On the Seal Carving and Seal Albums by Early Hong Kong Seal Carver Deng Erya

Among all the Lingnan seal carvers whom Huang Shiling has taught, instructed or inspired, Li Yinsang, Yi Ru and Deng Erya are so prominent that they are acclaimed as “the three main pillars supporting the seal carving world in the Lingnan Region.” Deng Erya did a better job of inheriting the style of Huang Shiling compared to the other two seal carvers. The style of seal carving Deng adopted from Huang Shiling, which is characterized by the quaintness in his flexible yet elegant composition of characters that stands the test of time, can be described by the fifth and sixth lines of his poem Written for Huang Shiling’s Album of Seals: “With the true essence of the spacing and composition of the characters; Using the carving knife as free as if it could defeat thousands of soldiers with great ease.” There have been a number of articles published on Deng Erya’s seal carving, with a focus on the artistic style and features of his seal carving. This essay will look at Deng Erya’s life and his relationship with Hong Kong, explore his journey to becoming a seal carving master and organize Deng’s seal impression books available to me, with reference to information from books such as Wenzi yuanliu (Notes on the Origin of Characters), Deng zhai yin ke鄧齋印可, Deng zhai yin ying鄧齋印媵 and Deng Erya shigao (Poetry Manuscripts of Deng Erya).