Xi

Pronunciation: [xǐ]

Radical: Jade

Wubi: QIGY

Definition: 1. The seal of the emperor. 2. Surname.

Xi: In the First Qin Dynasty, it was a seal exclusively used by the emperor, and was called the Jade Seal, the Chuanguo Seal, and the Chuanguo Jade Seal.

The seal is a symbol of imperial power. For example, the seal is divided into different forms according to its different forms: Jiexi (imperial ring), Quanxi (scepter), Guoxi (imperial seal), Lingxi (gold medal), etc.

"Xi" is the earliest name of the seal. Before the Qin Dynasty, both official and private seals were called "Xi". However, the writing method of this "Xi" is either 鉨 or ?, which is named because of the different materials of copper and soil. After Qin unified the six kingdoms, it formulated a series of hierarchical systems and set up "Fujie Lingcheng" in the Shaofu who was specifically in charge of the seal system.

At that time, it was stipulated that the emperor should be called "Xi" (from then on [Jin'er] was written as "Xi"), and its material should be jade, and the subjects would only call it "Yin", and jade could not be used. The Han Dynasty basically followed the Qin system, but the system was slightly relaxed. There were also princes, kings, queens and queens who were called "Xi".

Looking at the official seals from the ancient Warring States period, they only wrote official positions and did not appear to be called "seal" or "seal". Of course, this was more commonly used before the Qin Dynasty. However, with the reforms of the First Emperor, "Zhen" was only used exclusively by the emperor, and "Xi" was the emperor's seal. From then on it was passed down to subsequent dynasties. In fact, the emperor's seal is sometimes called "Xi" and "Yin", both of which appear in the emperor's seals of all dynasties.