Wen Peng (, 1497–1573), also known as Shou Cheng and San Qiao, was a maker of personal seals during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. He was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

and raised in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, the son of painter

Wen Zhengming Wen Zhengming (28 November 1470 – 1559), born Wen Bi, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting. Biography Wen Zhengming was born Wen Bi near present-da ...

. Employed as a lecturer by the

Guozijian The Guozijian,Yuan, 194. sometimes translated as the Imperial College, Imperial Academy, Imperial University, National Academy, or National University, was the national central institution of higher learning in Chinese dynasties after the Su ...

(in both

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

), he was widely regarded as the founder of modern seal-carving. Wen founded the Sanqiao (Wumen) School of seal engraving. Wen worked originally in ivory, creating calligraphic designs that were incised into the material by his colleague Li Wenpu. However, after creating some experimental seals using

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

, he switched to using stone for his work, and his later career focuses exclusively on this material. Prior to this, seals had been carved from ivory, bronze or pottery. Wen also developed the modern recipe for the red paste () used to create the seal's stamp; he recommended a mixture of ground

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...

and

moxa Moxa may refer to: * Moxa, material used in moxibustion Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the ...

. He Zhen, founder of the Huizhou (Xingyuang) school of seal-engraving, was Wen's student.

References

External links

''After Wang Xianzhi's (344–385) Foxglove Broth Letter''
- album leaf by Wen Peng (1567), at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

''Draft Poem for Seeing off Lin Zhun (1452–1527)''
- album leaf by Wen Peng, at the

{{Authority control Ming dynasty artists 1497 births 1573 deaths Artists from Shanghai