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Sanshiwu ju 三十五舉 is a chapter of Wuqiu Yan's 吾丘衍 (1268-1311) book Xuegubian 學古編 from the Yuan period 元 (1279-1368). It presents scholarly statements on seal inscriptions in 35 brief chapters, hence the title.
During the Qing period 清 (1644-1911), Gui Fu 桂馥 (1736-1805) and Huang Zigao 黃子高 (1794-1839) individually added further comments, resulting in the text Xu sanshiwu ju 續三十五舉 with 81 chapters, and Gui Fu also wrote the supplements Zaixu sanshiwu ju 再續三十五舉 and the revised Chongding xu sanshiwu ju 重定續三十五舉. Yao Yan 姚宴 also wrote a supplement called Zaixu sanshiwu ju 再續三十五舉.
| 篆法匾者最好謂之𧒘（音果）匾。石鼓文是也。徐鉉自謂吾晚年始得𧒘匾法。凡小篆喜瘦而長𧒘匾法非老筆不能到。 | For presentation inscriptions of the seal script written on large boards, the best one is called "sand-wasp board [script]" (guobian). This [style of script] was used for the Stone-Drum texts. Xu Xuan (916-991) says that only when he was an old man he could master this writing style. Whereas the small seal script is fine and slender, the large-board script cannot be realized without an old [worn-out] brush. |
| 小篆一也而各有筆法。李斯方員[=圓]廓落，陽冰員活姿媚。徐鉉如隸無垂腳字下如釵股稍大，鍇如其兄，但字下如玉箸微小耳。崔子玉多用隸法，似乎不精，然甚有漢意。陽冰篆多非古法，效子玉也。當知之。 | The small seal script has unified [standards], but individual styles are different. The straight and curved lines of Li Si's (d. 208 BCE) [calligraphy] were wide and open, while the round parts of [Li] Yangbing's (c. 750) were lovely. [The small seal script style] of Xu Xuan looked like regular script, but without "pending feet" - the lower parts [of characters] resemble somewhat larger spikes. [The style of Xu] Kai (920-974) was like his brother's, but the lower parts were like small jade sticks. Cui Ziyu (i.e., Cui Yuan 崔瑗, 78-143) mostly used a regular style, not very refined, but showing the spirit of the Han period. [Li] Yangbing's style was not old, but emulated [the style of Cui] Ziyu. |
| 寫成篇章文字只用小篆，二徐二李隨人所便切不可寫詞曲。 | For essays and other prose texts, only the use of the small seal script was common. The two Xus and the two Lis did not use it arbitrarily for writings poems or arias. |