Seal, "The Plum Resembles Me" (Mei hua si wo)

1835

Chinese, 1781 - 1840

Yang Xie was a famous seal carver from Wujiang, Jiangsu province. Like other scholars of his time, he was deeply interested in epigraphy—the study of ancient bronzes and stone stelae and the inscriptions on them—and his carving style was influence by his studies. The characters on the base of the seal are inverse. After seal paste is applied, pressing on a paper surface reveals the motto: “the plum resembles me,” a grand statement that the user’s nature is as lofty as the plum—the most admirable of all flowering plants.

Shoushan stone

2 x 1in. (5.1 x 2.5cm)

Gift of Chang Ch'ung-ho and Hans Frankel from their collection

2011.4.1

Provenance: Acquired by Chang Chu'ng Frankel during the Sino Japanese War (1937 - 1945); to Seattle Art Museum 2011

Image taken by Beth Mann

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pure Amusements: Wealth, Leisure, and Culture in Late Imperial China, Dec. 24, 2016 - May 15, 2022.

Published ReferencesGao Xiang, "Si Mei Ju--Zhang Chonghe de yinzhang shoucang," Shoucangjia, no. 9, 2004, pp. 43-46, 46

Mimi Gates et al, Fragrance of the Past: Chinese calligraphy and painting by Ch'ung-ho Chang Frankel and friends, Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2006, 22

Bai Qianshen, Zhang Chonghe Shishu huaxuan, Beijing: Sanluan shudian, 2010, p. 210

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