篆刻指的是具有艺术价值的印章雕刻，它是中国特有的一种艺术形式，从古至今已有两三千年的历史了。

Seal cutting, an art form that is unique to China, is several thousand years old.

　　最早的“篆刻”范围较广，印章的刻制只是其中的一小部分。到了明清时代，由于一批篆刻艺术家的出现，“篆刻”不再指广义的雕刻技艺，而专门用来指印章的雕刻，也有人称为“治印”或 “刻图章”等。

In ancient times, the art of carving manifested itself in many forms, of which seal cutting was one. Following the emergence of a group of famous carving artists during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the word “zhuanke” was used exclusively to describe seal cutting.

　　篆刻艺术是书法、章法和刀法三者完美的结合。“七分篆三分刻”，说的是必须先有一手好的书法，这是篆刻的基础；章法是说文字的安排和布局，只有书法而没有章法，同样不能成为出色的艺术品；刀法的不同体现了艺术风格的差异，古人认为用刀就像用笔，所以也常把刻刀称为“铁笔”。

Seal cutting incorporates the skills of calligraphy, composition and carving. It is commonly said that a successful work depends 70% on fine calligraphy and 30% on skilled carving. The composition refers to the arrangement of the characters; unless this is done well, there can be no masterpiece. The development of different cutting skills has given rise to different styles. To people in the past, a knife was like a writing brush, and because of this, the seal-cutter’s knife became known as an “iron writing brush”.

　　几千年的中国文字在篆刻艺术家手中，透过小小的印面，展现着无穷的魅力，仿佛时间和空间都被浓缩在方寸之间，所以，篆刻作品是非常值得把玩的艺术品。2008年第29届北京奥运会会徽的灵感就来自于中国篆刻艺术。

Seal cutting has been a popular source of fascination for thousands of years. Though small, a seal could reveal a great deal about the era in which it was made. The finest seals became collectors’ items. The inspiration for the design of the emblem for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games came from seal cutting.