Wang Qishu, a prominent Huizhou merchant and seal collector during the Qianlong to Jiaqing Period of the Qing Dynasty, and was obsessed with the publishing of seal prints. He published dozens of seal prints in his life, among which the most influential seal prints was “Feihongtang Yinpu”, which included the most seals in the history of Chinese printing. authored “Feihongtang Yinpu” (Catalog of Feihongtang Seals) and “Feihongtang Yinren Zhuan” (Biographies of Seal Artists of Feihongtang). “Feihongtang Yinren Zhuan” is derived from “Feihongtang Yinpu”, and there is academic debate regarding its compilation time, method, and relationship with “Feihongtang Yinpu”. As the first printing book in the history of Chinese printing, the biography of the seal has attracted great attention to the academic circle at present.This study confirms its compilation in the fifty-fourth year of the Qianlong era (1789) containing 126 biographies of seal artists and encompassing 129 individuals, by comparing different versions of “Feihongtang Yinren Zhuan” housed in the National Library of China. Compilation methods identified include commissioned contributions, third-party inquiries, and personal collection efforts. The discrepancy in the number of seal artists recorded compared to “Feihongtang Yinpu” primarily stems from Wang Qishu’s casual approach to compiling, resulting in omissions in the third volume of the seal catalog.
汪启淑是清乾嘉时期著名徽商、印章收藏家,自幼痴迷于收藏印章、出版印谱,一生 收藏印章数万方、出版印谱数十部,其中最具影响力者当属飞鸿堂印谱,该谱是中国印 学史上收录印章最多的印谱。飞鸿堂印人传是飞鸿堂印谱的衍生物,与飞鸿堂印谱 相辅相成。飞鸿堂印人传作为中国印学史上第一部主动记录印人史料的印学著作,目前 学界对其关注度很高,但其成书时间、成书方式以及和飞鸿堂印谱之间的关系学界尚有 争论。本研究通过对比中国国家图书馆藏不同版本飞鸿堂印人传,确定其成书时间为清 乾隆五十四年,即公元1789年;确定其共收录传记126篇,印人129位;确定其成书方式有 约稿、找第三者打探、亲自收集等三种方式;确定其虽为飞鸿堂印谱的姊妹篇,但仅收 录飞鸿堂印谱中的少数印人,其所录印人数量少于飞鸿堂印谱印章作者数量的主要原 因是汪启淑“随手率书”,致使印谱第三集漏刻印章作者姓名。