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Erbailantingzhai gu tongyin cun 二百蘭亭齋古銅印存

Aug 2, 2023 © Ulrich Theobald

Erbailantingzhai gu tongyin cun 二百蘭亭齋古銅印存 is a catalogue of ancient seals from the collection of Wu Yun 吳雲 (1811-1883), courtesy name Shaoqing 少青 or Shaofu 少甫, style Pingzhai 平齋, Baoleizi 抱罍子, Santuilou Yugong 三退樓寓公, Songsou 松叟, Yuting 愉庭 or Yuting 榆庭, from Gui'an 歸安 close to Huzhou 湖州, Zhejiang. He was prefect of Zhenjiang 鎮江, later of Suzhou 蘇州. He was a collector of antiques, mainly calligraphies and paintings, and also produced artworks himself. Wu Yun's most important publications are Erbailantingzhai jinshi ji 二百蘭亭齋金石記, Liangleixuan yiqi tukao 兩罍軒彝器圖考, Liangleixuan yinkao mancun 兩罍軒印考漫存, Erbailantingzhai gu tongyin kaocang 二百蘭亭齋古銅印考藏, Gu guanyin kao 古官印考, and the local gazetteer Jiaoshan zhi 焦山志. The name of his studio, Erbailantingzhai, is derived from his collection of two hundred reproductions of Wang Xizhi's 王羲之 (303-361) famous calligraphy Lantingxu 蘭亭序.

His catalogue has a length of 12 juan or 6 physical volumes. It reproduces imprints of ancient seals of brass from the Warring States 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE) to the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) with a total number of 675, among which ancient royal or imperial seals (xi 璽), official seals (guanyin 官印), private seals (siyin 私印), multi-face seals (liangmian yin 兩面印, liumian yin 六面印) and combinations of sets of a large and a smaller seal (zimu yin 子母印).

The first version of the catalogue was published in 1862, but a second version from 1876 separated the 12 fascicles to create an edition of 12 volumes. This version includes an addition number of seals with nearly 1,000 imprints.

The book Erbailantingzhai gu zin kaocang 二百蘭亭齋古印考藏, with a length of 6 (or 12) juan and finished in 1864 is a rearrangement of part of the catalogue according to titles of military and civilian offices, but only for the official seals. It therefore only includes 78 reproductions of imprints.

Source:
Wang Chongren 王崇人, ed. (2002). Zhongguo shuhua yishu cidian 中國書畫藝術辭典, Zhuanke 篆刻卷 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin meishu chubanshe), 91, 199-200.