it also needs to be carried forward with the development of the times. This requires us to follow the law to inherit and innovate, so that the ancient cultural wealth will glow with the new spirit of the times.