Xiling Seal Art Society
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| Xiling Seal Art Society | |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 西泠印社 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xīlíng Yìnshè |
Xiling Society of the Seal Art, or Xiling Seal Society, is a Hangzhou-based artist group founded in the Ming and Qing periods, one of China's most important academic seal art associations.[1]
Other names of the society
The other possible names or translations of the society includes:
- Xiling Seal Society
- Xiling Seal Engraving Society
- Xiling Seal Engraver's Society
- Xiling Seal-engraving Society [2]
History
Pre-society history
In Yuan Dynasty, the most famous seal artist would be the scholar and artist Wang Mian, who first applied soap stones in seal making.
During Ming and Qing Dynasties, seal arts were quite prosperous in China, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region, where there's a continuous rich tradition of humanities and arts. There were many different schools of seal arts, and many independent artists specialized in seal making, seal script calligraphy, and the art of seal stones.
In South China, the major three schools of seal arts during these periods were Hui School (whose artists mainly from current Anhui Province), Zhe School (whose artists mainly from current Zhejiang Province), and Hai School (which was mainly developed in Shanghai, and whose major artists were from current Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces).
The Hui School is considered as already a mature seal-art school as early as Ming Dynasty period, especially during the Jiajing and Wanli Eras. The most famous seal makers during the early phase of this school were Xiu Ning (休宁) and He Zhen, who were active in Mid and Late Ming Dynasty periods. During the Kangxi-Yongzheng-Qianlong Era of Qing Dynasty, the second climax of this appeared, and the most typical representative artist during this period was Cheng Sui from She County, Anhui. In Late Qing Dynasty period, this school had its third climax of development, and influenced more artists not only those who were from Anhui. Typical figures of the phase three were: Huang Shiling (黄士陵), Yi Dachang (易大厂), Qiao Dazhuang (乔大壮), Wang Fu'an (王福庵) and Li Yisang (李尹桑).
The Zhe School (浙派) got famous and influential first during the Qinglong Era in Qing Dynasty. The major founder of this school was Ding Jing (丁敬). Ding made his school the most dominant seal-art school during his time. And also because Ding was native of Xiling and was active in Xiling for a long time, later the society was formally organized, and set its headquarters in Xiling, and named as Xiling Seal Society. After Ding, his most accomplished students were Jiang Ren (蒋仁), Huang Yi (黄易), Xi Gang (奚冈), Chen Yuzhong (陈豫钟), Chen Hongshou (陈鸿寿), Zhao Zhishen (赵之琛), and Qian Song (钱松), who are now widely regarded as the Eight Masters of Xiling.[3]
The Hai School or Shanghai School of seal arts would be the latest school, and mainly started developing during the Late Qing Dynasty. This school in fact combined different styles of previous schools, especially those artistic elements from Hui and Zhe Schools. It's mainly considered as a modern school of seal art.[4] Early important artists from this school are Qian Shoutie (钱瘦铁), Wu Hufan (吴湖帆), Huang Baoyue (黄葆戉), Bai Jiao (白蕉), Ma Gongyu (马公愚), Qin Bomo (秦伯未), Hua Ji'an (华笃安), Zhu Hongda (朱鸿达), Wu Zhongjiong (吴仲坰); Tang Linze (汤临泽), Chen Zili (陈子彝), Qin Kangxiang (秦康祥), Wu Youqian (吴幼潜), Jin Tiezhi (金铁芝), Zhi Ci'an (支慈庵), Lai Chusheng (来楚生), Hou Fuchang (侯福昌), Gao Luoyuan (高络园).
Establishment of the society
Before the establishment of the society, there were many local or small-sized organizations or artists groups existing, especially in Zhejiang and Shanghai, however, it was not formally registered nor recognized by the government (nonofficial). The seal artists from different schools and places first founded the Xiling Seal Society as a large/national and academic society of learning, research and art in 1904 (the 31st Year of Guangxu Era, Late Qing Dynasty). The first board of directors included Ding Ren (丁仁), Wang Shi (王禔), Wu Yin (吴隐), and Ye Ming (叶铭). The first President of the society was Wu Changshuo (吴昌硕), a famous scholar, calligraphist, painter, seal maker, writer from Hai School.
List of presidents
Current situations
The headquarters of society are located on the western side of the Gushan Mountain (孤山) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Gushan Mountain is just aside of the famous West Lake. From the top of the mountain people can get a very good nice view of the lake and enjoy its beautiful landscapes.
On the south of the society, it's the famous Bai Mound (白堤) first built by Bai Juyi, then mayor of Hangzhou and a famous poet. On the west, there's a bridge named Xiling Bridge.
The society has several museums of seals and seal-related arts on the mountain. It also owns many old buildings mainly built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are also a pool and several caves on the mountain.
Every year, there many artists get together discussing art in the society. The artists are mainly from Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. There are also many exhibitions and activities on the mountain annually. The famous China Academy of Art is also not far from the site of the society. The Zhongshan Park of Hangzhou is quite nearby.
Now the society and its facilities are listed as one of the Major Sites Protected at the National Level of China.
See also
References
- ^ Yang, Xiaoneng; Hong, Zaixin; Gao, Tianmin (2010). Tracing the past, drawing the future: master ink painters in twentieth-century China. 5 Continents Editions. p. 114. ISBN 093703133X.
- ^ Xiling Seal-engraving Society 105th Anniversary Serial Exhibitions
- ^ Hudong.com Encyclopedia: The history of Zhe School (seal art)
- ^ Modern Hai School of Seal Art
External links
