Asian Geographic - April 2018

(singke) #1

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 © WIKICOMMONS

DATA 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 China

ȑ The use of personal
seals for non-official but
important documents
becomes common

ȑ Personal seals grow
popular among the
masses, with artists using
them to sign their work

ȑ As handwritten
signatures grow in
popularity, seals fade
from general use

1600 BcE 221 BcE 7th cEntury or latEr 14th cEntury or latEr 1980s
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