Talking Seals
A Great MacGuffin
Someone recently sent information about a small Chinese seal made from carnelian “found lying on open ground in the bush in Dar es Salaam (East Africa) in 1948 and may well have been lying there for many years.”
15 August 2016
Seal Phrase: Using What You’ve Learned From Books
The Chinese phrase shudaoyongshifanghenshao 書到用時方恨少 can be translated into English as “It’s when you are using what you’ve learned from books that you wish you had read more books.”
15 July 2016
Looking at Seals: Sadness
A seal from two thousand years ago certainly tells a story, we just don’t know what it is.
1 May 2015
Seal Phrase: Not as Good as Good
The Chinese say that “more is not as good as less and less is not as good as good.”
1 April 2015
Looking at Seals: Lin Mengrong
Six characters in a seal by contemporary Taiwan artist Lin Mengrong 林孟蓉 are from the third line of the Heart Sutra, “shed light on the five aggregates, and find them empty.”
15 June 2014
Seal Phrases: Of One Heart
The Chinese phrase tongxin (同心) literally means “same heart,” with the implication of “to be of one heart.”
1 January 2014
Looking at Seals: Sunlight
You’ll have to use your imagination to decide why the word “sunlight” (日光 riguang) was chosen for a seal from the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).
1 September 2013
Seal Phrase: Suitable Children
The phrase “Suitable Children and Grandchildren” (宜子孫 yizisun) goes to the primal Chinese idea of family.
1 August 2013
Seal Phrase: Great Good Fortune
The phrase “Great Good Fortune” (大幸 daxing) is another example of Chinese seals with thoughts that represent wishes.
1 July 2013
Seal Phrase: Lasting Good Luck
The phrase “lasting good luck” (長幸 changxing) is often found on seals from the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).
1 June 2013
Seal Phrase: Daily Profit
The phrase “Daily Profit” (日利 rili) was commonly found on Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) seals.
15 May 2013