The shape of the official seal of the Eastern Han Dynasty is similar to that of the Western Han Dynasty, generally 2.5 cm square. Among the existing official seals of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there are fewer cast articles and more chiseled seals, which are not as rigorous and vigorous as those of the official seals of the Western Han Dynasty, but the calligraphy is still square and heavy. Such as "Zheng Qiang Guo Cheng" seal and so on.
The bronze tile button "Zheng Qiangguo Cheng" is printed, with a surface length and width of 2.2 cm and a height of 1.7 cm. This seal is made of brass, square and tile buttons. The seal is written in white with China seal script, arranged in two vertical lines, and the words "Zheng Qiangguo Cheng" are read in turn from the top right. It is the official seal of Hou Guo in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The official buttons in Han Dynasty are mainly turtle buttons, tile buttons and nose buttons, and the seals issued to border ethnic minorities are camel buttons, sheep buttons and snake buttons. For example, the camel seal of "Han Xiongnu returned to righteousness and kissed Hanchang" in Qinghai, and the snake seal of "Yunnan Wang Yin" in Yunnan, etc.
The seal of "Han Xiongnu Returning to Righteousness and Pro-Hanchang" is 2.9 cm high, 2.3 cm wide, 2. 1 cm high and 0.8 cm thick. Copper, square seat, camel buckle, camel kneeling, head forward. Zhu Wen is engraved with the seal of "The Huns of Han Dynasty returned to righteousness, approaching Hanchang", which is the official seal given by the central government of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Xiongnu leaders, among which "Returning to righteousness" is the title given by the Han government to the leaders of the surrounding ethnic groups under its jurisdiction.
The main body of Xiongnu in Han Dynasty did not reach Qinghai, but there was a branch of Xiongnu called Dew Lake, which originated in Zhangye, Gansu. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it crossed the Qilian Mountains and mingled with the Yue Tiger and Qiang people in Huangzhong, eastern Qinghai. The Xiongnu referred to in this seal refers to the Lushui Tiger.
Wang Xi of Yunnan was excavated from the tomb of Shizhai Mountain in Jinning. Yunnan Wang Yin is made of pure gold. The gold seal weighs 90 grams, and the side of the seal is 2.4 cm square and 2 cm high. Snake button, the snake head is raised, the snake body is bloody and there are scales on its back.
This is the earliest material evidence that Yunnan belongs to the central government. The printing grade of "Wang Dian Jin Yin" was stipulated in Nine Meanings of Hanshu written by Wei Hong in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which recorded the official system in the Han Dynasty. Wang Yin, however, shows that Yunnan has close political relations with the central dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty, and it is a feudal country with a special status.
BC 109, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to conquer Yunnan, and the king of Yunnan surrendered to the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Yizhou County in his hometown, named King Dian as "King Dian" and gave him "Wang Yin Dian". After the seal of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the policy of imprisonment was implemented in Yunnan.
The excavation of Wang Yin in Yunnan not only confirmed the existence of the ancient Dian kingdom, but also proved the reliability of Sima Qian's Historical Records. In other words, the golden seal not only proves the cloud
The ancient history of the south also proves the ancient history of our country. In archaeology, it is rare for unearthed cultural relics like this to be consistent with historical documents. This is one of the reasons why Wang Yin was collected by the state and in the National Museum of China.
By the Han Dynasty, the thickness and button shape of the official seal had changed to some extent. In the early Han Dynasty, tile buttons and nose buttons were the main ones, while snakes and tortoise buttons appeared at the same time. During the Wenjing period, the seal was thin, and the turtle button and nose button became the main buttons of the official seal. Turtle button turtle has short legs, flat body and slightly convex head. The nose button is slightly round and the button surface is narrow.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the official seals of the Western Han Dynasty were mainly tortoise buttons and tile buttons. Turtle button turtle is tall, with a raised back and hexagonal nail patterns. Tile buttons are thin and wide.
The buttons in Xin Mang period are the same as those in the late Western Han Dynasty, but they are more exquisite. After the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty, the official seal became thicker and thicker. The neck of the turtle buckle is lengthened, the back is rounded and the buckle body is thickened.
There are various sources of materials for Han seal, such as gold, silver, copper, jade, stone, wood and agate, among which bronze seal is the most. Many lithographs are simple and inferior, such as Luyin unearthed from Moon Mountain in Changsha, Hunan, Zhuchang in Changsha unearthed from Han Tomb, Changyang Changyin unearthed from Nanping, Changde, Hunan, etc., which should be the lithographs of funerary objects.
Similarly, woodcuts are also used for funerary objects, such as Jaco and zhangyan in the Western Han Tomb at Fenghuangshan 10 in Jiangling, Hubei, and Xin Zhui's concubine in the Western Han Tomb at Mawangdui No.1 in Changsha, Hunan.
Gold and silver seals are rare, and they are mostly used by senior officials and first-class people after the emperor. For example, Wen Di's seal and You Fu's seal unearthed from the tomb of Nanyue King in the Western Han Dynasty, the gold seal of Empress Dowager Shuoning's seal in the Eastern Han Dynasty discovered in Yangpingguan, Shaanxi Province, the gold seal of Guangling Wang Yin unearthed near the No.2 tomb of Donghan in Ganquan, Hanjiang, Jiangsu Province, and the silver seal of Mo Shufei unearthed from Guo Mu's tomb in Ganquan, Hanjiang, Jiangsu Province.
The gold seal of "Wendi Hangxi" is square, with the dragon button gold seal, the height is 1.8cm, the side length is 3. 1cm, and the weight is148.5g. The printed surface is Tian-shaped, with four large characters of "Wendi Seal" intaglio and small seal characters, and the handwriting is neat and vigorous. The button is easy to be long, and the dragon's head, tail and feet are placed on four corners, which seems to take off and scurry.
After casting, this golden seal was partially carved with a sharp knife. When unearthed, there were bumps and scratches on the walls around the groove and pad of the seal surface, and dark red inkpad was left, which was obviously caused by long-term use, indicating that the golden seal was a practical seal of the tomb owner before his death. It is the largest gold seal of the Western Han Dynasty unearthed in the Han tomb.
Zhao Jia, the owner of Wendi Seal, was the second king of Nanyue State in Lingnan area of China. He called himself Wendi in 137 BC. This seal is a solemn seal cutting script, and the seal button is a dragon symbolizing the supreme imperial power. The head of the dragon is raised, the waist is raised, and the tail is curled, especially the arched dragon ridge, which is not only beneficial to holding, but also emphasizes the dynamic trend of the "S" shape of the dragon body, integrating practical functions and decorative effects, and the design is very ingenious.
The gold seal of "Right Lady Seal" is 2. 15cm long, 2. 15cm wide, and 65g high. It is the smallest of the three gold seals unearthed from the tomb of the king of South Vietnam, but it is the only one among the four ladies. The golden seal is buckled by a turtle.
According to the etiquette system of the Han Dynasty, Madam is the title of the concubine of the emperor and the prince. It can be inferred that the four ladies, including Mrs Right, are concubines in the harem of South Vietnam. Mrs. You's funerary objects are numerous and of good quality. The respect for rights in the Han Dynasty showed that she should be the first of all concubines.
"Shuoning Empress Seal" is 2.4 cm long and 2 cm high on each side. It is made of gold, turtle buttons, white characters and seal characters. The seal of Empress Dowager Shuoning is engraved on the printing surface, weighing 109g. The button-printed turtle head is slightly tilted, the back is round, and the tortoise shell is decorated with heavy ring patterns, which is finely made. This official seal of turtle buckle was popular from the middle Western Han Dynasty to the early Eastern Han Dynasty.
The golden seal of Guangling Wang Xi is an extremely special one. The seal is made of high-purity gold and weighs122.87g.. Turtle buttons, button height 2. 12 1 cm, table height 0.945 cm. Its turtle clasp is beautifully made and decorated, and the seal script of "Guangling Wang Xi" is engraved.
The layout is dense, straight and curved, smooth and harmonious, firm and full.