Seals have been used in China for more than 3,000 years.

Chinese seals traditionally have been seen as a dependable tool of verification to impress specific characters or graphic symbols to identify a person, signify an official agency, or indicate an official position. Chinese seals convey meanings primarily through written characters. Time has witnessed their profound involvement in different historical periods in, politics, military affairs, economy, art, culture, everyday life, and many other fields. Chinese seals can be studied from two different aspects, namely seals for verification as their main function and the engraving skill as a form of artistic expression. These two aspects are interconnected with their respective historical development and physical forms. The seal engraving can partially fulfil the function of verification. But from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, the literati started to use personal seals. This trend gradually distanced seals further away from their verification function and prompted seal engraving to become an art genre. This is a special phenomenon in the development of Chinese seals.

Among the global history of seals, Chinese seals stand out as the most extensively developed system that has been integrated deeply into society and remains in use today.

Chinese traditional seals refer to those private and official ones that were primarily used for verification from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221 BCE) to the Republic of China (1912-1949). Bronze seals in the late Shang dynasty (ca. 1200-1046 BCE) had already taken on the mature form that we are familiar with today. From the Warring States period (476-221 BCE), seals extensively served as an instrument for verification in social life. The issuance of official seals gradually became associated with the centralized national administrative system. Official seals were seen as an embodiment of hierarchical status. During the Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin dynasties (221 BCE-420 CE), seals had profound historical and artistic connotations. They laid the foundation for the aesthetic norms for seal engraving that later generations conformed to. In the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), the reform of the official seal system brought about new designs which were later imitated by other East Asian countries. Seals of the northern ethnic minority regimes were crafted with the scripts of Khitan, Xixia, Nüzhen (Jurchen), Phags-pa and Manchu. They are an integral part of the Chinese seal culture.

According to archaeological findings, seals with mature forms appeared no later than the Shang dynasty (ca. 1500-1046 BCE). During the Shang and Zhou dynasties (ca. 1500-256 BCE), the forms and functions of seals developed. Most seals were used to identify a person or a clan with fixed impressions, thus becoming the physical credential for one's authority and identity. This function became fully developed at this time. Seals were also inscribed with mythological figures, auspicious idioms, maxims, or made as a pendant or ornament. The variety of seals indicated that seals played multiple social roles in ancient times.

The system of ancient Chinese official seals reached maturity in the Qin dynasty (221-207 BCE). It was closely intertwined with the administrative system of that time. The Han dynasty inherited and continued practices established by the Qin dynasty in many aspects. The Qin-Han official seal system had a profound and lasting influence on seals of later generations and gave rise to the Qin-Han seal tradition that endured over eight centuries. Official seals were a tangible manifestation of the administrative system. They were made according to specifications of material, form, and shape of the knob that corresponded to the hierarchy of official ranks. The issuance, collection, and annulment of official seals were governed by an established legal system.

The artistic style and exquisite craftsmanship of official and private seals reached their heyday in the Qin and Han dynasties. This period was deemed as the most splendid time in the history of Chinese seals.

Since the Western Jin (265-316) and Eastern Jin (317-420) dynasties, the common written language was the regular script, replacing the seal and the clerk scripts. The norms of the mouzhuan script (a variation of small seal script) employed by the Han dynasty official seals were gradually coming to an end. Simplification and quickness became a general feature of seal inscriptions in this period. Due to frequent changes of regimes, the craftsmanship of seal making was quite unstable. The knobs of official seals from the Northern Dynasty became bold and robust, breaking away from the previous modest and conservative style. Inscriptions of characters on official seals of the Southern Dynasty were crafted with refined strokes in a simple yet sturdy style, contrasting with the majestic and imposing style of the Northern Dynasty. Such difference in styles marked the emergence of new seal systems and forms.

With the widespread use of paper, the millennium-old practice of stamping seals on lumps of clay gave way to stamping seals on paper in the late Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589). Since the Sui dynasty (581-618), the function of official seals as the indication of official titles diminished. The Tang dynasty (618-907) continued the reform initiated by the Sui dynasty. Seals became more standardized and thereby a brand new Sui-Tang seal tradition was established. In the Song (960-1297), Jin (1115-1234) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, stricter rules on the management of official seals were laid down. The textual form of inscriptions returned to a more regular and dense style. In this period, seal systems and the casting of seals of ethnic groups and surrounding states followed the Sui-Tang seal tradition.

The evolution of traditional official and private seals came to a conclusion in the Ming and Qing dynasties and finally ended in the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949). Official seals of the Ming dynasty adopted highly standardized characters. The Ming dynasty established the large rectangular governmental seal called guanfang which was used by high-level officials temporarily appointed for a special mission and would be retrieved after the task was fulfilled. Guanfang was continued in the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. The Qing dynasty saw the establishment of a much more complicated hierarchical system of forms and scripts to indicate the users’ status. The private seals of the Ming and Qing dynasties came in a variety of materials and forms in a style of archaism. 

Chinese seal engraving is an art genre developed from the Chinese seal tradition. It represents a progressive pattern and stage unique to the development of Chinese seals. As seals were integrated into the creation, collection, and connoisseurship of paintings and calligraphy, seals began to be widely used in the cultural domain. In the Tang and Song dynasties, a new system of literati seals took shape. Afterthe Song and Yuan dynasties, stones were growing popular as a material for seals. In the late Ming dynasty, some literati carved their own seals, marking the birth of seal engraving as an independent artistic form. From the Ming and Qing dynasties to modern days, various schools of seal engraving and outstanding seal engravers emerged.

The art of seal engraving possesses a distinctive style of the Chinese culture. It is an important part of Chinese traditional art and one of the splendid cultural heritages of humankind.

In the Tang dynasty, literati seals with studio names and other inscriptions appeared, whose functions were beyond verification. The development of literati seals was of profound significance in expanding the functions of Chinese seal culture. Literati played a key role in enriching the styles and elevating artistic values of seals by being involved in the design and writing of seal inscriptions. By the end of the Northern Song dynasty, there had emerged seals inscribed with family names, given names, designated names, literary names, studio names, terms of correspondence, and those crafted with verses expressing wishes and aspirations.

In the late Ming dynasty, with the literati involvement in designing and engraving their own seals, seal engraving became a new genre of art. In regions including Wumen (Suzhou) and Huizhou, seal engravers from diverse cultural backgrounds emerged, such as Wen Peng, He Zhen, Su Xuan, Zhu Jian, and Wang Guan. They were grouped into different schools of seal engraving based on their native regions or mentorship. Since the Qing dynasty, the main schools, represented by the Zhe School and the Deng School, all had their own masters with distinctive styles. They advocated the pursuit of the archaic styles of the Qin and Han dynasties and attached immense value to exploring forms and techniques. They created an entirely new style of literati seal engraving. 

After Shanghai opened as a trading port, its economy bloomed rapidly. The city's inclusiveness attracted many artistic talents from surrounding areas. Famous artists gathering here excelled in their respective fields. Their disciples continued their skills and established their own fame in the realm of seal engraving. Numerous engravers with strong individuality and seal engraving societies also left their marks in Shanghai. Styles from northern and southern China blended and evolved with that of overseas engravers settling in this bustling metropolis where domestic and overseas arts and cultures were encountered. Their convergence led to the genesis of innovative interpretations of seal engraving within the classical framework.

Ancient Chinese seals have a long-standing tradition of emphasizing the choice of material and the craftsmanship of seal knobs. A variety of materials are used for seals, including jade, porcelain, crystal, animal horn, ivory, bronze, and stone. From the Song and Yuan dynasties, seals became a kind of object for placid enjoyment and fine appreciation for the literati. These pyrophyllite stones were popular for their lustrous texture and beautiful shades of colours.

Shoushan in Fujian and Qingtian in Zhejiang witness a long history of seal knob carving. In the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns (1662-1795) of the Qing dynasty, seal knobs had a variety of themes carved with superb techniques. In the late Qing dynasty, low-relief engravings integrated with painting were quite popular. The seal engraving techniques presented elegant and well-composed patterns. The seal engraving art sparkled alongside with a spectrum of other carving traditions at that time. Seal material and knobs also became objects of appreciation, enriching the artistic appeal of Chinese seal engraving.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), the use of seals in China entered the era of qianzhu (seal impressions in vermilion). Seal stamps impressed on legal documents written on paper, calligraphy, and paintings became a focus for the study of Tang dynasty seals. From the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) onward, the usage of seals extended from the practical use in society to the collection and creation of calligraphy and painting, developing in the direction of literati's engagement and artistic creation. From the Song dynasty (960-1279) till the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the cultural atmosphere of collecting and studying ancient seals gave rise to a documentation method tailored to seals. There appeared catalogues of ancient seal impressions and stamps of seal engraving. Each catalogue is an archive of the study of the Chinese seal. They also provide visual and written paradigms for the connoisseurship and dissemination of seals. The artistic and academic values of these catalogues are an integral part of Chinese seal engraving culture.