Heirloom Seal of the Realm

Uncommon card · No. 168539

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm (traditional Chinese: 傳國玉璽; simplified Chinese: 传国玉玺; pinyin: chuán guó yù xǐ), also known in English as the Imperial Seal of China, was a Chinese jade seal, either carved out of lantian (蓝田) jade, or, allegedly, the Heshibi, a sacred piece of jade. The Seal was created in 221 BC, shortly after Qin Shi Huang unified China and established the Qin dynasty, China's first imperial dynasty. The Heirloom Seal served as the imperial Chinese seal throughout the next millennium of Chinese history, and its possession was seen as a physical symbol of the Mandate of Heaven. According to historical sources, the seal was about four cun in diameter and had five coiling chi-dragons carved on top, and was alternatively called "The Seal of the Son of Heaven. The Heirloom Seal was lost around the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907) or during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960).

Read on Wikipedia · Image Original: Li Si (李斯) Vector: Lệ Xuân, Public domain