The seal system in this period still inherited the Han Dynasty in printing management skills. The shape, size, printing material, button type, seal pattern and seal text of the seal are basically the same as those of the seal of the Han Dynasty, and the main features of the seal are still preserved and have evolved.
In the official seals of Cao Wei and the Western Jin Dynasty, the button system is mostly turtle buttons, and so is the general seal. During the period of the Sixteen Countries in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to the war and the change of dynasties, the vassal States went their own way, and the production of official seal buttons had no fixed patterns and different forms. Such as: nose buckle, snake buckle, camel buckle, ring buckle, sheep buckle, horse buckle, rabbit buckle, deer buckle, bear buckle, fish buckle, animal buckle and dragon buckle.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the official seal changed the printing method which was mainly cast seal in Han Dynasty. Most of the prints were gold seals and silver seals, and in this period, it was mainly cut and printed, so the official seals in Wei and Jin Dynasties were mostly cut and printed. Therefore, the elegant, square, round and stable casting and printing style of seal cutting in Han Dynasty is rare.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, seal cutting showed the characteristics of rigor, strength, fluency, smooth layout of rules and regulations, and calm carving. However, some styles of "rushing for rules" appeared to be hasty and arbitrary, with poor knives and no rules, and most of the carved seal scripts did not conform to the "Six Books".
During this period, the form of official seal became larger. According to the ancient system, the official seal was no more than 2.3 cm square, but after the Jin Dynasty, the official seal was 3 cm square, and some seals generally reached 3.5 cm square.
Compared with the private seal in Han dynasty, the private seal in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties also changed obviously. Influenced by the seal script in the Three-body Stone Classic of Wei Dynasty, the private seal characters in this period were elongated, and the structure was tight and loose, and each character was elongated into a fine point, like a hanging needle.
The seal that appeared in this period is called "hanging needle seal". This kind of "hanging needle seal" is quite different from the dignified and elegant Miao seal in Han Dynasty, and it has a weak, slender, artificial and blunt habit. However, with the appearance of this habit, we can see the lines and strokes of seal script and the creative motivation of leaving a large blank on the printing surface. This kind of seal gave some inspiration to the later seal cutting creation.