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inner peace. It is also believed that studying seal engraving
can contribute to self-cultivation.
A craft with a long history, seal engraving not only shows
the aesthetic temperament of Chinese people but also is cul-
turally rich. There are two types of seal engraving: zhuwen
(red characters) and baiwen (white characters). With zhuwen
carving, what remains of the carved surface are the charac-
ter strokes and the rim; so, using red seal paste and white
paper, a zhuwen seal will imprint a red pattern with a white
background. The baiwen carving is the exact opposite. Chi-
nese people call the remaining parts of the carved surface
“solid”, as they will be clearly imprinted on the paper. The
removed parts of the carved surface, on the other hand, are
called “void”, as they will show on the paper as the blank
background. Seal engraving is a process of realizing “solid”
through the removal of “void”, a concept that fits well with
the traditional Chinese philosophy of mutual promotion
between solid and void and the oneness of yin and yang.
Since seal engraving is a crystallization of an engraver’s
conception and the stone material used, it can be said that
creation of a good seal depends as much on luck as on hu-
man effort. “I relish the grass that rims the mountain stream
/ While orioles sing in the trees above / Last night's spring
rain f looded the river / Which has the idling ferry boats
tossed about.” In 28 characters, this poem vividly depicts a
spring-time mountain scene, carrying a mixed sentiment of
sadness and contentment. How would this same message be
conveyed through a small seal? He Zhen, Ming-dynasty seal
engraving virtuoso, captured the essence of this poetic scene
on a square seal using only four characters: “tīng lí shēn chù”
(quiet mountain wafting with oriole songs). Only four char-
acters, but this image is instantly brought to your mind: An
oriole is flitting and singing among the tree branches. You
can only listen to it, for the lushness of the trees hides the
bird from your view.
A seal engraving can be a poem, and it can also be a
kind of spirit. The emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
the “Chinese Seal: Dancing Beijing” logo, was created using
this traditional Chinese craft of seal engraving. The design
of the emblem transformed the character “jīng” (
京
, mean-
ing Beijing) into the image of a person in a running pose,
symbolizing to the whole world a China that is ancient and
at the same time full of vitality. According to the emblem’s
designer, Guo Chunning, if you are looking for a traditional
Chinese art that has all these qualities: uniqueness, symbol-
ism, recognizability, freedom from language barriers, and
artistic value, it will surely be the uniquely Chinese art of
seal engraving.
In 2009, “Chinese Seal Engraving” was included on the
world “Intangible Cultural Heritage List”, becoming anoth-
er valuable heritage that had won world recognition. In fact,
over centuries of cross-cultural exchange and integration,
seal engraving long ago spread to Japan, Korea and Singa-
pore, where it has always enjoyed great popularity.
Today, seal engraving is used not only for artistic ap-
preciation but also in people’s daily life: it appears on tea
pots, china ware, stamps, sculptures, and buildings. At the
same time, it is no longer an art for the exclusive enjoyment
of the literati, but has become also an amusement for many
ordinary people. Any seal engraving enthusiast can pick up
a stone and a carving knife and carve out a splendid series of
life’s stories on tiny inch-squares.
Confucius Institute
VOLUME 17 | NO.6 NOV. 2011