A Study on the Issues of Connoisseurship and Collection Seals Jointly Included in Two Tang Dynasty Calligraphy and Painting Documents - Focusing on the Examination of “Shu Shu Fu” and “Li Dai Ming Hua Ji”

The Dou brothers’ Shu Shu Fu (Ode to the Depictions of Calligraphy) and Zhang Yanyuan’s Li Dai Ming Hua Ji (Record of Famous Painters of the past) are the only two documents dating back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and earlier periods with detailed descriptions of calligraphy and painting connoisseurship and collection seals, which provide essential references for research in calligraphy and painting connoisseurship, fine art history, and connoisseurship and collection history for later generations, thus possessing an irreplaceable historical value. The section “Yin Yan” (Connoisseurship and Collection Seals) of the “Shu Shu Fu” contains a collection of 18 seals dating back to the Tang Dynasty and earlier periods. Among these, 17 were referenced in the article “Xu Gu Jin Gong Si Yin Ji” (The Record of Ancient and Modern Public and Private Seals) from the “Li Dai Ming Hua Ji”, which conducted extensive research on these specific seals. Based on this comprehensive study, the total number of seals mentioned in the article was expanded to 51. In terms of structural pattern and seal documentation, the two books exhibit an apparent hereditary relationship as well as notable differences. Therefore, this paper aims to conduct a comparative analysis of their styles, writing purposes, editing and compiling ideas, seal order, emphasis on content, etc., in order to unveil the process of knowledge generation pertaining connoisseurship and collection seal records during the Tang dynasty. Additionally, the paper will also compare and collate the seals recorded in both books, and verify relevant historical materials.