Page 42 - 2020 November 30 Bonhams Rev. Richard Fabian Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Hong Kong

XU SANGENG (1826-1890)
Who used the courtesy names Xiuhai and Xingu, sobriquets Quanlei,
Jinglei, Jinlei daoren, Siyushi zhu, Yuliangsheng, Shanmin and
Shenguo, he was a native of Shangyu, Zhejiang Province. Born to a
poor family, he was a janitor in a Daoist temple in his early days and
learned calligraphy and seal carving from a Daoist priest. Later, he
served as an advisor under Xu Shuming, the provincial educational
commissioner of Zhejiang, and Yang Changrui, the provincial governor
of Zhejiang. During the Xianfeng period (1850-1861), he moved to
Shanghai and started his art career. Having travelled extensively in
China, he settled in Shanghai in his late years.
Xu excelled in calligraphy and was particularly accomplished in seal
and clerical scripts. The elegant and charming lines in his calligraphy
are compared to the sashes fluttering in wind in Wu Daozi’s paintings
from the Tang dynasty. He merged his calligraphic methods and style
into his seal carving, and he had made seals for a number of renowned
artists in Shanghai including Zhang Xiong, Pu Hua, Ren Yi, Ren Xun,
Xugu and Huang Shanshou. With his characteristic seal carving
technique using both blades of the knife, Xu was highly regarded in
Japan as the first person to cast great impact on seal carving among
Japanese art communities.

徐三庚（1826-1890）
字袖海、辛穀，號全罍、井罍，又號，別號金罍道人、似魚室主、余
糧生、山民、詵郭，齋名有似魚室、漚寄室等。浙江上虞人。早年貧
寒，於道觀中打雜，因觀中道士擅長書法篆刻，遂得其傳授。曾為浙
江學政徐樹銘、巡撫楊昌濬之幕賓。咸豐年間抵滬，開始鬻藝生涯。
曾北上京、津，南下粵、港，足跡遍及大江南北，晚年回滬定居。書
法各體皆能，尤工篆隸，線條妍媚飛動，獨具面目，被譽為「吳帶當
風」。篆刻融皖浙兩派，以書入印，使刀如筆，縱橫遒逸，時海上書
畫名家張熊、蒲華、任頤、任薰、虛谷、黃山壽等人用印多出其手。
其雙刃刻刀法對東瀛印壇影響亦頗鉅。生前輯有《金罍山民印存》
《似魚室印譜》行世。

Xu Sangeng (right) and his Japenese Student
徐三庚（右）及其日本學生
38 | BONHAMS