1. dictionary: Chinese and Indian characters have been added (optional: newly edited Chinese and Indian rhymes).
It is basically impossible to learn seal cutting without learning Chinese seal. However, whenever it is necessary to select a text sample when creating, how to deal with this Chinese character in the seal of China becomes an excellent reference angle, and Luo's "Updating the Seal of China" solves this problem. The writing methods of the characters appearing in China's seal are collected and developed one by one, and compiled into a book, which is made by famous artists and is worth owning.
Relatively speaking, there are many characters in Supplementary Chinese-Indian Character Library, and the most commonly used Chinese characters can be found. If you are a beginner, it is a bit extravagant to buy two voluminous Chinese characters, and you can change them into newly edited Chinese and Indian rhymes. The advantage is that the cost is low, and the word retrieval method has a sound order, which is more convenient, but there are a few words.
Of course, there are also Sino-Indian rhymes to choose from, but they are basically early versions of the above book, and their practicality is not as good as the new Sino-Indian rhymes published in this ancient Zhejiang book.
2. Dictionary: Shuo Wen Jie Zi
Because it is necessary to engrave Zhu Wenyin, and besides Han and Zhu Wen, there is also a need to engrave. Therefore, the dictionary of small seal script is essential, and Shuo Wen Jie Zi has become a necessary book for the study and creation of seal script. However, the font of this book is controversial. Some seal cutting, such as Chen Ju and Yuan Zhuwen's "Shuowen Jiezi", did not change a word; In addition, some printers, such as Ding Jing of Zhejiang School, said that the seal script in Shuo Wen Jie Zi is from the perspective of philology, not art, so there is no need to stick to Shuo Wen Jie Zi. I will analyze these two views in detail later. Our suggestion is that if Zhu is an engraving, the writing method of Shuowen should prevail. Therefore, Shuo Wen Jie Zi is a necessary book.
In fact, it is still a basic skill for a qualified seal engraver to read Shuo Wen Jie Zi thoroughly, because the familiarity with the method of Chinese character creation based on the "Six Books" will eventually affect the design of a seal engraver's work form and the choice of characters when he creates. There are many versions of Shuo Wen Jie Zi, including large print version, small print version, sequenced version and unordered version. Powerful publishers involved in ancient books generally have printed copies.
It is suggested that novices of Shuo Wen Jie Zi learn Shuo Wen Jie Zi Zhu.
3. Dictionary: Dictionary of commonly used characters in seal cutting (revised edition)
Because the editions of "Ancient Seal" and "Ancient Seal Compilation" have never been reprinted, the prices of these two old books have been very high in the market, which is not suitable for beginners. Therefore, the selection of ancient seal text samples has become a long-standing problem. Rong Geng's bronze edition and the corresponding Oracle dictionary are obviously too big for newcomers. Xiling Publishing House is the version of the ancient seal dictionary that is more suitable for beginners. Therefore, in the direction of Chinese-Indian, we suggest choosing "update Chinese-Indian characters". If a comprehensive dictionary of seal cutting is suitable for beginners, this dictionary of commonly used seal cutting words (revised edition) is worth having.
4. Print spectrum: "print style series"
It is impossible to learn to print without looking at the printed spectrum. A good book covering the ancient imperial seal to the printing spectrum of Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China is hard to find. 20 1 1 Chongqing publishing house published a set of "printing style series", and now almost a full set of reprints can be found on the whole network. The first edition of China seal seems to be rare (because there are too many official seals for learning Chinese). This set of books also has some shortcomings, such as occasional mistakes and omissions in some volumes, but it is also the most comprehensive set of printed books. There is a related paper before each volume of this book, which is written by famous writers and is worth reading. The whole set of books is valuable, so novices should choose carefully.
As for the printing spectrum, if you go deeper, this set will not be enough. If you find that this set is not enough, you should already know the benefits of other high-quality versions, so I won't say much here.
5. Technology: technical analysis series (alternative: technical series)
Regarding seal cutting techniques, I also recommend the classic seal cutting technique analysis series of Chongqing Publishing House, which is a set of more than ten volumes and classified. The prehistoric part of seal cutting is analyzed in chronological order, and the latter part is analyzed in genre. The techniques are all from contemporary famous artists and are worth reading.
This set of books also has some shortcomings, that is, there are overlapping parts in the part about the history and techniques of seal cutting, because the authors of each book are relatively independent, lacking a unified system, and even some analyses are contradictory, because the opinions of the people who wrote these books are not unified, and the reason for the disunity is that the famous artists have their own dominant aesthetics, and the aesthetics cannot be unified, and there is no big problem. For beginners, this set of books can be used as a reference book for common sense, learning a certain subdivision genre and dating seal cutting techniques.
Recently, the earliest four-volume series of seal cutting techniques published by Henan Fine Arts Publishing House was reprinted from the book. I received a gift from my friend not long ago, but compared with the old version, there is no trace of modification. Therefore, I put it here as a substitute. In fact, this set of books is very helpful for seal cutting learning. The authors are all famous and rich in content. Each book is roughly limited to 100 short articles. The printed examples are well coordinated and the reasoning is thorough. That's it. Besides, if you look at the copyright page, it is also a printed version, and it is not bad to buy a collection.
6. System theory: seal cutting
Of course, the earliest name about seal cutting belongs to Mr. Deng Sanmu, but if you read it carefully, you will find that it is a typical "course manuscript". Although there are a lot of correct opinions in the whole book, there are also a few different opinions, so it is not necessarily suitable for newcomers to read. The seal cutting versions that are more suitable for people with a certain educational level are those of Li Gangtian and Ma Shida. If you really want to go deeper and further on the road of seal cutting, this is a set of theoretical books that can't be missed. This set of books is comprehensive and detailed in aesthetics, seal cutting history, genre theory and seal cutting techniques, but its length is too large. It is likely that the beginner will never get bored and give up from beginning to end, but this is his advantage because he is more meticulous.
Regarding the systematic study of seal cutting theory, there is another book for beginners to choose from, which is the study of seal cutting:
This is also a set of books, from the perspective of calligraphy. However, this volume "Research on Seal Cutting" is also very detailed, and it also mentions the entry methods for beginners. The history of seal cutting is also relatively comprehensive, which can basically be said to be a book in hand, covering all aspects of seal cutting. If beginners only buy a theoretical book, and even don't want to spend money on it, this book is worth it.