Seals in the Sinosphere
A Chinese seal (Chinese: 印章; pinyin: yìnzhāng, Japanese: "hanko" (判子) or "inkan" (印鑑); Korean: "dojang" (도장, 圖章)) is a seal or stamp containing Chinese characters used in East Asia to prove identity on documents, contracts, art, or similar items where authorship is considered important.
Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of wood, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste (Chinese: 朱砂; pinyin: zhūshā). The word 印 ("yìn") specifically refers to the imprint created by the seal. The colloquial name chop, when referring this kind of seals, was adapted from a Malay word during the colonization of the Straits Settlements.
East Asia currently uses a mixture of seals and hand signatures, and increasingly, electronic signatures. [1] But notably in Japan and China, seals remain commonly used instead of a signatures when doing business or other procedures, and in certain cases, only seals are acceptable.
Types of Seals
- Zhuwen (S:朱文, lit. "red characters") seals imprint the characters in red ink, sometimes referred to as yang seals.
- Baiwen (S:白文, lit. "white characters") seals imprint the background in red, leaving white characters, sometimes referred to as yin seals.
- Zhubaiwen Xiangjianyin (S:朱白文相間印, lit. "red-white characters combined seal") seals use zhuwen and baiwen together.
Seals used by government authorities
Emperors of China, their families and officials used large seals known as xǐ (璽), which corresponds to the Great Seals of Western countries. Xǐ were usually made of jade (although hard wood or precious metal could also be used), and were originally square in shape. They were changed to a rectangular form during the Song Dynasty, but reverted to square during the Qing Dynasty, and officially renamed bǎo (寶, "treasure"). The Forbidden City in Beijing currently has a collection of 25 bǎo from the Qing Dynasty.
These seals typically bore the titles of the offices, rather than the names of the owners. Different seals could be used for different purposes: for example, Emperor Qianlong had a number of appreciation seals [乾隆御覽之寶] used on select paintings in their collection.
The most important of these seals is the Heirloom Seal, which was created by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, and was seen as a legitimising device embodying or symbolising the Mandate of Heaven. The Heirloom Seal was passed down through several dynasties, but was lost by the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.
The most popular style of script for government seals in the imperial ages (from Song to Qing) is the jiudie wen ("nine-fold script"), a highly stylised font which is unreadable to the untrained.
The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has continued to use traditional square seals of about 13 centimetres square, known by a variety of names depending on the user's hierarchy. Part of the inaugural ceremony for the President of the Republic of China includes bestowing on him the Seal of the Republic of China and the Seal of Honor.
The seals of the government of the People's Republic of China today are usually circular in shape, and has a five-pointed star in the centre of the circle. The name of the governmental organization is often arranged around the star in a semi-circle.
Personal seals
There are many classes of personal seals:
Name seals 名印
- Denote the person's name. These are almost always square.
| Name (Chinese) | Name (Pinyin) | English name | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 姓名印 | Xingming Yin | Personal Name Seal | [李小狼] or [李小狼印] | State the family and personal name of a person |
| 表字印 | Biaozi Yin | Style Name Seal | [字矗昊] or [矗昊] | State the style name of a person |
| 臣妾印 | Chenqie Yin | Subject Concubine Seal | [臣美櫻] | Used in imperial times by concubines or officials |
| 書簡印 | Shujian Yin | Simplified Word Seals | [如佩信印] | Used in letters, instead of writing well wishes by hand, the seal takes its place |
| 總印 | Zong Yin | General or Combined Seal | [大英伯明皇龍正之章] | States the personal name and the place name where he/she is from |
| 迴文印 | Huiwen Yin | Rotating Character Seal | [徐永裕印] | Same as the personal name seal, but characters are read in an anti-clockwise direction, rather than from the top-down, right-to-left. Sometimes used in writing (i.e. to sign a preface of a book, etc). |
Free seals 閑印
- Are the equivalent of today's online signatures, and can contain the person's personally philosophy or literary inclination. These can be any shape, ranging from ovals to dragon-shaped.
| Name (Chinese) | Name (Pinyin) | English name | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 肖形印 | Xiaoxing Yin | Portrait Seal | N/A | Has images with no words to express the users character |
| 吉語印 | Jiyu Yin | Lucky Sayings Seal | [日就富貴] | Has lucky sayings and proverbs |
| 黃神越章 | Huangshen Yuezhang | Exceeding Seal of the Yellow God | [黃神越章天帝神之印] | Used in ancient times on letters as a protective charm on letters to ward off wild beasts and demons of the recipient. Now used mainly as a well-wishing convention on letters to people who travel abroad |
| 封泥 | Feng Ni | Sealing Stamp | N/A | Used to seal letters or packages, often after the sealing tag/strip has been stuck on the flap |
Studio seals 齋印
- Carry the name of the person's private studio 書齋, which most literati in ancient China had, although probably in lesser forms. These are more or less rectangular in shape.
| Name (Chinese) | Name (Pinyin) | English name | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 齋館印 | Zhaiguan Yin | Studio or Study Seal | [雅目齋] | States the name of the studio or body. This includes society and company seals |
| 別號印 | Biehao Yin | Alias Seal | [白石道人] | States aliases that the user uses. These include artistic names, painting names, pen-names, etc |
| 收藏印 | Shoucang Yin | Storage Seal | [松雨彗齋圖書印] | Used on books or paintings that are kept by the user. This includes appreciation seals used on paintings and books that the owner admires |
| 詞句印 | Ciju Yin | Poetry Seal | [問松消息] | Has poems or proverbs inscribed, used on paintings, etc. Size can range from big to small depending on how long the inscription is |
| 花押印 | Huaya Yin | Flower Signature Seal | N/A | A mark used in place of a signature. Often small, sometimes with images, the design can be varied in style |
Seal paste
There are two types of seal paste depending on what base material they are made of. One is silk based (mixed with cinnabar et al.) to form a very thick substance. The other is plant based to form a very loose substance.
- Silk: The red paste is made from finely pulverized cinnabar, mixed with castor oil, and silk strands. The silk strands bind the mixture together to form a very thick substance. It has a very oily appearance and tends to be a bright red in colour.
- Plant: The red paste is made from finely pulverized cinnabar, mixed with caster oil, and moxa punk. Because the base is a plant one that has been pulverised, the texture is very loose due to the fact that it doesn't bind. The appearance is sponge like and not oily and tends to be a darker shade of red.
Plant based paste tends to dry more quickly than silk based pastes because the plant extract does not hold onto the oil as tightly as silk. Depending on the paper used, plant pastes can dry in 10 to 15 minutes. The more absorbant the paper is, the faster it dries as the paper absorbs most of the oil. Also, plant pastes tend to smudge more easily than silk pastes due to the loose binding agent.
The paste is kept covered after it has been used, in its original container (be it plastic or ceramic). It is kept in an environment away from direct sunlight and away from intense heat lest it dry out.
Chinese usage
Today seals are mainly used on Chinese calligraphy works and Chinese paintings, usually in the order (up-down) of name seal, leisure seal(s), then studio seal.
Usage of seals can extend to banks in China in conjunction with a hand signature. Seals are often good to use as identification with signatures because they are difficult to forge and only the owner has access to his own seal.
Very few people in China now have a complete set of seals; most who do are artists, students, collectors and intellectuals. A well-made seal made from semi-precious stones can cost from ¥400 - ¥4000.
Seals are usually carved out by specialist seal carvers, or by the artists themselves. Seals carved in Chinatown or in major attractions in China are usually done for tourists, rather than the artist. They are often on-the-spot or poor translations of English names on inexpensive soapstone, often featuring Roman characters. Such seals are simply trinkets and are unsuitable for any functional purpose. Authentic, high quality seals are considerably more expensive and require forethought in design and content. Almost all authentic Chinese seals are carved in seal script, but there are exceptions. However, as a rule, regular script, running script, crusive script, etc. is best avoided. The reason for this is that such seal scripts are used for the majority of paintings and books, one function being to contrast the angular lines of the seal characters with the main written body of text.
On the other hand, some people take to carving their own seals out of soapstone and fine knives, which are widely available and is cheaper than paying a professional for expertise, craft, and material. Results vary, but it is possible for individuals to carve perfectly legitimate seals for themselves.
When printing with silk based paste, the user presses his seal into it, applying pressure. However, if the paste is plant based, the seal is lightly tapped into the paste, as with a rubber stamp. The printing surface must be covered fully but not so thickly that it would take too long for it to dry when applied. Usually, the seal and paste are tested before actual use to ensure this. Generally speaking, there should be some soft, pad-like material underneath the material to be stamped.
Determining which side of the seal should face up may be done in a number of ways: if there is a carving on top, the front should face the user; if there is an inscription on the side, it should face to the left of the user; if there is a dot on the side, it should face away from the user.
When the seal is pressed onto the printing surface, the procedure differs according to plant or silk based paste. For silk based paste, the user applies pressure and rocks it about slightly. For plant based paste, the user simply applies light pressure. As lifting the seal vertically away from its imprint may rip or damage paper, the seal is usually lifted off one side at a time, as if bent off from the page. After this, the image may be blotted with a piece of paper to make it dry faster, although this may smudge it.
Once seals are used, as much paste as possible is wiped from the printing surface and the edges off with a suitable material. The seals are kept in a constant environment, especially seals made of sandalwood or black ox horn. Tall thin seals are best kept on their sides, in case it should wobble and fall down. More important seals, such as authority and society seals are encased or wrapped in a silk cloth to add more protection.
Japanese usage
In Japan, there are two kinds of seals: mitome-in ("personal seal") and jitsu-in ("registered seal"). A registered seal is needed to open an account in some banks or to purchase land or a car.
In modern Japan most people have several seals. Men's seals are generally larger than those of women, and high-ranked executives generally have larger hanko, or seal, than their subordinates. The most secure forms of hanko are used for banking and real estate dealings, while off-the-shelf varieties are used for everyday tasks such as signing for delivery of packages.
Registration and certification of an inkan may be obtained in a local municipal office (e.g. city hall). There, a person receives a "certificate of seal impression" (印鑑登録証明書 inkan tōruku shōmei-sho), or certificate of authenticity, which is required for any significant business transaction, such as purchasing a car.
Foreigners who have a valid alien registration card are eligible for the name seal, necessary to perform business. Foreign names may be carved in rōmaji, katakana, hiragana or kanji. Inkan for standard Japanese names may be purchased prefabricated.
Traditionally, inkan are engraved on the end of a stick of hard wood, bone, or ivory, with a diameter between 25 and 75 mm. Carving them is a kind of calligraphic art. Rubber stamps are unacceptable for business purposes.
The first evidence of writing in Japan is a hanko dating from AD 57, made of solid gold and belonging to the Emperor. At first, only the Emperor and his most trusted vassals held hanko, as they were a symbol of the Emperor's authority. Noblemen began using their own personal hanko after 750, and samurai began using them sometime in the Middle Ages. Samurai were permitted exclusive use of red ink. After modernization began in 1870, hanko finally came into general use throughout Japanese society.
The increasing ease with which modern technology allows hanko fraud is beginning to cause some concern that the system will not be able to survive for much longer.
Signature stamps are still used widely in cultures outside of Japan. For instance, some Israeli companies still require stamps on official documents. Some say the relative size of the stamps reflects the rank of the officers within the corporation.
Korean usage
The first Korean royal seal, called oksae (옥새, 玉璽), is thought to be the Seal of the King of Ye (예왕지인, 濊王之印), from Buyeo. During the Goryeo and Joseon periods, there were two types of royal seals in use: guk-in (국인, 國印), sent by Chinese emperors and used in foreign communications, especially with China; and eo-bo (어보, 御寶), used within Korea and in communications with Japan. [2]
With the 1897 declaration of the Korean Empire, new seals were made. In 1948, the newly established South Korea created seals renamed guksae (국새, 國璽). Since 1962, the imprint reads 대한민국 ("Republic of Korea" in Hangul), and the seal was replaced in 1970 and 1999. [3]
Personal seals are called dojang (도장, 圖章) or injang (인장, 印章), although they are rarely used today.
See also
References
- Kong Yunbai 孔雲白, Zhuanke Rumen 篆刻入門. Shanghai Book Publishings 上海書店印行: Shanghai, 1936.
- Qu Leilei, Chinese Calligraphy. Cico Books Ltd.: London, 2002.
- Wang Jia-nan; Cai Xiaoli and Young, Dawn; The Complete Oriental Painting Course: A structured, practical guide to painting skills and techniques of China and the Far East. Quarto Publishing plc. and Aurum Press: London, 1997.
External links
- History of Chinese Seal Carvings
- Art-Virtue.com History of Chinese seal making
- A news summary of an Indian court case involving the significance of a bank's seal in proving bank liability.
- Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China ("E-signature Law")
- A chop is necessary for approving decisions relating to the operations and management of a company in China.