Copying is the main way to learn the art of traditional seal engraving. The collection of excellent ancient seals of the Qin and Han Dynasties began with Yang Keyi's "Collection of Ancient Inge" in the Northern Song Dynasty, but this spectrum was early. Some people have calculated that in the 250 years from then to the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, only sixteen have collected the seals, and there are not many seals, and they are copied, which inevitably forms a god's diaphragm, and it is difficult to truly reflect the style of ancient seals.
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Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the compilation of printed scores has mushroomed after the rain. From Longqing Xinwei (1571) to the end of the Ming Dynasty, the large-scale printing notation of the Qin and Han dynasties was greatly influenced, such as: Gu Ruxiu used the bronze seal and jade seal stored by the third emperor of the family, and nearly 1,800 people compiled the "Collection of Ancient Seals". The first opening is based on the ancient Qin and Han dynasties to expand the style of the spectrum, "the wilderness of printing, since then broken" (MingganXuan). In the twenty-fifth year of the Ming Dynasty (1597), Fan Rutong also compiled more than 3,600 ancient seals collected by his father Fan Dache into the "Collection of Ancient Seals". In the forty-third year of the Wanli Calendar (1615), Guo Zongchang also used more than 930 ancient seals to expand the "History of the Seal of Songtan Pavilion".
At that time, although the number of such printed sheets was not much (for example, Gu's "Collection of Ancient Seals" only made more than twenty bells), it opened the eyes of the Indians, especially at that time, the number of people who could see the original seals was not much, they were of great help to improve the level of people's appreciation of the Qin and Han seal engraving art, and inspired the Indians to inherit the fine traditions more consciously, so that "the family imitates the people, taking the Han as the teacher" (Zhu Lu's "Liang Qianqiu Seal Collection." Prologue"), "A moment of sudden windward movement, celebrities emerge" (Zhu Jian's "Prints" from the prologue). It has had a profound impact on the printing altar and society.
By the Qing Dynasty, there were more ancient seal genealogists. Some versions are huge and have so many prints that they are simply amazing. Chen Jieqi's "Ten Bells Mountain House Seal", began to be compiled in 1852, and was compiled into five volumes in 1872: it was later added and re-revised, and in 1883 it was compiled in 191 volumes and 194 volumes. The collection of ancient seals of 10,284 squares is not only unprecedented at the time, but also rare even now.
These prints, which are directly based on ancient seals, accurately and beautifully reproduce the original appearance of the ancient seals of the Qin and Han Dynasties. It provides reliable information for later scholars to inherit the fine tradition of seal engraving art, correct the bad habits in circulation, and promote the development of seal engraving art.
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, there have been more ancient seals carved with wooden boards, and although such prints are difficult to fax and lose the true essence of ancient seals, they are produced quickly and widely circulated, which is conducive to popularization. At the same time, the engraving itself is also a way to copy the ancient seal, so it is also helpful to learn the fine tradition of seal engraving
Although the artistry of the ancient and Chinese seals was relatively high, they were regarded as tools for holding letters at that time, and they were not regarded as works of art, so there would be no printing science produced and passed down. The wide application of stone has enabled some literati with artistic attainments to participate in the whole process of seal carving. Practice made them realize that if they did not carry out the study of printing, seal engraving would be in danger of returning to the old road of pure production. Since the first printing treatise, the Ancient Treatise on Printing, was produced in the Yuan Dynasty, the printing science of the Ming and Qing dynasties has developed by leaps and bounds. For example, from Xu Guan's "History of Ancient and Modern Printing" in 1569, in the 70 years from the end of the Ming Dynasty, more than 20 influential treatises on printing studies came out. There are more profound expositions on the seal law, the chapter method, the knife method, the taste, the artistic conception, the copying, inheritance and innovation of the ancient seal, and even the art criticism. The development of printing treatises has played a certain role in promoting and guiding the rise of seal engraving art in the Ming and Qing dynasties.