[Video/ntfabu.com]

Seal cutting, also known as seal engraving or zhuanke in Chinese, is a traditional art form that originated in China and later spread across East Asia. It involves carving a design into the bottom face of the seal.

A seal made by Xu Yong. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Seals were seen as symbols of power and a reflection of the taste and character of the literati in ancient China.

To make an outstanding seal, stones from Shoushan, Qingtian county and Changhua town in Zhejiang are most preferred by artisans.

Seals made by Xu Yong. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Craftsmen need to make an outline first, then sketch it out in paper, and draw it on the seal stone. Then they start carving the stone with more than 10 different tools.

Seals made by Xu Yong. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

When they finished carving, the carved Chinese characters need to be printed out to check if they are the desired results. If not, seal cutters will give them a polish and then carve the date and name of cutters beside the main content of the seal.

Printed seal cutting words by Xu Yong. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Xu Yong, a seal cutting expert from Hai'an, Nantong, is renowned for integrating seal cutting with official scripts, running scripts, and regular scripts.

The above are works created by Xu.