铜制印玺在中国已有数千年的历史了,然多为铸印。两汉时的凿印,可视为手刻铜印之滥觞。自元代王冕首创用花乳石刻制印玺后,由于书画家亲自参与篆刻活动,篆刻有了飞跃发展,并把篆刻技法施于铜材。因铜材质坚硬,不易刊刻,故传人不多。至于今日,更为罕见。铜刻艺术,几至失传。古代玺印多以铜为印材,印工奉命作印,虽以实用为目的,但在艺术上倾注了大量心力,或铸或凿,皆臻妙处。千古而下,习篆刻者,莫不以之为宗。 Copper seal Xi has been in China for thousands of years, but mostly casting. Hailing Han Dynasty, can be regarded as handwritten copper and India. Since the first generation of Wang Mian of the Yuan Dynasty engraved with Huayu seal Xi, as the artist personally involved in seal cutting activities, seal development has leaps and bounds, and the seal cutting techniques applied to copper. Due to the hard copper material, not easy to print, so few people succession. As of today, more rare. Copper engraving art, a few to lost. In ancient times, most of the seals were printed with copper as a printed material. The printing workers were instructed to make prints. Although they were designed for practical purposes, they devoted a great deal of effort to art, casting or chiseling. Throughout the ages, learning seal cutting, can not do without.