Feihongtang yinpu 飛鴻堂印譜

Feihongtang yinpu 飛鴻堂印譜 "Seals of the Study of Flying Swans" is an album of seal inscriptions compiled during the mid-Qing period by Wang Qishu 汪啟淑 (1728-1799), courtesy name Shenyi 慎儀 or Xiufeng 秀峰, style Ren'an 訒葊 or Yinpi Xiansheng 印癖先生, from Shexian 歙縣, Anhui. He also wrote a book on inkstones, Feihongtang yanpu 飛鴻堂硯譜. Wang wrote a vast amount of books on seals from his own collection as well as that of contemporary collectors. The products of his studies are Han tongyin cong 漢銅铜印叢, Jinnang yinlin 錦囊印林, Qiushi yincui 秋室印焠, Ren'an ji guyin cun 訒庵集古印存, Linxuetang yinpu 臨學山堂印譜, Feihongtang Qin-Han yincun 飛鴻秦漢印存, Genzhai yinlei 退齋印類, Han tongyin yuan 漢銅印原, Xiuzhen yinshang 袖珍印賞, Jingleju yinyu 靜樂居印娛, Qiushi yinsheng 秋室印剩, Huitang yinwai 悔堂印外, Guiqu laici yinpu 歸去來辭印譜, Jieyaoge yinpu 戒謠歌印譜, Yinzhiwen yinpu 陰騭文印譜, Huangyang yinpu 黄楊印譜, Tingquan Jingshe yinpu 聽泉精舍印譜, Juyi'an yinpu 居易庵印譜, Yinyi 印憶, Yinshao 印勺 or Xiqian shijing yinpu 西乾十景印譜. Other books written by Wang Qishu not related to seals are Cuitang ji 焠堂集 (his collected writings), Shuicao qingxia lu 水曹清暇錄 and Xiaofenchang zashi 小粉場雜識.

The Feihongtang yinpu was finished in 1745. It has a length of 40 juan and is divided into five collections (ji 集). It presents reproductions of the inscriptions of Wang's seal collection, with a total amount of about 3,500 pieces created by more than 360 artists. Most of them are included in Wang Qishu's biographical book Xu yinren zhuan 續印人傳 (also called Feihongtang yinren zhuan 飛鴻堂印人傳). The catalogue is therefore one of the largest books on Qing-period seal studies. All reproductions are transcribed into regular script, and for many of them, Wang added more information. The book was finished in 1776, but was published in several batches from 1745 on, when Wang concluded the first volumes, and the second series (1748). It belongs to the three great book catalogues of the "halls", together with Xueshantang yinpu 學山堂印譜 and Laigutang yinpu 賴古堂印譜.

Figure 1. Seal reproductions of Feihongtang yinpu 飛鴻堂印譜

First pages, presenting Wang's own seals. From Guangming zhi men 光明之門.