Carving seals is one of the four unique arts that make up the cultural heritage of China, along with painting, calligraphy and poetry.
Ancient seals are a living and incorruptible reflection of the development of Chinese writing. Since the earliest found seals from the Qin (221-207 BC) and Han (206 BC-220) dynasties were cut using the ancient wavy script Zhuang, the carvings of the seals are still sometimes called zhuanke, which literally means “wave carving”.
The history of the emergence of Chinese seals dates back to the Shang dynasty (XVI-XII centuries BC), when the Chinese, in order to indicate the ownership of things to the owner, began to carve their names on household utensils and documents. Over time, a tradition arose to carve your personal name on small pieces of horn, jasper or wood, which served as a brand that identifies and confirms the belonging of a thing to a particular person.
From the seals on the porcelain, you can determine which dynasty and by whom the item was made.
Then the boundaries of their application expanded significantly, they became an attribute of power, and a happy talisman, and the personal signature of the creators of art objects.
Emperor Qianlong's seal.
In the era of the Fighting Kingdoms (V-II centuries BC), state seals appeared. The seal became the personification of social status and power. The presentation of the seal became an indispensable attribute in the appointment of an official to a post by the emperor or prince.
During the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC), seals were an important evidence of a person's dignity, his place in the state hierarchy. The size, material, the inscription itself were strictly regulated, the seals acquired those specific features that became characteristic of them throughout the existence of imperial China (until 1911)
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The hieroglyphs on the seal are located from right to left and from top to bottom, as in the usual oriental vertical writing, the last hieroglyph is often the word "seal" itself. Printing meets three aspects: the laws of composition, the style of calligraphy and the skill of engraving. Any deviation from these canons was not allowed.
During the Qin dynasty, three categories of seals were formed, each receiving its own name: "si" - an imperial seal, usually jade; "Yin" - the seal of sovereign sovereigns and princes, originally gold; "Zhang" is the seal of nobles and generals.
It was believed that the more skillfully the seal was engraved and the more expensive the material from which it was made, the richer its owner was considered.
Ordinary residents tended to use seals made from wood, stone, or horn, while famous poets and officials preferred seals made from Changhua redstone, jasper, agate, crystal, ivory, and other valuable materials. Often the perimeter of the seal was decorated with hieroglyphs with wishes for happiness and well-being, or images of gods.
Jade, gold and precious stones were used for the manufacture of imperial seals. It was customary to decorate expensive seals with various inscriptions on the side, and tops decorated with various figures were often works of art in themselves. The figure of a lion was especially popular - a symbol of power and prosperity.
Although the writing style was strictly regulated, the skilled carver could vary the length, position, and thickness of individual features to add sophistication to the writing. In addition, considerable skill was required from the carver in order to accurately calculate the required tilt and pressure and so that, as a result, the finished phrase seemed like a free "flowing". Hieroglyphs on the seal can be embossed (convex) or in-depth, depending on the manufacturing method: "Yin" or "Zhiwen" - red background and white hieroglyphs; and "Yang" or "Baiwen" - white background and red hieroglyphs. The paint (yin-ni ink clay) was originally made from cinnabar, coral extract with the addition of oils, sometimes even with the addition of precious metal dust.
Not only hieroglyphs were depicted on the seals, there was another type of engraving of seals - engraving of drawings. Ancient seals discovered during excavations depicted dragons and phoenixes, tigers, cranes and other animals bringing good luck on various objects.
There were also seals with lines from poetry that corresponded to the mood or what was depicted in the picture. Such seals can often be seen in painting.
Artists used seals most often with pseudonyms. Previously, the Chinese had several names, their personal name was a taboo element used only in the family circle, and under the literary name they were known to the general public, they signed their works, poems, paintings, and so on. A personal seal for a master calligrapher was more than a replacement for a personal autograph, and even more than an irreplaceable attribute of style in a painting. It was a real magical thing, a personal amulet.
In modern China, the small red seal still holds its ground, both in business and in culture. Personal seals have not gone anywhere either: the official ones are used by doctors, bank employees and representatives of some other professions. Government departments usually order bronze seals, simpler institutions - wooden ones. Individuals choose material based on their status and wealth. Expensive seals, as before, are decorated with inscriptions and figures.
With the development of the tourism industry in China, souvenir stamps with images of the Great Wall, a three-color clay horse of the Tang era, etc. appeared in stores. Thus, traditional art has found practical application in our days.