Chapter Seventy of the Daodejing in Seal Script

Wú Xīzài was a calligrapher and seal carver of the late Qīng dynasty. He was a student of Bāo Shìchén 包世臣 (1775–1855), an eminent scholar of ancient writing that evolved from inscriptions carved in stone. Wú was strongly influenced by Bāo’s studies in archaic script forms. He made his contributions to the field as an adherent of the Wǎn 皖 school of seal carving founded by Dèng Shírú 邓石如 / 鄧石如 (1743–1805), a famous Qīng dynasty calligrapher and seal carver.

The choice of the archaic seal script is fitting for a quotation from the classic text Dàodéjīng 道德经 / 道德經, traditionally dated to the 6th century BC.