Deng Shiru Seal Collection

Author: None
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Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Deng Shiru (1743---1805), originally named Yan, styled Shiru, also known as Wanbo, styled Wanbai Shanren, also styled Wanbai, Guhuanzi, Youjie Daoren, Fengshui Yuchang, Longshan Qiaochang, etc., was from Huining, Anhui. Some classified him as part of the Wan School, while more people revered his outstanding contributions to seal carving history and honored him as the "Deng School." Deng Shiru grew up in poverty and had a low social status throughout his life. He himself said, "I never had the chance to study when I was young, and I experienced all kinds of hardships. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, I secretly liked books. At the age of twenty, my grandfather took me to Shouzhou, and I was already able to teach children. Now that I am on the verge of old age, I wander and eat in the world, and people do not treat me as someone who can read." Such a "commoner" with little education grew into a great artist solely his unwavering belief, strong will, and hard training. After the age of seventeen, he began to support himself through calligraphy and seal carving. After the age of thirty, through the introduction of friends, he gradually met friends such as the three Mei brothers in Nanjing, and he extensively studied the fine gold and stone classics collected by the Mei family. Whenever he encountered famous steles or calligraphic works, he would copy them over a hundred times. For this, he worked day and night, ceaselessly, laying a solid foundation in calligraphy for his future seal carving art. Therefore, contemporaries praised his four-body calligraphy as the best in the Qing Dynasty. During Deng Shiru's time, the Wan and Zhejiang schools dominated the seal carving field, but he was never satisfied with the achievements of his predecessors. Based on his strong calligraphy foundation, he achieved the principle of "calligraphy leading seal carving and seal carving leading calligraphy," breaking the traditional format of seal carving influenced by clerical script in Han dynasty seals. He pioneered the use of small seal script and inscriptions from steles in seal carving, expanding the scope of resources for seal carving. In seal carving, he formed his own robust and graceful style, rising majestically in the field of seal carving at the time, forming a tripod-like balance with the Wan and Zhejiang schools. Deng Shiru's influence extended to contemporaries such as Bao Shichen, Wu Rangzhi, Zhao Ziqian, Wu Zi, Hu Shu, and Xu Sangeng. In the history of seal carving art, Deng Shiru was an outstanding master. Unfortunately, few of his original stones have been passed down, and surviving works include "Wanbai Shanren Seal Carving Random Creations," "Wanbai Shanren Seal Spectrum," and "Deng Shiru Seal Collection."