Qin and Han Seal Classics

Author: Jin Huaiying (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-06-01
Features: Since the rise of literary seal carving, seal artists have invariably revered the Qin and Han dynasty seals as the foundation. This demonstrates that Qin and Han dynasty seals were recognized for their extremely high artistic value and significant appreciation and learning value. Like seals from any other period, Qin and Han dynasty seals consist of two main systems: the official system and the civilian system. Compiling a collection of Qin and Han dynasty seals that includes the official system typically relies on historical records such as the official ranks, government offices, geographical name changes, and seal-making systems of the Qin and Han dynasties. However, compiling a collection that includes the civilian system is much more complex and presents greater challenges. Civilian seals were not strictly constrained by the era's seal-making systems, and the works from the period around the transition of dynasties often bore a strong resemblance to one another. For example, private seals from the late Warring States period to the Qin dynasty and from the Qin to the early Han dynasty showed little change in literary style and layout. Similarly, most private seals from the Three Kingdoms and the Western and Eastern Jin dynasties after the Han dynasty continued to follow Han-era conventions in terms of literary style and layout. A series of historical and objective factors like these made it difficult to definitively date a significant number of seals from this period, even in the past, present, or future. Even when using clearly identified seals unearthed from Qin and Han dynasty tombs as reference standards to compare and collect other Qin and Han seals, one unavoidable practical issue arises in the compilation of any Qin and Han-themed seal collection.