A Baiwen name seal; Read up-down-right-left; Ye Hao Min Ying (lit. Seal of Ye Haomin)

A Chinese seal (Chinese "章" (Pinyin "zhāng"), Japanese "判子" ("hanko"), Korean 도장 ("dojang")) is a seal or stamp used in east Asia to prove identity on documents, contracts, art, and so forth. Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of wood, and are typically used with a special red ink paste (Chinese "朱砂" "zhūshā"). In Japan it is known as a hanko or inkan. The word "印" ("yìn") specifically refers to the image created by the seal. The colloquial name "chop", when referring this kind of seals, was adapted from a Malay word during the colonisation of the Straits Settlements. My name chop, for use in chop. ... My name chop, for use in chop. ... Pinyin (拼音, pÄ«nyÄ«n) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin. ... An inkan (印鑑) or hanko (判子) is a name seal customarily used in Japan instead of a signature when doing business or other procedures. ... The Malay language, also known locally as Bahasa Melayu, is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who are native to the Malay peninsula, southern Thailand, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, and parts of the coast of Borneo. ... The Straits Settlements were a collection of territories of the British East India Company in Southeast Asia, which were given collective administration in 1826. ...

The presence of the seal indicates that the authority of this person (e.g. artist) or institution (e.g. bank) or organization (e.g. government entity) represented by that specific seal verifies the authenticity of this item. Example authorisation: Responsible Organization: (Company Seal) Responsible Person: (Signature/Seal) Date: (Format varies). [1]

Seals were common in the past, but in western culture they have mostly been replaced by signatures, and are currently being replaced by electronic identification and authentication (often called "signatures"). East Asia currently uses a mixture of seals, seals and hand signatures, and increasingly, electronic signatures. [2]

Types of Seals

A Hongwen leisure seal; Read up-down-right-left; Ning Hai Bi Bo

• Zhuwen (S:朱文 lit. red-words) seals have the characters imprinted in red ink, while
• Baiwen (S:白文 lit. white-words) seals have the surrounding areas of the characters in red ink; the characters themselves are white.

My leisure chop, for use in chop. ... My leisure chop, for use in chop. ...

Seals used by government authorities

During the monarchy, 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, but were changed to a rectangular form during the Song Dynasty; these were reverted to a square form during the Qing Dynasty, and were officially renamed bǎo (寶, "treasure"). These seals typically bore the titles of the offices, rather than the names of the owners; different seals could be used for different purposes. The Forbidden City in Beijing currently has a collection of 25 bǎo from the Qing Dynasty. The king or wang (王 wang2) was the Chinese head of state from the Zhou to Qin dynasties. ... A captured JADE machine on display in the National Cryptologic Museum. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: 宋朝) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing... Forbidden City Courtyard The Forbidden City or Forbidden Palace (Chinese: 紫禁城; Pinyin: ; literally Purple Forbidden City), located at the exact center of the ancient City of Beijing, was the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing dynasties. ...   Beijing? (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital city of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has continued to use square seals of about 13 centimetres square, known by a variety of names depending on the users' hierarchy. Similar square seals (also known as 璽) have also existed in Japan for centuries, and are still used by the Japanese government today. The Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華民國; Simplified Chinese: 中华民国; Wade-Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo², Tongyong Pinyin: JhongHuá MínGuó, Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó, Taiwanese POJ: Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok) is a multiparty democratic state that today is composed of the island groups of Taiwan, the Pescadores, Quemoy...

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 3 classes of personal seals:

1. Name seals (名章) denote the person's name. These are almost always square.
2. Misc. seals (闲章) are divide into 2 classes:
   1. Leisure seals are the equivalent of signatures used in BBSs, can can contain the person's personally philosophy or literary inclination. These can be any shape, ranging from ovals to dragon-shaped.
   2. Studio seals carry the name of the person's private studio (书斋), which most literati in ancient China had, although probably in lesser forms. These are more or less rectangular in shape.

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. For use of the term in mathematics, see signature (mathematics). ... China is the worlds oldest continuous major civilization, with written records dating back about 3,500 years and with 5,000 years being commonly used by Chinese as the age of their civilization. ... Calligraphy is an art dating back to the earliest day of history, and widely practiced throughout China to this day. ... Chinese painting is a form of Chinese art. ...

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. A gemstone is a mineral, rock (as in lapis lazuli) or petrified material that when cut or faceted and polished is collectible or can be used in jewellery. ...

See also

• Seal script

《尋隱者不遇》—賈島 松下問童子 言師採藥去 隻在此山中 雲深不知處 Seeking the Master but not Meeting by Jia Dao Beneath a pine I asked a little child. ...

External links and references

• Chinese Stamping HistoryAn article about the history of Chinese seal carvings

• Art-Virtue.com History of Chinese seal making

• nortonwhite A news summary of an Indian court case involving the significance of a bank's seal in proving bank liability.

• perkinscoie "On August 28, 2004, the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress enacted the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China ("E-signature Law"), effective April 1, 2005. The E-signature Law supplements the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China ("Contract Law") with respect to the validity of electronic contracts. The Contract Law, in broad language, recognizes the validity of contracts consummated in the form of electronic data messages"

• lehmanbrown "A chop is necessary for approving decisions relating to the operations and management of a company in China and legally authorising documentation. A Company may hold a wide range of chops in China, each being used for different purposes and applying to different documentation. Whilst the Company Chop is mandatory for every company incorporated in China, there are also a number of chops which only have a very specific scope and power. These chops are not mandatory and may include the Financial chop, Human Resources chop, and the Contract chop. Such 'specific' chops provide company departments with the ability to, for example, enter into contracts on behalf of the company without having to gain the seal of the Company Chop."