Zhu Fugan Seal Collection

Author: Li Zao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Zhu Fugang (1900–1989), originally named Yi Fang, styled Baihang, and styled Jing’an. After the age of forty, he changed his name to Qi and styled Fugang, also known as Fugan. He was of Zhejiang origin and born in Shanghai. Zhu was raised in a scholarly family and, in his youth, practiced the Shigudwen script, earning praise from the esteemed Wu Changshuo. At the age of sixteen, his seal-carving works were selected for The National Selection of Famous Seal Carvers. At twenty-two, he published Jing’an Seal Collection and gained fame for his calligraphy and seal-carving in Shanghai. Later, he studied in France and, at the age of twenty-eight, was invited by Mr. Hai E’su to become a professor at the Shanghai Art College. He was later elected as a Standing Committee member of the Chinese Painting Association. In the early 1950s, he moved to Jinan, Shandong, and engaged in art design work, renowned for designing bronze vessels and inscriptions. He served as a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, an honorary council member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, and a council member of the Xiling Seal Carving Society.
Zhu’s seal-carving initially Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Changshuo’s influence, gradually adhering to the principles of the Qin and Han dynasties while learning from the past without rigidly following tradition. In middle age, he innovated by incorporating inscriptions from bronze vessels and ritual vessels into his seals, forging a unique path and opening up a new style. He created one hundred seals for Wang Te of Zhu City, compiling them into Fugang Seal Collection. Mr. Ma Gongyu wrote the preface, praising his work as “imitating ancient seals and standing alone for a thousand years.” The calligraphy master Sha Menghai remarked, “This collection contains many works resembling ancient seals, with majestic and varied changes, as if it aims to dominate the field with a single blow.” The original stone rubbings of this collection are preserved in the Xiling Seal Carving Society and are now published as a photolithographic reproduction based on the original.