The Studio of Three Words

Virtual Chinese Seal Carving Services

A Chinese gentleman does not sign his name on paper documents, instead he leaves his personal seal.

Impressions from these seals are made not in hot wax, but from little pots of vermillion which usually accompany the seals and in this sense, they are not actually seals but stamps. However, they serve much the same purpose, which is to identify individuals. The common people used copper for their seals while jade was reserved for emperors; since the Yuan dynasty (AD 14th century) however, seals have been carved from pyrophylite and other stones. In this century, more and more common people are able to afford jade (nephrite) seals. Ivory is not traditionally used to make seals and is a recent Japanese innovation.

I do not keep stocks of stone nor do I possess the skills to carve real stone seals, instead I use Microsoft Paint and Adobe Photoshop to create virtual seals which you can use in your online documents. Please look at my portfolio to see the range of my work.

I am sorry, but the shop is now permanently closed. As a junior doctor in the NHS, I no longer have the time to give customers the time and attention they require.

I will not translate Western names purely on principle, so please do not ask me. There is no such thing as a direct translation of a Western name and anyone who tells you otherwise is mistaken. While it is easy to produce a series of words based only on the sound of your name, it will not be a set of words suitable for personal use. It is not possible to translate individual letters of the alphabet because Chinese has no alphabet. Ideally, your Chinese name would be given to you by someone you know and respect; someone who will be able to select words appropriate to your personality, aspirations and situation. In traditional Chinese society names are selected by the head of the family or clan, so when you ask someone to choose a name for you, you are asking him/her to take on the role of father/teacher.

It is right and proper for you to choose your own name and there is a long tradition of Chinese scholars doing this. There are resources available at Zhongwen.com and at MandarinTools.com which you may find useful. I have also written some notes on devising Chinese names.

I do not translate names or phrases for tattoos.

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