Seal of the King of the Di Clan issued by the Jin dynasty

Date: Western Jin (266-317)

Dimensions: Length 2.25 cm, Width 2.15 cm, Height 3.2 cm

Material: Gold

• Object Type：
  • SEAL
• Location：
  • Chinese Seal Gallery
• Tag：
  • western jin gold

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the rulers in the Central Plains formulated an official seal system different from that of the inner prefectures, in order to grant the tribal leaders who submitted to the authority of or those were friendly to the Central Plain dynasty according to the different relationships with the surrounding nations. Different ranks were distinguished by the material of the seals, for instance, gold, silver and bronze and by the official titles from king, lord to chief, meanwhile the knobs in the shapes of camel, horse, sheep, snakes stood for the symbols of different nationalities. The Three Kingdoms, Wei and Jin dynasties inherited this system. Such type of seals reflects the political relations between the Central Plain dynasties and other ethnic groups, and the historical evidence of the gradual integration of the Chinese nation as well. 
Jin Gui Yi Di Wang, meaning allegiance of Jin Righteous King of Di, the gold seal of which was the official seal granted to the head of the Di ethnic group by the Western Jin dynasty. This gold seal weighs 87.5 g. Its inscriptions were engraved in sharp and bright lines with highly contrasting layout, which was considered 'as sparse as possible and as dense as possible at the same time', representing the style of the Jin dynasty.