 Hu , who was noted for his seal @-@ carving and facility with seal script , created a seal for the new Emperor . The court offered him the position of Drafter for the Secretariat ( zhongshu sheren , 中書舍人 ) as a reward , but he did not accept the role ( although he did accord himself the title of zhongshu sheren in some of his subsequent personal seals ) .   According to Wen Ruilin 's Lost History of the South ( Nanjiang Yishi , 南疆繹史 ) , prior to the Qing invasion of Nanjing Hu studied at the National University there , and whilst a student was employed by the Ministry of Rites to record official proclamations ; he produced the Imperial Promotion of Minor Learning ( Qin Ban Xiaoxue , 御頒小學 ) and the Record of Displayed Loyalty ( Biaozhong Ji , 表忠記 ) as part of this work . As a result , he was promoted to the Ministry of Personnel and gained admittance to the Hanlin Academy , but before he could take up this appointment , Beijing had fallen to the Manchu rebellion . Since contemporaneous biographies ( Wen 's work was not published until 1830 ) make no mention of these events , it has been suggested that they were fabricated after Hu 's death .   Hu retired from public life and went into seclusion in 1646 , after the end of the Ming dynasty . Xiao Yuncong and Lü Liuliang recorded visiting him during his later years , in 1667 and 1673 respectively . He died in poverty at the age of 90 , sometime around late 1673 or early 1674 .   = = Seal @-@ carving = =   Hu Zhengyan was a noted seal @-@ carver , producing personal seals for numerous dignitaries . His style was rooted in the classical seal script of the Han dynasty , and he followed the Huizhou school of carving founded by his contemporary He Zhen . Hu 's calligraphy , although balanced and with a clear compositional structure , is somewhat more angular and rigid than the classical models he followed . Huizhou seals attempt to impart an ancient , weathered impression , although unlike other Huizhou artists Hu did not make a regular practice of artificially aging his seals .   Hu 's work was known outside his local area . Zhou Lianggong , a poet who lived in Nanjing around the same time as Hu and was a noted art connoisseur , stated in his Biography of Seal @-@ Carvers ( Yinren Zhuan , 印人傳 ) that Hu " creates miniature stone carvings with ancient seal inscriptions for travellers to fight over and treasure " , implying that his carvings were popular with visitors and travellers passing through Nanjing .   In 1644 , Hu took it upon himself to create a new Imperial seal for the Hongguang Emperor , which he carved after a period of fasting and prayer . He presented his creation with an essay , the Great Exhortation of the Seal ( Dabao Zhen , 大寶印 ) , in which he bemoaned the loss of the Chongzhen Emperor 's seal and begged Heaven 's favour in restoring it . Hu was concerned that his essay would be overlooked because he had not written it in the form of rhyming , equally @-@ footed couplets ( pianti , 駢體 ) used in the Imperial examinations , but his submission and the seal itself were nevertheless both accepted by the Southern Ming court .   = = Ten Bamboo Studio = =   Despite his reputation as an artist and seal @-@ carver , Hu was primarily a publisher . His publishing house , the Ten Bamboo Studio , produced reference works on calligraphy , poetry and art ; medical textbooks ; books on etymology and phonetics ; and copies of as well as commentaries on the Confucian Classics . Unlike other publishers in the area , the Ten Bamboo Studio did not publish works of narrative fiction such as plays or novels . This bias towards academia was likely a consequence of the studio 's location : the mountain on which Hu took up residence was just to the north of the Nanjing Guozijian ( National Academy ) , which provided a captive market for academic texts . Between 1627 and 1644 , the Ten Bamboo Studio produced over twenty printed books of this kind , aimed at a wealthy , literary audience . The studio 's earliest publications were medical textbooks , the first of which , Tested Prescriptions for Myriad Illnesses ( Wanbing Yanfang , 萬病驗方 ) was published in 1631 and proved popular enough to be reissued ten years later . Hu 's brother Zhengxin was a medical practitioner and appears to have been the author of
ĠHu Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġnoted Ġfor Ġhis Ġseal Ġ@ - @ Ġcarving Ġand Ġfacility Ġwith Ġseal Ġscript Ġ, Ġcreated Ġa Ġseal Ġfor Ġthe Ġnew ĠEmperor Ġ. ĠThe Ġcourt Ġoffered Ġhim Ġthe Ġposition Ġof ĠDra fter Ġfor Ġthe ĠSecret ariat Ġ( Ġz h ong sh u Ġshe ren Ġ, Ġ ä¸Ń æ Ľ ¸ èĪ į äºº Ġ) Ġas Ġa Ġreward Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġdid Ġnot Ġaccept Ġthe Ġrole Ġ( Ġalthough Ġhe Ġdid Ġaccord Ġhimself Ġthe Ġtitle Ġof Ġz h ong sh u Ġshe ren Ġin Ġsome Ġof Ġhis Ġsubsequent Ġpersonal Ġseals Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAccording Ġto ĠWen ĠRu il in Ġ' s ĠLost ĠHistory Ġof Ġthe ĠSouth Ġ( ĠNan jiang ĠY ishi Ġ, Ġå į Ĺ ç ĸ Ĩ ç ¹ ¹ åı ² Ġ) Ġ, Ġprior Ġto Ġthe ĠQing Ġinvasion Ġof ĠNan jing ĠHu Ġstudied Ġat Ġthe ĠNational ĠUniversity Ġthere Ġ, Ġand Ġwhilst Ġa Ġstudent Ġwas Ġemployed Ġby Ġthe ĠMinistry Ġof ĠR ites Ġto Ġrecord Ġofficial Ġpro cl am ations Ġ; Ġhe Ġproduced Ġthe ĠImperial ĠPromotion Ġof ĠMinor ĠLearning Ġ( ĠQin ĠBan ĠXia ox ue Ġ, Ġå ¾ ¡ é ł Ĵ å° ı åŃ ¸ Ġ) Ġand Ġthe ĠRecord Ġof ĠDisplay ed ĠLoyal ty Ġ( ĠB ia oz h ong ĠJi Ġ, Ġè ¡ ¨ å¿ ł è ¨ ĺ Ġ) Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthis Ġwork Ġ. ĠAs Ġa Ġresult Ġ, Ġhe Ġwas Ġpromoted Ġto Ġthe ĠMinistry Ġof ĠPersonnel Ġand Ġgained Ġadm ittance Ġto Ġthe ĠHan lin ĠAcademy Ġ, Ġbut Ġbefore Ġhe Ġcould Ġtake Ġup Ġthis Ġappointment Ġ, ĠBeijing Ġhad Ġfallen Ġto Ġthe ĠMan chu Ġrebellion Ġ. ĠSince Ġcontempor aneous Ġbi ographies Ġ( ĠWen Ġ' s Ġwork Ġwas Ġnot Ġpublished Ġuntil Ġ1830 Ġ) Ġmake Ġno Ġmention Ġof Ġthese Ġevents Ġ, Ġit Ġhas Ġbeen Ġsuggested Ġthat Ġthey Ġwere Ġfabricated Ġafter ĠHu Ġ' s Ġdeath Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHu Ġretired Ġfrom Ġpublic Ġlife Ġand Ġwent Ġinto Ġse clusion Ġin Ġ16 46 Ġ, Ġafter Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe ĠMing Ġdynasty Ġ. ĠXiao ĠY unc ong Ġand ĠL Ã¼ ĠLi ul iang Ġrecorded Ġvisiting Ġhim Ġduring Ġhis Ġlater Ġyears Ġ, Ġin Ġ16 67 Ġand Ġ16 73 Ġrespectively Ġ. ĠHe Ġdied Ġin Ġpoverty Ġat Ġthe Ġage Ġof Ġ90 Ġ, Ġsometime Ġaround Ġlate Ġ16 73 Ġor Ġearly Ġ16 74 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠSeal Ġ@ - @ Ġcarving Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHu ĠZheng yan Ġwas Ġa Ġnoted Ġseal Ġ@ - @ Ġcar ver Ġ, Ġproducing Ġpersonal Ġseals Ġfor Ġnumerous Ġdign it aries Ġ. ĠHis Ġstyle Ġwas Ġrooted Ġin Ġthe Ġclassical Ġseal Ġscript Ġof Ġthe ĠHan Ġdynasty Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġfollowed Ġthe ĠHu iz hou Ġschool Ġof Ġcarving Ġfounded Ġby Ġhis Ġcontemporary ĠHe ĠZ hen Ġ. ĠHu Ġ' s Ġcall igraph y Ġ, Ġalthough Ġbalanced Ġand Ġwith Ġa Ġclear Ġcompos itional Ġstructure Ġ, Ġis Ġsomewhat Ġmore Ġangular Ġand Ġrigid Ġthan Ġthe Ġclassical Ġmodels Ġhe Ġfollowed Ġ. ĠHu iz hou Ġseals Ġattempt Ġto Ġimpart Ġan Ġancient Ġ, Ġwe athered Ġimpression Ġ, Ġalthough Ġunlike Ġother ĠHu iz hou Ġartists ĠHu Ġdid Ġnot Ġmake Ġa Ġregular Ġpractice Ġof Ġartificially Ġaging Ġhis Ġseals Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHu Ġ' s Ġwork Ġwas Ġknown Ġoutside Ġhis Ġlocal Ġarea Ġ. ĠZhou ĠLiang g ong Ġ, Ġa Ġpoet Ġwho Ġlived Ġin ĠNan jing Ġaround Ġthe Ġsame Ġtime Ġas ĠHu Ġand Ġwas Ġa Ġnoted Ġart Ġcon no isse ur Ġ, Ġstated Ġin Ġhis ĠBi ography Ġof ĠSeal Ġ@ - @ ĠCar vers Ġ( ĠYin ren ĠZh uan Ġ, Ġå į ° äºº åĤ ³ Ġ) Ġthat ĠHu Ġ" Ġcreates Ġminiature Ġstone Ġcar v ings Ġwith Ġancient Ġseal Ġins criptions Ġfor Ġtravellers Ġto Ġfight Ġover Ġand Ġtreasure Ġ" Ġ, Ġimplying Ġthat Ġhis Ġcar v ings Ġwere Ġpopular Ġwith Ġvisitors Ġand Ġtravellers Ġpassing Ġthrough ĠNan jing Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ16 44 Ġ, ĠHu Ġtook Ġit Ġupon Ġhimself Ġto Ġcreate Ġa Ġnew ĠImperial Ġseal Ġfor Ġthe ĠHong gu ang ĠEmperor Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġcarved Ġafter Ġa Ġperiod Ġof Ġfasting Ġand Ġprayer Ġ. ĠHe Ġpresented Ġhis Ġcreation Ġwith Ġan Ġessay Ġ, Ġthe ĠGreat ĠEx h ort ation Ġof Ġthe ĠSeal Ġ( ĠD ab ao ĠZ hen Ġ, Ġå¤ § å¯ ¶ åį ° Ġ) Ġ, Ġin Ġwhich Ġhe Ġbe mo aned Ġthe Ġloss Ġof Ġthe ĠChong zhen ĠEmperor Ġ' s Ġseal Ġand Ġbegged ĠHeaven Ġ' s Ġfavour Ġin Ġrestoring Ġit Ġ. ĠHu Ġwas Ġconcerned Ġthat Ġhis Ġessay Ġwould Ġbe Ġoverlooked Ġbecause Ġhe Ġhad Ġnot Ġwritten Ġit Ġin Ġthe Ġform Ġof Ġrhy ming Ġ, Ġequally Ġ@ - @ Ġfoot ed Ġcouple ts Ġ( Ġp iant i Ġ, Ġé § ¢ é « Ķ Ġ) Ġused Ġin Ġthe ĠImperial Ġexaminations Ġ, Ġbut Ġhis Ġsubmission Ġand Ġthe Ġseal Ġitself Ġwere Ġnevertheless Ġboth Ġaccepted Ġby Ġthe ĠSouthern ĠMing Ġcourt Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠDespite Ġhis Ġreputation Ġas Ġan Ġartist Ġand Ġseal Ġ@ - @ Ġcar ver Ġ, ĠHu Ġwas Ġprimarily Ġa Ġpublisher Ġ. ĠHis Ġpublishing Ġhouse Ġ, Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġ, Ġproduced Ġreference Ġworks Ġon Ġcall igraph y Ġ, Ġpoetry Ġand Ġart Ġ; Ġmedical Ġtextbooks Ġ; Ġbooks Ġon Ġe tymology Ġand Ġphon etics Ġ; Ġand Ġcopies Ġof Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġcomment aries Ġon Ġthe ĠConf uc ian ĠClassics Ġ. ĠUnlike Ġother Ġpublishers Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġ, Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġdid Ġnot Ġpublish Ġworks Ġof Ġnarrative Ġfiction Ġsuch Ġas Ġplays Ġor Ġnovels Ġ. ĠThis Ġbias Ġtowards Ġacademia Ġwas Ġlikely Ġa Ġconsequence Ġof Ġthe Ġstudio Ġ' s Ġlocation Ġ: Ġthe Ġmountain Ġon Ġwhich ĠHu Ġtook Ġup Ġresidence Ġwas Ġjust Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġof Ġthe ĠNan jing ĠGu oz ij ian Ġ( ĠNational ĠAcademy Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġprovided Ġa Ġcaptive Ġmarket Ġfor Ġacademic Ġtexts Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ16 27 Ġand Ġ16 44 Ġ, Ġthe ĠTen ĠB amboo ĠStudio Ġproduced Ġover Ġtwenty Ġprinted Ġbooks Ġof Ġthis Ġkind Ġ, Ġaimed Ġat Ġa Ġwealthy Ġ, Ġliterary Ġaudience Ġ. ĠThe Ġstudio Ġ' s Ġearliest Ġpublications Ġwere Ġmedical Ġtextbooks Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġof Ġwhich Ġ, ĠTest ed ĠPres criptions Ġfor ĠMy riad ĠIll nesses Ġ( ĠWan bing ĠYan f ang Ġ, Ġè Ĳ ¬ ç Ĺ ħ é © Ĺ æĸ¹ Ġ) Ġwas Ġpublished Ġin Ġ16 31 Ġand Ġproved Ġpopular Ġenough Ġto Ġbe Ġre issued Ġten Ġyears Ġlater Ġ. ĠHu Ġ' s Ġbrother ĠZheng x in Ġwas Ġa Ġmedical Ġpractitioner Ġand Ġappears Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġthe Ġauthor Ġof