The Chinese seal – a mainstay in the country’s
arsenal of writing supplies – is truly a resilient
piece of stationery.
So rarely do the fashions of centuries
ago remain intact today that the seal and
its relatively unchanged form make it a
remarkable survivor of modern times, Sun
Weizu remarks in the first chapter of his
2004 book Chinese Seals: Carving Authority
and Creating History. For calligraphers and
painters, the personalised device functions
much like a signature – immediately
identifying to experts and auction houses
the works of different masters.
Inscribed in 2009 on UNESCO’s List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,
this artistic engraving has for centuries
authenticated the identity of China’s emperors,
businessmen and artisans
Stamp of Authority
SEALING THE DEAL
carving history
PHOTO © WIKICOMMONSDATA SOURCES: UNESCO, LUO PENG PENG, CHAR4U,
NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD, CHINA HIGHLIGHTS, SUN WEIZU
heritage
“The ancestry of Chinese
seals has remained
largely unchanged ‘in its
basic form’ throughout
the centuries”
Sun Weizu, author
Seal carving is considered one of the Chinese
fine arts. Artisans were fluent in language and
calligraphy, and combined this knowledge to
create a symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing
combination of characters, landscapes and
decorative motifs (like birds and flowers)
on canvases as tiny as 12 millimetres across.
Sometimes carvings of lions and dragons
topped the seal, which could be made out
of semiprecious stones or gold for nobility.
ȑ Primitive bronze
seals are invented, with
pictographic characters
and simple patterns
ȑ The first imperial jade
seal is made for Emperor
Qin Shi Huang after the
unification of Chinaȑ The use of personal
seals for non-official but
important documents
becomes commonȑ Personal seals grow
popular among the
masses, with artists using
them to sign their workȑ As handwritten
signatures grow in
popularity, seals fade
from general use1600 BcE 221 BcE 7th cEntury or latEr 14th cEntury or latEr 1980s