Imperial Seal of China
| Heirloom Seal of the Realm | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 傳國璽 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 传国玺 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | chuán guó xǐ |
| Wade–Giles | ch'uan2 kuo2 hsi3 |
| IPA | [ʈʂʰwǎn kwǒ ɕì] |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | chyùn gwok sáai |
| Jyutping | cyun4 gwok3 saai2 |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | thuân kok suá |
The Heirloom Seal of the Realm (Chinese: 傳國璽; pinyin: chuán guó xǐ), also known in English as the Imperial Seal of China, is a Chinese jade seal carved out of the He Shi Bi, a historically famous piece of jade.
In 221 BCE, the Seal was created when Qin Shi Huang destroyed the remaining Warring States and united China under the Qin Dynasty. The He Shi Bi was a famous piece of jade stone which previously belonged to the Zhao state. Passing into the hands of the new Emperor of China, he ordered it made into his Imperial seal. The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life." (，) were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou.
The Seal was carved from jade because in ancient China, jade was symbolic of the inner beauty within humans. Many tombs and burials from ancient China contained decorative jade, including a jade burial suit unearthed in 1968 that belonged to a Han prince, Liu Sheng. During the Han dynasty, the Chinese associated jade with immortality to a point where some individuals attempted to drink jade in liquid form to gain eternal life. This association further complements the idea of the Mandate of Heaven and why the Seal was carved in jade, China's most valued material for thousands of years.
At the death of the second Emperor of Qin, his successor Ziying proffered the seal to the new emperor of the Han Dynasty, whereafter it was known as the "Han Heirloom Seal of the Realm". At the end of the Western Han Dynasty in 9 CE, Wang Mang, the new ruler, forced the Han empress dowager to hand over the Seal. The empress dowager, in anger, threw the Seal on the ground, chipping one corner. Later, Wang Mang ordered the corner to be restored with gold.
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