Qing Dynasty Imperial Seal

Author: Guo Fuxiang (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: The Forbidden City, as the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, holds millions of cultural relics that leave us astonished by the extravagance of the emperor's and empress's lives, and it is not difficult to imagine the grandeur of the emperor of that time. If one were to truly seek an object that represents the emperor's power, the imperial seals would undoubtedly be the answer. The imperial seals are symbols of the state and imperial authority, secretly stored within the palace. In the (folklore), the desire to glimpse their beauty yet being unable to do so, coupled with various alluring legends, has made them shrouded in mystery and enigma. In reality, imperial seals were produced throughout the history of China's feudal dynasties, but most were destroyed with the rise and fall of the dynasties. Only the imperial seals of the Qing Dynasty, the final stage of China's feudal system, were preserved almost intact, becoming an extremely valuable sample for us to understand and study the emperor's imperial seals. The process of the Qing imperial seal system from its inception, establishment, to its decline is also the history of the Qing Dynasty's rule from prosperity to decline.