Chinese culture: the Xiling Seal Art Society and the "Famous Artists of Xiling" series

The Xiling Seal Art Society (Chinese: 西泠印社) is a Chinese arts organisation based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, PRC. It was founded in 1904 but, with antecedents dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, is one of China's most important traditional stone seal engraving associations.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties seal engraving flourished in China, especially in the Yangtze River Delta region, where there was a continuous rich artistic tradition. There were many different schools of seal making and many independent artists specialized in seal cutting, seal script calligraphy, and the selection of seal stones.

Before the establishment of the society there were many local or small-sized organizations or artists groups existing, especially in Zhejiang and Shanghai, however, it was not formally registered nor recognized by the government (non-official). The seal artists from different schools and places first founded the Xiling Seal Society as a large/national and academic society of learning, research, and art in 1904. The first board of directors included Ding Ren (丁仁), Wang Shi (王禔), Wu Yin (吴隐), and Ye Ming (叶铭). The first President of the society was Wu Changshuo (吴昌硕), a famous scholar, calligraphist, painter, seal maker, and writer.

The headquarters of the society are located on the western side of Gushan Hill (孤山) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Gushan Hill is an island in the north of West Lake. From the top of the hill people can get a very nice view of the lake and enjoy its beautiful landscapes. To the northeast of Gushan is the famous Bai Causeway (白堤) named after Bai Juyi, a famous poet and governor of Hangzhou. To the west is the Xiling Bridge.

The society has several museums of seals and seal-related arts on the mountain. It also owns many old buildings mainly built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. There is also a pool and several caves on the mountain.

Every year artists get together there to discuss art. The artists are mainly from Japan, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. There are also many exhibitions and activities on the mountain annually.

The "Famous Artists of Xiling" series is a documentary series published and distributed by Zhejiang Literature and Art Audiovisual Publishing House. The "Famous Artists of Xiling" series crew was established in August 1997. It was conceived, planned and organized by Mr. Huang Ming, the chief planner and director. It took 16 years to shoot, produce and distribute 26 albums, including "Master Wu Changshuo", "Art Pioneer Li Shutong", "Calligrapher Sha Menghai", "Chinese Painting Master Qi Baishi", "Art Master Liu Haisu", "Art Master Pan Tianshou", etc., which are based on the development of Xiling Seal Society and famous Xiling calligraphy and painting representatives (covering the early 20th century to the 21st century).

有画说艺：弘一法师将自己的一生所悟，在圆寂前浓缩为一首诗偈，道尽了人生的至高境界！读懂受益匪浅！

致遠書香： 李叔同一首《送別》淒美絕倫，既是送別朋友、又是送別人生！

“長亭外，古道邊，芳草碧連天”。這首經典老歌大家都會哼會唱，聽到這首歌，也往往會想起李叔同。這首歌是李叔同在1915年寫的，到現在已經一百多年過去了，然而它的意境和旋律今天聽來還是感覺清新如初，歷久彌新。//今天我們就來聊聊送別和作者李叔同這個傳奇人物。

This series of albums has been distributed in major cities across the country and in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and other countries, and has been widely praised by the cultural and art circles and calligraphy and painting enthusiasts at home and abroad.

《西泠名家》系列由浙江文艺音像出版社公开出版、发行的纪录片。《西泠名家》系列摄制组成立于1997年8月，由总策划、总导演黄明先生创意、策划并组创，历时十六年拍摄、制作、发行了以西泠印社的发展及西泠著名书画代表人物(囊括二十世纪初至二十一世纪)为主体的《一代宗师吴昌硕》、《艺术先驱李叔同》、《书法家沙孟海》、《国画大师齐白石》、《艺术大师刘海粟》、《艺术大师潘天寿》等26个专辑，
该系列专辑发行遍布全国各大城市及港、澳、台和日本、韩国等国，受到文化艺术界及海内外书画爱好者的广泛好评。
1.《书法家沙孟海》
2.《山水画大师陆俨少》
3.《一代宗师吴昌硕》
4.《篆刻书法家钱君陶》
5.《漫画大师丰子恺》
6.《国学大师马一浮》
7.《美术史论家王伯敏》
8.《一代画圣黄宾虹》
9.《花鸟画大师诸乐三》
10.《艺苑宗师张宗祥》
11.《一代画师叶浅予》
12.《艺术大师潘天寿》
13.《艺术大师刘海粟》
14.《艺术先驱李叔同》
15.《花鸟画大师吴茀之》
16.《金石书画家谭建丞》
17.《花鸟画家朱颖人》
18.《艺术家洪世清》
19.《国画大师程十发》
20.《篆刻书法家刘江》
21.《国画大师齐白石》
22.《花鸟画家柳村》
23.《画马名家戈湘岚》
24.《人物画家吴山明》
25.《书法篆刻家张耕源》
26.《书法家吕国璋》