Seal (east asia)
| seal | |
|---|---|
|
|
| A Zhuwen that serves as a name stamp | |
| Chinese name | |
| Long characters | 印鑑or印章 |
| Abbreviation | 印鉴or印章 |
| Pinyin (Mandarin) | yìnjiàn or yìnzhāng |
| Jyutping (Cantonese) | jan3 gaam3 or jan3 zoeng1 |
| Japanese name | |
| Kanji | 判 子 |
| Rōmaji | hanko |
| Korean name | |
| Hangeul | 인장 |
| Hanja | 印章 |
| Revised Romanization | inang |
| Vietnamese name | |
| Quốc Ngữ | ấn chương |
| Hán tự | 印章 |
In East Asia, seals are both stamps for the standardized leaving of the name and the stamp imprint. Seals of the Chinese emperors are usually called xǐ玺.
The stamps are divided into three groups depending on their use: name seals (mostly square), signature seals ( free forms) and studio stamps (rectangular), which were mainly used in ancient China. The imprint of outlined characters as a seal is called a cartridge .
Function of the seal
Seals are very important in East Asia. On the one hand they are used in Chinese painting and calligraphy as a signature , on the other hand they are a means of legitimation that corresponds to a signature .
In Japan , South Korea , partly in Hong Kong and the Republic of China (Taiwan) , business or the like can still be done today with such name stamps, Japanese Inkan or Hanko , at the post office, at the bank or with authorities. The imprint of the name stamp must be registered with the residents' registration office for certain legal transactions . A company must register its stamp with a court. The stamps are made by our own stamp cutters. Even stamps with the same name and cut by the same die cutter are not identical. To check the authenticity of a stamp, an office worker folds the imprint in the middle, usually diagonally, and then places it on the imprint that is stored in the card index. The two halves must then be congruent.
Since the owner or an official can sign with a stamp, he must be specially protected against theft.
In the People's Republic of China , the name stamps have lost this function. Chinese authorities and businesses today mostly use circular stamps; Government stamps usually have a five-pointed star in the center. The name of the authority or the company is usually arranged on the edge in a semicircle.
history
There is evidence that seals were first introduced in China in 1324 BC. Used. But the seal was only able to gain acceptance during the Zhou dynasty (1122 to 256 BC).
At that time, it was not used to sign as proof of identity , but rather as proof of authorization , to indicate rank or office or simply for reasons of prestige, often carried in a belt . The seal was not so much about the person as it was about the position he was in. If an official retired or died, the seal - and this is often the case today - is passed on to the successor. When a nobleman asked for an audience with the emperor , he usually showed his jade stamp to prove his identity.
When a dynasty was overthrown, the transition to the next dynasty was only legitimized when the successor held the imperial seal of the previous emperor in his hands. Two mandarins specially appointed for this purpose were necessary to precisely place a 玺, a seal of the emperor, because the square seals had an edge length of 15 to 30 centimeters and were made of sandalwood or bronze. Some of them were even gold-plated.
With the invention of paper, the name stamp gradually replaced the signature. The average citizen also used a seal more and more frequently. Today everyone has a seal, even foreigners, and any transaction that requires a signature can only be completed if the seal is used. Officially you can also sign by hand, but for most people a thing only becomes legally binding after the seal. The seal has meanwhile become naturalized in large parts of East Asia, including Japan and Korea.
Shape and material
A seal can be square, rectangular, oval, or round, but many other variations exist. Its size varies between 3 millimeters and 15 centimeters. Depending on the intended use as well as the wishes and size of the purse of the future owner, various materials such as jade, soapstone , horn , bamboo , copper , wood , plastic or (illegal) ivory are used from which the seals are carved .
If a stamp is only used rarely and for less important transactions, wood or plastic is usually sufficient. But if the owner wants to use their name stamp for a lifetime, they are likely choosing a more valuable and prettier material.
Most seals are simply a piece of material with the name written in stylized Chinese letters on the flat underside. A carving on the handle or on the top of the stamp makes it even more beautiful and valuable. Some seals are downright works of art.
Types of seals
There are three types of stamps, depending on how the characters are cut into the stamp surface and what their imprint looks like:
Zhuwen (Yang)
With the Zhuwen stamp (朱 文 for "red characters"), the free space around the characters or symbols was cut away, while they themselves remain elevated. Due to the way a Zhuwen stamp is made, its stamp imprint typically has an irregular, sometimes interrupted imprint. When printing, the characters appear red on the background, provided that a traditional red stamp compound is used. This is also known as the Yang seal.
Baiwen (Yin)
When making a Baiwen stamp (白文 for “white characters”), the characters or symbols are cut into the stamp plate. These result in an imprint in white on a red colored background, provided that it is stamped on white paper. Baiwen stamps stand for the “Yin” of Yin-Yang and are therefore also known as Yin seals.
Zhubaiwen Xiangjianyin
A Zhubaiwen Xiangjianyin seal (朱白文 相間 印 for "seal with red and white characters") is a combination of Zhuwen and Baiwen . As a print image, it results in both red and white characters.
