Ancient stamp gets seal of approval

Apart from research papers, Matsumura has been making another major contribution to ancient Chinese seal research in East Asia, together with another scholar, Liu Haiyu, from the Institute of Cultural Heritage at Shandong University.

Liu is also a guest professor at Iwate University in Japan, where he has worked since 2012. During his stay in Japan, he started an investigation on the ancient Chinese seals kept in the country, roughly 15,000 pieces.

Liu says that he has a sense of "national sentiment" that has been constantly motivating his investigation.

"Ancient Chinese seals are our cultural treasures. Chinese researchers were not able to see and use these original materials (Chinese seals) in Japan in the past," Liu explains, referring to the Chinese seals traded or brought to Japan, which are now mostly kept in private galleries or collectors' homes.

"But with our investigation, we can publish our research content to share with scholars from across the world. Chinese and Japanese cultures have similar roots in many aspects, and seal carving is very popular in Japan," Liu says.

"We researchers, seal engravers, collectors and publishers can join together to make our traditional Chinese culture shine brighter."

This echoes with the theme of the seminar, which aims to bring together various parties in the sector to promote cultural exchanges.

Sun Weizu, a research fellow with Shanghai Museum and vice-president of the Xiling Seal Engravers' Society, was among the representatives at the seminar.

"We used to see high thresholds of the collection and research on ancient seals, but in recent decades, we have witnessed the participation of the wider public in this sector, thanks to the growing economy and people's passion for traditional Chinese culture," Sun says.

In the last 40 years, there have been more ancient seals discovered and publicized than ever, according to Sun.

"In particular, private collectors have made remarkable contributions to new original materials (seals) publication and further research," he adds.

More such gatherings are needed to push forward the protection of Chinese cultural heritage, Sun says.

During the seminar, a two-volume book of ancient Chinese seals, sealing clay and pottery texts was released.