In ancient times, official seals were mostly square or round, with regular and exquisite shapes. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, official seals were mostly square, with a side length of about 2-3 centimeters, known as the "square inch seal." With the changes of the past dynasties, the shape of the official seal also changed. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, a stone official seal appeared. The side length was about 3.7 centimeters, and the words "Lingling Prefecture Seal" were engraved on it. In the Tang Dynasty, the surface of the official seal was enlarged, and the strokes of the seal became thinner. Some official seals used curved and revolving seal characters to fill the space. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the official seal was written in a style between Li and Kai, creating a precedent for official seals. Generally speaking, the ancient official seals were of various shapes, but most of them were neat and exquisite.
The size of the ancient official seal had changed over time. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the size of the official seal was roughly 20 mm to 30 mm square. By the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the size of the official seal had increased to 50 to 60 mm square. The size of the official seal of the Ming Dynasty was generally 10-12 cm square, and the handle of the seal was gradually increased. Some were as high as 8 cm, and the edge of the seal was also gradually widened. The official seal of the Song Dynasty was roughly 5 to 5.5 centimeters in size. Therefore, the size of the ancient official seal changed in different periods.
The size of the ancient official seal had changed over time. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the size of the official seal was roughly 20 mm to 30 mm square. However, by the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the size of the official seal had increased to 50 mm to 60 mm square. The size of the official seal of the Ming Dynasty was generally 10-12 cm square, and the handle of the seal was gradually increased. Some were as high as 8 cm, and the edge of the seal was also gradually widened. The official seal of the Song Dynasty was roughly 5 to 5.5 centimeters in size. Therefore, the size of the ancient official seal changed in different periods.
In ancient times, official seals mainly included official titles, official names, place names, titles, and so on. The following conclusion was that the contents of the official seal changed with the times. In ancient times, the contents of the official seal included the official's title and the name of the government. Before the Jin Dynasty, official seals were mostly official seals, which were the official's title. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the official seal's content gradually changed to the official's name, which was the official seal. In addition, the size of the official seal also gradually increased, from 20 mm to 30 mm square in the Qin and Han Dynasties to 50 mm to 60 mm square in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The font of the seal had also changed, from the white characters of the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Zhu characters of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. However, the specific content and form of the ancient official seal may vary according to the times and regions.
The size of the ancient official seal had changed over time. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the size of the official seal was roughly 20 mm to 30 mm square. By the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the size of the official seal had increased to 50 to 60 mm square. The size of the official seal of the Ming Dynasty was generally 10-12 cm square, and the handle of the seal was gradually increased. Some were as high as 8 cm, and the edge of the seal was also gradually widened. The official seal of the Song Dynasty was roughly 5 to 5.5 centimeters in size. Therefore, the size of the ancient official seal changed in different periods.
The animals on the seal of ancient officials included dragon, tiger, turtle, lion, leopard, elephant, monkey, chicken, rat, hornless tiger, unicorn, white marsh, crane, golden pheasant, peacock, cloud goose, white pheasant, egret, oriole, quail, lion, tiger leopard, bear, tiger, rhinoceros, seahorse, Lian Que, Xie Zhi, etc. The use of these animals on the seals of ancient officials had different meanings. Some symbolized authority and nobility, while others symbolized good luck and good fortune.
The shapes and styles of ancient official seals varied in different dynasties and regions. During the Warring States Period, ancient seals could be square, round, rectangular, or irregular. The official seals of the Qin Dynasty were mostly chiseled in white, mostly square, and the seal surface often had the word "Tian". The official seals of the Han Dynasty were even more neat, with a straight and square body and a vigorous style. The official seal of the Tang Dynasty was basically a square, with a side length of about 2-2.5 centimeters. The official seals of the Song Dynasty were mostly rectangular buttons, also known as stake buttons, block buttons, rectangular buttons, etc. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the seals of officials from the first to the ninth grades were cast in silver or copper, with sides ranging from three inches and four minutes to one inch and nine minutes. In general, the official seal could be square, rectangular, round, etc. The specific style and shape would change according to different dynasties and official positions.
Ancient official seals usually had the name of the county engraved on them, such as "Qinghe County Main Hall" or "Official Seal". In ancient times, the seals of county-level officials were usually engraved with "×× Ling Seal" or "×× Long Seal", where "××" represented the name of the county. Therefore, it could be concluded that there was a name engraved on the ancient official seal.
The official seal was a symbol of the identity and authority of an official in ancient China. It was used to seal and verify documents. The shape and material of the official seal varied according to the rank and position of the official, such as gold, silver, bronze, and so on. The use of official seals had a strict hierarchy. Officials of different levels wore different levels of seals and ribbons. The use and management of official seals were of great significance in the appointment, dismissal, transfer and punishment of ancient officials.
There are many online electronic seal generators to choose from. Among them, the 395 Seal Builder was a free online electronic seal making platform that supported various advanced and professional modes. You could enter the company, seal name, code, and adjust the color, rotation, size, font, and so on. In addition, there were also online electronic seal generators such as MyStampReady (foreign version). These online tools can help users quickly generate electronic seals and save them in a non-destructive png or transparent png format. In addition, there were other online seal generators that could be customized according to the type and style of the seal.
We can conclude that the picture of the official seal refers to the seal used by institutions, organizations, enterprises, and institutions. The image of the official seal could be scanned and saved as a picture, and then inserted into a Word or a PDF-file. After inserting a picture, you can adjust the layout of the picture so that it is below the text to prevent it from obscuring the text. In addition, you can also use the online seal generator to generate a custom seal image.