Zhao Zhiqian, a late Qing Dynasty Indian, said, "The Hang people are called four families. Ding and Huang are authentic, Jiang Yipin, and Xi are not corresponding. In fact, it can be called, stop three ears. (Zhao Zhiqian's "Preface to the Four Seals of Hangzhou") He believes that Xi Gang 's heart and hands are not corresponding", and he cannot even be counted as "four families" with Ding Jing, Jiang Ren, and Huang Yi. Although this evaluation is a family statement, it is actually the unique feature of Zhao Zhiqian.
The reason is very simple, is Xi Gang's personality, although he is also cloth lifelong, but his personality is relatively gentle, and the so-called "Cang Gu Spicy" and "Xiongjian Simple" printing style of the Zhejiang School just points to a different aesthetic with his personality, which makes Xi Gang's seal, can not reach the so-called supreme realm of Ding, Jiang, and Huang, he is running towards another kind of aesthetic, is the beauty of softness, is the beauty of exquisite cleverness, so, we look at Xi Gang's representative works, in addition to the "Zhejiang School" style of obvious prints (such as "Golden Stone Fetish"), What makes people shine is that from him to the mature "Zhejiang Sect" Yuan Zhuwen, such as this side of the "Longwei Mountain House":
(Xi Gang's "Dragon Tail Mountain House")
A person's character background is dyed by his life experience, this kind of character background color will inevitably bring into his works, some seal engravers only carve Chinese seals for life, rarely change the grid, because his character background color is square and square; some seal carvers like to carve birds and insect seals, because his character background is rigorous and meticulous; some seal carvers like to carve Yuan Zhu Wen, because his character background color is gentle and elegant...
Therefore, when we read Xi Gang's seal, we must choose his Yuan Zhu Wen, because these works are more representative of his printing style, such as this "Binuma Fisherman":
(Shioka "Binuma Fisherman" and its side paragraph)
In the side section of this square seal, Xi Gang wrote: "Imitation of the Song people sticking to the side and thin Zhu Wen", in fact, we compare the definition of the current Yuan Zhu Wen Printing Style: 1, small seal seal text; 2, seal stick edge; 3, fine Zhu Wen. Yes, in fact, this is the "Yuan Zhu Wen" seal, except that the printed text is just a small seal that is "squareized", and the "Yuan" in the Yuan Zhu text comes from the Yuan Dynasty seal carver Zhao Mengfu (in fact, he also wants to be considered a Song person), but in fact, this printing style originated from the official seal of the Song Dynasty, or even the earlier official seal of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Zhao Mengfu was just the person who "literati" this seal style, Xi Gang believes that it originated from the Song people, which is forgivable.
Why "stick edges"? Because the line of the small seal "round" element is more, if there is no edge, the printed text is easy to lose balance, and with the help of the "horizontal" and "vertical" borders, the rounded line finds the center of gravity to rely on, so the "sticky edge" is basically the innate attribute and innate attribute of Yuan Zhuwen.
(Origin of Yuan Zhu Wenyin)
But this is not a simple Yuan Zhu Wenyin, it has unique characteristics in the chapter:
1. It is a typical four-character seal of the "three secrets and one sparse" chapter. With this intimate relationship, there is contrast, there is an aesthetic element. This kind of dense relationship does not come from Deng Shiru, although Xi Gang and Deng Shiru are complete contemporaries, but Xi Gang's dense chapter method comes from the Han Seal, only out of the aesthetic consciousness of the literati, Xi Gang treated the word "ren" to an extreme "sparse", and the lower two extremes "opened" around a vacant lot in the lower left corner, thus achieving the aesthetic effect of "the sparse place can be walked, and the secret place does not make the wind breathe".
(Three dense and one sparse)
"Three secrets and one sparseness" is the most commonly used method of chapters, which can also be called "three flat and one change", "three heavy and one light", and the aesthetic of the chapter method comes from the contrast of denseness (light and heavy).
2. Echo. The difference between literati seal engraving and practical seal is that it has more interest (the efforts of seal engravers are to increase this interest and avoid the "dullness" and average of engravers or craftsmen), and there are two sets of echoes on the chapter of this seal that are worth mentioning:
[1] The diagonal response of the "water ministry" formed by the common "swamp" and "fishing" echoes:
(The diagonals of the two waters echo)
With this set of diagonal echoes, it actually strengthens the communication between the left and right sides of the printing surface, and also increases the interest of the printing surface.
[2] The two "mouths" of "Bi" and "Numa" echo up and down:
(Echo up and down on the right side of the printing surface)
This actually strengthens the connection between the upper and lower parts of the printing surface, and also increases the interest of the printing surface.
A seal engraver, when creating a seal engraving work, focusing on observing and using the same text components of the printed text to construct the interestingness of the printing surface is a conventional technique, and beginners should grasp it as soon as possible.
It is also necessary to pay attention to the mottledness caused by the cutting knife in this work; pay attention to the intermittent state of the lines of the printed text due to the cutting knife; note the non-vertical and non-horizontal state of the border of the printing surface deliberately presented; pay attention to the interspersing and concession and adhesion between the text and the text. Because these state characteristics are more exquisite and beautiful in the subsequent works of Zhao Shuru and Wang Fu'an. In fact, Xu Sangeng, Zhao Zhiqian, Zhao Shuru, and Wang Fu'an were divided into two different subcategories in the subsequent development of "fine Zhu Wen" or "thin Zhu Wen", namely "Yuan Zhu Wen (or Yuan Zhu Wen)" and "Iron Wire Seal". But they all inherited a lot from the Zhejiang school "Thin Zhu Wen", so copying the works of these Zhejiang school sages is of great help.
Xi Gang is a relatively excellent representative of the "Zhejiang Sect Thin Zhu Wen", and this Fang Yin is only a more representative party.
([Pudding Reading] No. 106, some pictures from the Internet)