Research on the Seal Value of Biography of Feihongtang Engravers by Wang Qishu

Wang Qishu was a famous Huizhou merchant, bibliophile, and epigraphist in the Qing Dynasty. Biography of Feihongtang Engravers, as a sister work of Feihongtang Ancient Seal Book, is his representative work in the f ield of seal engraving. The status and the influence of the book in the field of seal engraving, how it established the leadership position of Ding Jing as the leader of the Zhejiang school of seal engraving, how it incubated the Zhejiang school of seal engraving, what impact it had on the later biographies of seal engravers, and how it faithfully restored the scene of the seal world in the Qianlong and J iaqing periods are of importance to s tudy. This study explores the value of Biography of Feihongtang Engravers through case study, literature research, and comparative analysis. Wang Qishu constructed a complete school of seal engraving in the book, from Ding Jing to the first group of direct disciples such as Huang Yi and Xi Gang, as well as private disciples such as Qian Shu and Yan Cheng, establishing Ding Jing’s leadership position from a theoretical perspective. Seal engravers from Zhejiang frequently gathered and communicated at Feihongtang, permeating and influencing each other, and the “Zhejiang school” of seal engraving naturally incubated at Feihongtang. Each passage in the book follows the writing mode of seal engraver’s biography, laying the foundation for the writing model of seal engravers’ biographies. Finally, Wang Qishu recorded seal engravers from different regions, classes, identities, and genders in the book, and it provides valuable materials for the completeness of Chinese seal studies history.