宋代官印行用考

Abstract

The system of using official seals in tradition China contains two sub-systems : the Qin-Han and the Sui-Tang sub-systems. The use of official seals in the Song dynasty followed the practice in the Tang, but official seals were used under more various circumstances, while the way to use them also changed. The official seals in the Song were shared by multiple officials in each government branch, and usually they were not officials' personal possessions, so most of the official seals could not be buried with the officials. However, several cases show that official seals could still be used as burial objects, which was a special privilege granted by the emperors to imperial family members and the high officials. The number of the recipients of the privilege was very limited. Furthermore, the official seals that served as burial objects were mostly jiedushi seals, which had practical uses. In the Song dynasty, all of the bestowal and exchanges of the official seals needed approval from the central government, which symbolized that all the power originated from the central government and was a way to maintain the centralization of the power. Among all the official seals, the official seals of the regular governmental branches were the most important. The chief officials of those offices controlled those seals, which represented that they had the power of reviewing the orders issued by those bureaus and making the final decision. The part of "stamping seals" at the end of every official document, which required the cooperation of chief officials and their associates, displayed both the centralization and balance of powers during the process of making decisions.