Imperial Heirloom Seal

Seal of the Mandate

Seal carved from He Shi Bi bearing the mandate of heaven, emblem of legitimate rule.

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm was carved by the First Emperor from the jade of He Shi, inscribed “Having received the mandate of heaven, may it last long and prosper.” From Qin it passed through Han, Wei, Jin and Sui as the physical proof of legitimate rule; dynasties that lacked it claimed the mandate was incomplete. It vanished in the chaos of the Five Dynasties, and every later “heirloom seal” was a copy of a memory.