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by Chen Canfeng

The art of Chinese seal carving first reached its zenith during the Warring States period, Qin and Han dynasties. Different from the common seals which are meant to showcase flamboyant taste and extravagance during the Ming and Qing dynasties; archaic seals were meant more for personal and official use, whereby their artistic styles were defined by their general shapes related to the characteristics to their respective periods they represent. The characteristics of seals during this period can be summarised as follows: during the Warring States period, Chinese characters have not been officially unified yet and the inscriptions on the seal faces were often restricted to singular, equally-spaced double or quadruple compartments; during the unification of six nations under the Qin dynasty, the characters used were also standardised with the use of condensed small seal scripts, until the Han dynasty where the adopted a more rigorous seal script, which formed the basic foundation of the seal art we know today. This strictly conformed seal script remained unchanged all through the Sui and Tang dynasties and became the prototypes paving the way for the elaborate development of seal arts during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The development of Chinese seal art is heavily attributed to the collection, study and research by generations of epigraphers from the Ming and Qing dynasties, where the recordings of seal ink rubbings reached its peak. Towards the late Qing and early Republic period, the rise in mutual exchanges of epigraphical knowledge also between the Chinese and Japanese also encouraged the research and collection of seal ink rubbings by Japanese epigraphers with commendable successes and achievements of their own. Unlike the more commonly used stone mediums used during the Ming and Qing dynasties, archaic seals which were passed down in time were usually fashioned from gold, silver, bronze, steel and other metallic mediums; seals worked from jades were extremely rare. The variations of seal knobs were also made possible by casting and chiseling using malleable metallic mediums; jades on the other hand can only be carved, and the result is very dependent on skill of the carver. As the old saying goes, “the integrity of a gentleman is only comparable to the jade he wields”, jade seals have often played an integral role in Chinese traditions and is heavily cherished by many generations of connoisseurs.

Toan Kobayashi (1916-2007) and his ‘Chamber of Embracing Jade Seals’ is renowned for his collection of Ming and Qing dynasty epigraphy, especially after the calligraphy works by famous Qing dynasty scholars such as Deng Shiru, Zhao Zhiqian and Wu Rangzhi achieved record prices in recent years. What many failed to comprehend, is that the origins of the hallmark ‘Chamber of Embracing Jade Seals’ did not derive from these aforementioned seals, but rather from eight magnificent archaic jade seals dating back to the Warring States period, Qin and Han dynasties.

These eight important jade seals epitomised the three most crucial periods of jade seal development in Chinese history. ‘Zhu Pingjun’, ‘Chen Xun’ and ‘Xin Chengyi’ three seals are dated to the Warring States period; ‘Zhang Yu’ is dated to the Qin dynasty; ‘Cheng Zao’, ‘Li Juan’, ‘Lu Xiang’ and ‘Song Ying’ four seals are dated to the Han dynasty. The knob of each seal is decorated with various embellishments of carefully selected white, spinach green and black jades. It is also noteworthy that each seal is also rich in provenance: for example, the Han dynasty seals of ‘Song Ying’ white jade seal were formerly in the old collection of Chen Jieyu; the other ‘Lu Xiang’ was previously in the old collection of Wang Yirong. It is by fortune that these eight important seals finally returned to Japan, eventually residing in the care of Kotaro Ota.

It is unclear how Toan Kobayashi came to acquire these eight archaic jade seals, but his admiration for them is unquestioned. Each seal is paired with its own custom-made wooden box. Amongst them, the seal ‘Xiang Pingjun’ contains personal notes: “Seal of Xiang Pingjun, the jade is of chicken-bone white, covered with a touch of limestone grey, cute”; the cover of the box housing the pair of seals ‘Cheng Du’ and ‘Yu Xiang’ were also carved with similar inscriptions. It is evident to conclude that the inscriptions for these seals were dedicated by Fang Ruo when he was residing in China. Fang Ruo (1869-1954), sobriquet Yao Yu or Qu Yuan, known by his nickname ‘Tycoon of Antiquities’, is a native of Dinghai of Zhejiang province living in Tianjin, famous for his vast and diverse collection of fine antiquities.

During his younger days, Toan Kobayashi was a protégé of Kotaro Ota, and is very familiar with the ‘Pavilion of Virtuous Clarity’ collection. It was after the passing of Kotaro Ota that Toan Kobayashi managed to acquire this eight precious archaic jade seals over the course of six years of hardship, which in turn inspired the creation of his hallmark ‘Chamber of Embracing Jade Seals’. It is recorded on the inscriptions of the seal ‘humble but talented saint’, “the eight archaic jade seals in the collection of the Pavilion of Virtuous Clarity is exquisite and charming, the carving skilled and enchanted, a rare treasure unseen in this lifetime. In the late spring of guichou year [corresponding to 1973], six years after the passing of Kotaro Ota, a person of humble stature such as myself [Toan Kobayashi] had to make ends meet to acquire these jade pieces into my embrace. That is origin of the Chamber of Embracing Jade seals, and no amount of hardship is comparable to the joy, fortune and honour of succeeding the pedigree of this six-worded inscription”. It is clear from the statement above that the eight archaic jade seals retain an important status in his regard, both from the perspective of an art connoisseur and a passionate collector.

The three seals dating to Warring States period with singular-spaced seal faces is described by Wang Binhong’s in ‘Introduction to Ancient Seals’ as “with peculiar text and tantalising structure”. The two seals ‘Chen Xun’ and ‘Xin Chengyi’ are of green jades, both share differences in workmanship: one sleek and the other casual. The ‘Yu Pingjun’ is the infamous white jade seal dating to the Warring States period which is recorded in the ‘Collection of Archaic Seal Ink Rubbings from the Maple Garden’; the design of the seal is made up of both circular and square shapes, and the lines are strong and purposeful, well-regarded as precursor to the development of seal art in the Han dynasty. The ‘Zhang Yu’ green jade seal dating to the Qing dynasty uses the small script, which is integral as the cornerstone for dating seals of this period.

The four Han dynasty jade seals have transcended in time to achieve a stable structure, forming the Han dynasty style we are familiar at present. The miniature ‘Li Wei’ seal is pristine, the ‘Yu Xiang’ white jade seal is soft to touch, the ‘Song Ying’ white jade seal is quietly stirring our senses. The ‘Cheng Zuo’ is carved with a scribble-like seal script, summarised by the use of fluid strokes and simple decoration to achieve a sense of elegance. This unique style is noticed by fellow scholars and is mentioned in scriptures of by fellow Ming and Qing dynasties scholars Chen Yanming and Zhao Zhaoguang.

Seals from the Warring States period, Qin and Han dynasties have laid a foundation as the source of achievements for notable dignitaries of Ming and Qing dynasties. Toan Kobayashi has unmistakably defined these eight jade seals as “exquisitely charming with enchanted carving skills, truly a rare treasure unseen in this lifetime”, proved right regardless of judging on their artistic or antiquary value. Toan Kobayashi’s ultimate pursuit for the highest echelons of artistic perfection can only be encapsulated by his acquisition of these eight jade seals: a journey which all began with his undying mission to achieve enlightenment through humble beginnings.