Seal Script on Round Paper

Two large seal-script characters centred on a round sheet of xuan paper, ringed by a running-script inscription and three vermilion seals.

NOTES

Studio notes

On a round sheet there is no corner to hide in: the two big characters must sit exactly in the circle, balanced like a scale.

The small-script inscription runs around the edge in several short columns, answering the roundness of the paper.

Three seals — one red at the head, two closing at the tail — hold the whole composition down.

A circle is the strictest frame in calligraphy.

— Gao Xinuo · studio note