West Lake Chan Master

CHINA; Qing dynasty

The artist of the seal, Ding Jing, recorded the following passage in Winter of the Year Dingmao: “Mingzhong Daheng is my close friend from afar. I once requested that he carve two stones into seals, but after waiting for several years, he did not reply. Despite this, and since the two of us consider ourselves intimate friends, I carved this four-character seal as a gift to him.” Ding and Mingzhong were both eminent monks of West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. In honor of their friendship, Ding carved this and another seal with Mingzhong’s name.
The seal was carved using the small chopping cut technique, a method which became a unique and skillful aspect of the Zhejiang school. Overall, the format and layout of the piece and its characters is somewhat peculiar despite its being designed in accordance to the traditional Han square seal style. The three characters of “xi” (west), “hu” (lake), and “he” (master) are intentionally spaced out within the composition. Moreover, the character for “Chan” is simplified by removing two horizontal strokes from each half, further emulating a balanced sense of spatial depth.
Ding Jing, also known as Dunding or Yanlin, was a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He was a Qing dynasty (1644–1911) seal engraver who was also adept in calligraphy and painting. Ding’s carving style is vigorous yet uncomplicated, closely resembling the seals of the Qin (221–207 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties.