Chinese Seal Carving Great Dictionary

Author: Ni Wending
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: This dictionary includes 3,933 Chinese character units and 67,872 seal scripts. The radical index is arranged according to the radical lookup method of the Kangxi Dictionary for convenient and rapid reference. Following the main text, there are two additional lookup methods: a Pinyin index and a simplified stroke index. This dictionary adheres to the traditional layout of dictionaries and considers the stylistic features of seal scripts across generations, arranging them primarily in traditional (complex) form. Simplified forms and variant characters are provided alongside and below each character in the table of contents and main text for reference. All annotations and descriptive text below the seal scripts are written in simplified characters for easier reading.
The dictionary uses seal scripts listed in the Shuowen Jiezi as the primary characters and mainly includes oracle bone script, inscriptions on bronze vessels, stone inscriptions, seal scripts, brick and tile inscriptions, mirror inscriptions, coin inscriptions, and metrological markings. They are arranged chronologically according to the evolution of calligraphic styles and the era of seal carvers, though some inaccuracies may be inevitable. All historical seal script forms included in this dictionary are annotated with their sources or the names of the seal carvers. However, due to the passage of time and limited available materials, some forms with unclear origins or unknown authors are approximately labeled as ancient seals, gold inscriptions, Han seals, brick inscriptions, tile inscriptions, or anonymous. Forms that are unclear or cannot be identified are marked with squares based on the original materials.
The oracle bone script, gold inscriptions, cursive seal scripts, brick and tile inscriptions, and mirror inscriptions included in this dictionary are meticulously traced by masters based on the original works. Modern and contemporary seal carvers' forms are selected from their actual seals and carefully crafted, with all negative-script characters converted to positive-script for study and practice. The seal script forms included in this dictionary are traced or cut as closely as possible to their original size to preserve their authenticity, though slight variations in size may occur due to layout requirements. This is specially noted.
All character heads in the main text of this dictionary are marked with circles, with simplified and variant characters indicated in smaller print below. Simplified characters are enclosed in parentheses, while variant characters or ancient homophones are enclosed in square brackets for reference during use.