<p>well, the emperor 乾隆 was a collector, he used four characters "神", "妙", "能" &amp; "逸" to categorise artworks (calligraphy, or painting).</p>

<p>and then, he used his seal to chop on the artwork :(</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T22:10:01.163Z
Thanks 水巷孑蠻! I found an English explanation here thanks to your hint: http://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh102/qianlong/en/en02.html
LeBorgne
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T22:25:20.787Z
great, you get it :)
水巷孑蠻
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T21:54:01.607Z
2018-04-02T21:54:01.607Z
水巷孑蠻
<p>The same 神 character is painted over a seal on 2 different artworks:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>An early <a href="https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BA%94%E4%BB%A3%E5%8D%AB%E8%B4%A4%E9%AB%98%E5%A3%AB%E5%9B%BE/1054619?fromtitle=%E5%8D%AB%E8%B4%A4%E9%AB%98%E5%A3%AB%E5%9B%BE&amp;fromid=10293285" rel="nofollow noreferrer">landscape painting</a> (by Wei Xian/卫贤?):</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1UAwE.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1UAwE.jpg" alt="seal_wei_xian"></a> </p></li>
<li><p>A <a href="https://theme.npm.edu.tw/selection/Article.aspx?sNo=04001001&amp;lang=2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">calligraphy</a> by Wang Xizhi: </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/dDSFY.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/dDSFY.jpg" alt="seal_wang_xizhi"></a></p></li>
</ul>

<p>Painting over a seal seems rather rare to me. I guess this one is the seal from a collector, but I might be wrong. Do you know a particular reason why it has been painted? And does it have a special meaning (maybe a religious one)? </p>

<p>Edit: here's an attempt to make the seal readable:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BOU7f.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BOU7f.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T17:42:18.183Z
It looks more like the seal was stamped over the character afterwards.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T19:39:45.813Z
Right, it is obvious now you've said it. I can't read the seal script unfortunately...
LeBorgne
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-02T21:38:32.207Z
the seal is "乾隆寶翰", his majesty seal of the fifth Emperor of qing dynasty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor
水巷孑蠻
<seal>
Shen (神) character painted over a seal
# Shen (神) character painted over a seal

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-02)

The same 神 character is painted over a seal on 2 different artworks:

* An early [landscape painting](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BA%94%E4%BB%A3%E5%8D%AB%E8%B4%A4%E9%AB%98%E5%A3%AB%E5%9B%BE/1054619?fromtitle=%E5%8D%AB%E8%B4%A4%E9%AB%98%E5%A3%AB%E5%9B%BE&fromid=10293285) (by Wei Xian/卫贤?):

  [![seal_wei_xian](https://i.sstatic.net/1UAwE.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/1UAwE.jpg)
* A [calligraphy](https://theme.npm.edu.tw/selection/Article.aspx?sNo=04001001&lang=2) by Wang Xizhi:

  [![seal_wang_xizhi](https://i.sstatic.net/dDSFY.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/dDSFY.jpg)

Painting over a seal seems rather rare to me. I guess this one is the seal from a collector, but I might be wrong. Do you know a particular reason why it has been painted? And does it have a special meaning (maybe a religious one)?

Edit: here's an attempt to make the seal readable:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/BOU7f.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/BOU7f.jpg)

**Tags:** seal

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It looks more like the seal was stamped over the character afterwards.  
> **username_0**: Right, it is obvious now you've said it. I can't read the seal script unfortunately...  
> **username_2**: the seal is "乾隆寶翰", his majesty seal of the fifth Emperor of qing dynasty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-04-02. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

well, the emperor 乾隆 was a collector, he used four characters "神", "妙", "能" & "逸" to categorise artworks (calligraphy, or painting).

and then, he used his seal to chop on the artwork :(

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks username_2! I found an English explanation here thanks to your hint: http://theme.npm.edu.tw/exh102/qianlong/en/en02.html  
> **username_2**: great, you get it :)  

---

