篆 (zhuàn) - Seal script — an ancient style of Chinese & also refers to seal carving as an art

篆Tone 4

zhuàn ｜ 15 strokes ｜ radical:

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篆 · zhuàn

Seal script — an ancient style of Chinese calligraphy used during the Zhou dynasty and Qin dynasty;

also refers to seal carving as an art form.

Seal script — an ancient style of Chinesealso refers to seal carving as an art

Usage highlights

Seal scriptSeal carvingSmall seal scriptLarge seal scriptSeal script charactersSeal script inscription

Synonyms

  • 篆书— seal script (calligraphy style)
  • 篆刻— seal carving (art form)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He practices seal script calligraphy (篆书).
  • This is a Qin dynasty seal (秦篆).
  • She collects ancient seal carvings (篆刻).
  • The artifact bears seal script inscriptions (篆文).

Collocations

  • Seal script(篆书)
  • Seal carving(篆刻)
  • Small seal script(小篆)
  • Large seal script(大篆)
  • Seal script characters(篆字)
  • Seal script inscription(篆文)

Idioms

  • Engrave in seal script and cast in bronze(篆铸)
  • The art of seal script and carving(篆刻之道)
  • Ancient seal script legacy(篆籀遗风)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Seal script was standardized during the Qin dynasty as the official script for imperial seals and important inscriptions.
  • It represents one of the oldest forms of Chinese writing still studied and practiced today.
  • Seal carving (篆刻) developed as a refined art form combining calligraphy, carving, and literary composition.

FAQ