chuan guo yu xi

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm (传国玉玺), also known in English as the Imperial Seal of China, was a Chinese jade seal allegedly carved out of the Heshibi, a sacred piece of jade. The Seal was created in 221 BC, shortly after Qin Shi Huang unified China and established the Qin dynasty, China's first imperial dynasty. The Heirloom Seal served as the imperial Chinese seal throughout the next millennium of Chinese history, and its possession was seen as a physical symbol of the Mandate of Heaven.

At the end of the Western Han dynasty in 9 CE, Wang Mang, the usurper, forced the Han empress dowager to hand over the Seal. The empress dowager, in anger, threw the Seal on the ground, chipping one corner. Later, Wang Mang ordered the corner to be restored with gold. The Heirloom Seal was lost around the end of the Tang dynasty or during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.