He Zhen (artist) explained

He Zhen, also known as Zhou Cheng, Chang Qing, Xue Yu (1541  - 1606) was a Chinese artist during the Ming dynasty, who specialised in carving personal seals. Along with his teacher Wen Peng, he was one of the first seal-engravers to use soapstone as a medium for his work.^[1]

He Zhen was from Wuyuan County, but spent much of his time in Nanjing.^[2] He had a wide-ranging influence, and founded the Huizhou (Xingyuang) or Wan (Anhui) school of seal-carving.^{[3] [4] [5]}

He's work aspired to an antique, ancient appearance, and he was known to chip or otherwise artificially weather his seals to create the impression of age. He created this effect by exploiting natural fracture lines in the stone,^[6] or by emphasising the knife-marks made whilst incising the inscription.^[5] His calligraphy attempted to echo that of the Han dynasty, and he used the simplicity of that script to ameliorate the elaborate stylistic flourishes of the popular Yuan-style calligraphy that had previously been used for Ming-era seals.^{[4] [7]}

Notes and References

1. Book: Susan Ribeiro. Arts from the Scholar's Studio: Catalogue of an Exhibition Presented by the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, 24 October to 13 December 1986. 4 June 2013. 1986. Taylor & Francis. 188. GGKEY:27C6FDJUQKD.
2. Book: Weizu Sun. Chinese Seals: Carving Authority And Creating History. 4 June 2013. 2004. Long River Press. 978-1-59265-013-2. 45.
3. Book: Jisheng Guo. Jason C. Kuo. Word as image: the art of Chinese seal engraving. 4 June 2013. 1992. China House Gallery. 978-0-295-97253-4. 31.
4. 2008 . Hu Zhengyan: Fashioning Biography . Ars Orientalis . 35 . 129–154 . The Smithsonian Institution . 25481910 . Wright . Suzanne E. .
5. Book: Chak Kwong Lau. Ding Jing (1695--1765) and the Foundation of the Xiling Identity in Hangzhou. 4 June 2013. 2006. 978-0-542-79543-5. 167–.
6. Book: Qianshen Bai. Fu Shan's World: The Transformation of Chinese Calligraphy in the Seventeenth Century. registration. 4 June 2013. 2003. Harvard University Asia Center. 978-0-674-01092-5. 69.
7. Book: 樂常在軒. 合璧聨珠二: 樂常在軒藏清代楹聯. 4 June 2013. 2007. 香港中文大學中國文化研究所文物館. 978-962-7101-80-2. 188.