Holding a Flower, Responding with a Smile, Enjoy Life While One Can

CHINA; Qing dynasty

The title of this rotating-character seal references a well-known Chan story in which Sakyamuni Buddha delivers a sermon to his disciples by simply holding up a flower and remaining silent. Try as they might, all who were present failed to grasp what the Buddha was trying to communicate, with the exception of Mahakasyapa, who gazed at the flower and smiled in affirmation. The story is often retold to demonstrate the nonverbal transmission of wisdom; here it is engraved across the right side of the seal.
Appearing on the left side of seal is the quote, “Enjoy Life While One Can,” which is part of a famous verse by Cao Cao, the warlord and Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220). It bemoans the fact that life is short and bitter, and is often used to encourage others to treasure those brief moments or encounters.
This white character seal adopts a bold and expressive, yet non-arrogant style that successfully combines brush calligraphy with seal engraving. Each character is cut with decisive and deft strokes, portraying a strong sense of youthfulness, which is perhaps indicative of the artist’s young age at the time of creation.
Deng Shiru was born in Huaining, Anhui during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and had an original name of Dengyan and an alias of Wanbo. He was a skilled calligrapher and seal engraver who succeeded in integrating calligraphic scripts into seal engraving, creating compositions that surpassed the standards established by the Qin (221–207 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties. His contributions were so profound that they led to the creation of the Anhui school of seal engraving.