Seal cutting is one of the treasures of China's traditional visual culture, and it is a historical imprint that records the endless development of the Chinese nation. It existed in the form of seals in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and flourished in the Qin and Han Dynasties. After thousands of years of development, China's unique seal cutting originated from the active participation and creation of ancient literati.

Knowledge expansion:

Seal cutting is a traditional art form, named after the seal script printed on the ancient seal. It is the art of combining calligraphy and sculpture (including chiseling and casting) to make seals. As far as the production technology is concerned, it refers to carving patterns or characters designed on the plane on materials such as metal, stone, teeth and horns.

Chinese seals have different names with different users over time. The seal before Qin dynasty was called Gao. After Qin Shihuang unified China, it was stipulated that the emperor should use the seal, the seal of ordinary people. The seals used by emperors, queens and kings in Han Dynasty are called seals, and the names of seals, seals and seals appear in official seals and private seals. The Tang dynasty was called Bao.

Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, official seals and private seals have been printed with names such as Ji, Zhu Ji, Toutou, Stamp and Stamp. Seal cutting originated in China, and then spread and became popular in East Asia.

The emergence and use of seals has a long history, but as an artistic appreciation and creation, it began in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The seals before Song and Yuan Dynasties are called the era of practical seals. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, schools in seal cutting have proliferated, which is called the era of genre seal cutting.

Ancient seals are divided into official seals and private seals. In addition, there are martyrdom seal, exorcism seal, horse seal, lacquer seal and pottery seal. The shapes are single-sided printing, double-sided printing, multi-sided printing, parent-child printing, hook printing and so on.

Printing methods include sand turning and wax pulling. Cast in copper and chiseled with a knife. Metal seals are mostly engraved before pouring; Jade seal, carved by hand in ancient times, is now sprayed with emery, which is called "electric engraving"; Stones, teeth, horns and other seals are carved directly with a meat cleaver.