One Hundred Forms of Seal Script Calligraphy

Here’s an interesting book I found in Waseda’s Database of Japanese and Chinese Classics: A Thousand Characters and One Hundred Forms of Seal Script Calligraphy by Sages from Successive Dynasties 歴朝聖賢篆書百体千文, apparently by Sun Zhixiu 孫枝秀 and Zhou Hong 周霟. (English translation of title courtesy of Rebekah Clements’ A Cultural History of Translation in Early Modern Japan.)

I’m skeptical that any sage found much use for “crane script” 寉書 (p 39, far left) or “turtle script” 亀書 (p 23, second from left), let alone “great pole seal script” 太極篆 (p 40, second from left), but I’m pretty sure I independently invented “wooden tablet writing” 木簡文 (p 49, far right) on my binder in middle school.

Author: Matt

I live in Japan and read less books than I used to before I had kids, but still quite a few.

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