A view of the West Lake from a vantage spot of Xiling Seal Art Society

The Xiling Seal Art Society was founded in 1904 when the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was about to fall apart. The organization was set up by four young seal art specialists determined to preserve the ancient art. The four founding fathers, namely Ding Ren, Wu Yin, Wang Fu’an and Ye Weiming all in their 20s, are now known as Four Gentlemen of Xiling. They joined hands in founding this society in the hope of preserving and improving the ancient seal art whereas paying attention to calligraphy and painting. The society was founded by the funds raised by the four and set up at Solitary Hill on the West Lake in Hangzhou. The society was named after Xiling Bridge, near which is the society.

This is how the Xiling Seal Art Society started.

For about ten years after the inception in 1904, the society did not have a president. The four young artists had no heart in engaging in administrative issues. In 1913, they invited Wu Changsuo (1844-1927) to preside over the society. Wu had been a legendary seal artist, calligrapher, and painting master of the late Qing and the early Republic years. With Wu as the president, the Xiling Seal Art Society attracted the attention of the literary and artistic circles both at home and abroad. Since Wu Changshuo, the presidents of the society have been celebrated scholars or personages of great renown. The second president was Ma Heng, who was also the curator of the Forbidden City Museum. The third president was Zhang Zongxiang, the president of Zhejiang Library. After China’s war of resistance against the Japanese aggressors ended in 1945, Zhang brought the society back to normalcy. If the society can’t find a scholar or master prominent enough to be its head, the vacancy will stay. It has been so since 1904. Moreover, for the past 100 plus years, the society has had no more than 400 members.

Many of these members are key chapters in the history of the society and some are important persons in the history of Chinese art. It goes without saying that Wu Changshuo is one of the greatest artists in the history of the Chinese art in the 20th century. Li Shutong (1880-1942) who joined Xiling Seal Art society in its first decade is another legend in the history of Chinese art, culture and literature. He studied in Japan.

He was a rounded personage. He did many “firsts” in the history of Chinese art and culture. He became a Buddhist monk in 1918 at the age of 38 after he donated 93 seals to the society.

Ye Liujiu is a name that must be mentioned in the history of the society. After China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression broke out in full in 1937, important members of the society all went into refuge. The houses at the Solitary Hill on the West Lake were left in the care of Ye Liujiu, a native of Hangzhou. Hangzhou was occupied by the Japanese soldiers during the whole war. When they surrendered in 1945, the assets of the society at the Solitary Hill were intact thanks to Ye Liujiu.

Ren Yin, one of the four founders of the society, wrote in his will that the society should never change its name and that Ye Liujiu’s family must be taken good care of.

Number One Society under the Sun

Among circles of artists and calligraphers, Xiling Seal Art Society is exaggeratingly reputed as “Number One Society under the Sun”. The claim is not completely true, but the overstatement reflects the position of the society not only in China but also in Japan.

In the 1890s, a Japanese calligrapher named Kusakabe Meikaku (1838-1922) came to visit Zhejiang in search of the handwritings of Wang Xizhi, presumably the greatest Chinese calligrapher in ancient China. Meikaku made friends with Wu Changshuo, then the most prominent calligrapher in the region. Wu carved some seals for the Japanese friend.

After Meikaku returned to Japan, he established the Meikaku School of calligraphy, designating Wu as the very foundation of the school.

Even today, Wu’s achievement in calligraphy is a must-study for calligraphers of the Meikaku School. In 1989, some representatives from the society set up a stone stele at Xiling Seal Art Society to mark the 100th anniversary of the meeting of Wu Changshuo and Kusakabe Meikaku.

A view of the West Lake on a snowy day from a vantage spot of Xiling Seal Art Society

China Seal Studies Museum

China Seal Studies Museum, the only one of its kind in China, is a window of Xiling Seal Art Society. Founded in 1999, the museum showcases the history, culture, and aesthetics of seal carving of China. It has a collection of seal art literature, it exhibits seals and other seal-related objects, and it is a venue for cultural and academic exchanges.

Seal carving in China goes back to a long time ago. Archaeologists discovered three bronze seals at the Yin ruins at Anyang in Henan Province.

The ruins date back to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046BC). In ancient times, seals were pragmatically used in official affairs.

In the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911), seals and stamps were no longer confined to government documents and government affairs. Men of letters and artists used seals to express their thought and sentiments and to showcase their individual aesthetics.

Viewed from this historical perspective, it would be relatively easy to understand why seal art thrived in Zhejiang which, it is said, accounts for half of the history of Chinese art.

In the early Qing Dynasty, seal artists in Zhejiang established themselves as masters who ushered in a renaissance of seal carving and pioneered a new path for future explorations in the field.

Buildings at Xiling Society

Though the venue of the Xiling Seal Art Society is small at the western end of Solitary Hill on the West Lake, it boasts some very significant buildings. The oldest building on the venue is Yangxian Pavilion rebuilt in 1905 on the site of the namesake structure erected in the Ming Dynasty. This pavilion serves as a show room exhibiting carved images and inscriptions of various masters in the history of art, seal-carving, and calligraphy.

On the west side of the venue stands a small stone house. Through the wrought-iron door visitors could see a stone monument. This stone structure with a carved inscription dates back to the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and is the oldest one of its kind in China.

In the autumn of 1921, a Japanese businessman purchased the stone stele for 8,000 silver dollars and was ready to ship it back to Japan. Wu Changshuo, then president of Xiling Seal Art Society, called for donations so that the stele could be bought back and stay in China. Within a month 65 donors chipped in 11,270 silver dollars. The stele came to stay at Xiling Seal Art Society.

Guanyue Pavilion was built in 1920 with the funds donated by Wu Shanqing, a great grandson of Wu Yin, one of the four founders of the society. In the summer of 1927, Wu Changshuo stayed at the pavilion. In 1957, the pavilion was turned into Wu Changshuo Memorial Museum. Sizhao Pavilion was rebuilt in 1914 on the site of a building of the Song Dynasty.

Tagore, Xu Zhimo and Lu Xun visited the pavilion once. The pavilion has large windows on four sides, a vantage spot for a commanding view of the West Lake.

Going International

In the last 10 years or so, the society has intensified its efforts to go international. Seal artists of Xiling created seals for 2010 Shanghai World Exposition.

These seals featured images of then world leaders and were presented on various occasions. These engraved images were well received.

During the 2016 G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the society hosted an international seminar on graphic seals and seals that bore non-Chinese languages. Attendees explored the history of world’s seal carving and examined seals in other parts of the world against different cultural backdrops.

In 2018 Xiling Seal Art Society celebrated its 115th anniversary and held an international seminar on world’s seal arts.

A view of the façade of China Seal Studies Museum at the foot of Solitary Hill on the West Lake