Chapter 16 Section 3 Consult Books of Seal Characters

Since the appearance of seals, seal script has always been the main style of printing. Although official script, regular script, and Basiba, Mongolian, and Tibetan scripts of brother nations appeared in seal fonts after Tang and Song Dynasties, seal script is generally used as the main script. host.During the long-term evolution of seal script, a variety of seal methods have been formed. To carve seals, one must learn how to write seal script, which requires consulting books on seal script. "Shuowen Jiezi" is a reference book for looking up seal characters.The book was written by Xu Shen, a classicist and paleographer in the Eastern Han Dynasty.It is the first systematic work on philology in China and the earliest dictionary in the world. The book "Shuowen Jiezi" was written by Xu Shen over a period of 22 years from 100 to 121 AD. The book has 14 chapters in total (15 chapters plus "Xu"). There are more than 9,350 characters in Wen (also known as "big seal"), and more than 133,000 characters in the whole book. The style of "Shuowen Jiezi" is to list the seal characters first, then explain the meaning of the characters, and then use the "Six Books" to analyze the structure of the characters.The so-called "Six Books" are the six methods summarized by scholars since the Warring States Period by analyzing the formation and usage of Chinese characters, namely: pictographic, referring to things, knowing, phonetic, transcribing, and borrowing.The current version of "Shuowen Jiezi" has two systems. One is the Northern Song Dynasty Xu Xuan (AD 916-991) and others were corrected by the imperial edict, which is known as the "Big Xu Version".The other is "Shuowen Jiezi Biography" written by Xu Xuan's younger brother Xu Kai in the Southern Tang Dynasty, which is known as "Little Xu Ben".Xu Xuan's Daxu version re-examined, sorted out, and marked Fanqie (ancient pinyin method) on the original book, and added the current characters with explanations.

"Shuowen Jiezi" is very helpful for studying the origin of characters and how they are written. It can be said to be a must-read book for studying characters and learning seal script.But this book has been tested, and there are some mistakes.With the development and changes of characters, there are still many characters that have not been included in the book. For the characters that have not been included, they can be printed with reference to the characters from other official script steles. "Liu Shu Tong" is a manuscript compiled by Min Yuwu for more than 50 years in the late Ming Dynasty, and compiled by Bi Jiming during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.Beijing China Bookstore published a photocopy again in 1980.

"Liu Shu Tong" is a collection of three dynasties of Qin and Han and other seal scripts, and looks up the seal script according to the sound and rhyme.Each seal character in the book is accompanied by a variety of seal methods, and some seal methods are also marked with their sources. Although some seal methods are not very accurate or have typos, it can still be said to be a valuable reference book for looking up seal characters. "Stone Inscriptions and Seals" (compiled by Shang Chengzuo, published by Science Press in 1957) is a book dedicated to collecting stone inscriptions, including various inscriptions, inscriptions, and inscriptions from the Shang, Zhou, and Jin Dynasties. The source is marked below.It can be said to be a reference book for searching stone inscriptions.

"Oracle Bone Inscriptions" (compiled by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, photocopied and published by Zhonghua Book Company in 1965) is a book that collects oracle bone inscriptions and compiles them as a reference book. The book contains a total of 4,672 characters, of which more than 1,000 are recognizable. Characters, the oracle bone inscriptions have been interpreted and the single characters that have not been interpreted are almost complete.This book can be used as a book for studying oracle bone inscriptions. In addition, you can consult books on oracle bone inscriptions, including "Tieyun Tibetan Turtle" by Liu E in the late Qing Dynasty, "Yinxu Shuqi" by Luo Zhenyu in Qing Dynasty (there are also subsequent and continuation editions), and "Yinxu Books" by Shang Chengzuo. Compilation of Characters", "A Collection of Oracle Bone Inscriptions" edited by Guo Moruo, etc.

There are also many works of Zhong Dingwen that can be consulted.Luo Zhenyu's "Three Generations of Auspicious and Jin Wencun" recorded 3,835 rubbings of bronze inscriptions handed down from the Shang and Zhou dynasties."Jin Wen Bian" edited by Rong Geng (edited by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published by Science Press in 1959) is also a book for consulting bronze inscriptions.The gold inscriptions collected in the book are based on rubbings or photocopies of more than 3,000 Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions.The book mainly uses the inscriptions of various ritual vessels.For the collected bronze inscriptions, those that can be affirmed through textual research and interpretation, or that a certain school’s textual research and interpretation can be followed, are compiled into 1894 in total.The "Bronze Inscriptions Continued" edited by Rong Geng (published by the Commercial Press in 1935) contains texts collected from more than 800 Qin and Han artifacts.In addition, Zhong Dingwen's books can be consulted include "Zhong Ding Zi Yuan" by Wang Li in Qing Dynasty, "Ji Gu Zhai Zhong Ding Yi Ware Inscription" written by Ruan Yuan, "Ming [ke Ke] Zhai Ji Gu Lu" edited by Wu Dachen, "Shuo "Wen Gu Zhen Bu" and so on.

The "Guzhen Collection" compiled by Xu Wenjing in the Qing Dynasty has a large number of characters. It is a book that can be consulted in oracle bone inscriptions, Zhongding inscriptions, stone drum inscriptions, and large and small seal characters. This book is basically enough to check seal characters. In addition to the various books introduced above, there are also "Zengzhuan Kangxi Dictionary", "Seal Seal Characters", "Jinshi Dadian", "Fengni Compilation", "Zhuanxue Series", etc. can also be used as reference books. Yinpu is also a must-read reference material for learning seal cutting.There are many types of seals left by the predecessors, such as "Jin Cao Tang Yin Xuan" by He Zhen in the Ming Dynasty, "Jin Yifu Yin Xuan" by Jin Guangxian, "Ji Gu Yin Pu" by Gan Yang, "Xu Mo Gong Yin Pu" by Xu Rong in the Qing Dynasty, Chen Lian's "Chao Ran Lou Yin Pu", Ba Weizu's "Bai Shou Tu Yin Pu", Huang Yi's "Qiu Jingan Yin Pu", Xi Gang's "Mengquan Wai Shi Yin Pu", Chen Yuzhong's "Qiu Shi Zhai Yin Pu", Chen Hongshou's " Qiuyu Xianguan Printing Book, Guo Yu [Lin] Lin’s Lingfenguan Printing Book, Zhao Zhichen’s Pura Kashi Printing Book, Cheng Tinglu’s Hongheng Pavilion Printing Book, Weng Danian’s Tao Zhai Yinpu", Qian Song's "Tielu Yinpu", Xu Sangeng's "Jinyu [lei Lei] Mountain People's Yinpu", Zhao Zhiqian's "Er Jindie Tang Yinpu", Qing Dynasty "Xiling Four Family Seals", "Xiling Eight Family Seals, Seals of Ten Bells Mountain House edited by Chen Jieqi, Dye Cangshi Seals, Wu Changshuo Seals and Qi Baishi Seals by Chen Hengke in modern times can all be used as reference materials for learning seal cutting.