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Subject:Reading Seal Script
Posted By: Leah Illingworth Sat, Feb 06, 2021 IP: 31.210.180.42

Does anyone know a way to look up seal script characters? Is there a database, a translation into Modern Chinese or a way to input a drawing?

This is a seal I am trying to read, and I recognize the jade radical on the lower right, but the rest is less clear.

Thanks!



Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: I.Nagy Sun, Feb 07, 2021

Your seal reads,
極樂国 - Jílèguó
Land of Extreme Happiness, Paradise

As of your question, to the best of my knowledge no OCR seal-script recognition tool has been developed so far.

With regards,
I.Nagy

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Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: Leah Sun, Feb 07, 2021

Thank you so much!

Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: peter Sun, Feb 07, 2021

Dear Leah,
One painstakingly has to learn how to read seal script. The best way is of course to learn writing it.
Most characters are constructed like modern characters but there are also exceptions. In seals than there is a pleathora of variations which is beyond the logic of machines.

A good tool represents this especially comprehensive dictionary:
https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en
it will provide for many characters also seal script and other variants.

The seal in your photo isnt correct either, as the character 囯 is a modern character and in seal script it should not be used like that. this isnt a seal script character at all.
peter

Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: Leah Mon, Feb 08, 2021

How strange to combine seal and modern. I wonder why(?)

Interesting. Thank you.
And thank you for the link to the dictionary as well!

Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: I.Nagy Tue, Feb 09, 2021

Dear Lea and Peter,
The art of seal engraving is a kind of creative art
with lot of restrictions. That does not necessarily mean a slavish copy of the seal script established in the 3rd century B.C. If we only dealt with the more or less codified "small seal script" characters only, we wouldn't have too much trouble with the reading of seals. The seal engraver artists were who over the centuries have created a huge number of artistic variations for each character within the set rules.
Character 国 is the post writing reform form of character 國、but it is also included in modern more demanding seal-script dictionaries in the form as it's shown on this seal. So, maybe not an everday occurence, but there is no probleme about it at all.

With regards,
I.Nagy

Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: Leah Illingworth Wed, Feb 10, 2021

Thank you!

Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: peter Wed, Feb 10, 2021

Dear I, Nagy
The other characters are small seal script characters. This is clearly a quality problem here!
seal engraving is not automatically producing art works. This engraver was not able to use the space to carve a coherent seal. He just lazily avoided the longer character. The result is an unbalanced seal with a box in the corner. We are, but Li Si would not be able to understand it.
Peter


Subject:Re: Reading Seal Script
Posted By: I.Nagy Thu, Feb 11, 2021

Dear Peter,
I'm agreeing with you.
I.Nagy


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