If there are heroes in the chaotic world in ancient times, think about it: these heroes fought wars for imperial power. Is there suddenly a feeling that some people's characters seem to have dropped a little bit?
In the battle for the throne in previous dynasties, "orthodoxy" is regarded as the first element, otherwise even after he has won the unification, such a throne will be "unjustified". If it really has nothing to do with the original emperor, how can the succession be justified? Answer: Chuanguo Jade Seal.
So this is the founding emperor of every dynasty who wants to pass on the national jade seal, but why do you have to find and get it? Can't you carve one yourself? What is the use of the jade seal?
Jade Seal and Chuanguo Jade Seal
In the change of dynasties, the most we can hear about the reason for the succession (seizure) of the throne is "birth orthodoxy", how to understand this "orthodoxy"?
After the greater son Xia Qi succeeded to the throne, China's ancient dynastic succession law changed from "public world" to "family world", and since here, it may have slowly sprouted some descendants similar to "direct descendants" or blood relatives, who are most qualified to inherit the status and wealth of their fathers.
Of course, before the Qin Dynasty, people generally used gold seals, and objects such as "jade seals" still did not appear. Since the founding of Qin Shi Huang, he has specially produced the emperor's exclusive seal such as "Jade Seal". From the word "seal", there is the meaning of the heavens granting the treasure jade and making it rule the world. This is what the ancients called "destiny.".
Before the Qin Dynasty, the people all used gold and jade as a seal, and the dragon and tiger buttons were only good for them. Since the Qin Dynasty, the Son of Heaven has used the seal alone as a seal and a jade alone, and the people dare not use it. - "Collected Histories"
To be called "seal", the seals of other courtiers should still be called "seals", and the seals of other courtiers should still be called "seals". And since then it has been stipulated that all the written wills without the seal cannot be extended to the local level, nor can they be truly implemented, which is equivalent to no approval. This rule has always been like this since then, and the jade seal has become a symbol of power.
Later, Xu Ling mentioned in the "Jade Seal Record": The jade seal is also a national treasure. Therefore, this is the so-called "national jade seal" in later generations.
After that, this jade seal fell into the hands of Liu Bang at the end of Qin, and then a horn was broken during the Wang Mang period, and then the Three Kingdoms Liu Shi, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and others all tossed around, and then during the Sui Dynasty Emperor period, the jade seal of chuanguo fell to the desert, and to the Tang Dynasty Li Jing chased back from the desert.
Only later, the Chuanguo Seal of the Qin Shi Huang period no longer had a trace in the late Tang Dynasty, because when the Later Tang lord Li Congke fled, a fire burned the entire Xuanwu Tower, and the Jade Seal was also missing. The emperors who ascended the throne later were all imitation carved jade seals, which were generally considered fakes.
Is there any practical value?
From the value of the jade seal itself, it is made of jade, and after all, it is the seal used by the royal tianzi, and the use of nature is naturally the best jade. From its value alone, such an object can be regarded as a rare and beautiful object before it was carved.
In fact, after qin shi huang established the country, he chose to use "jade" to represent his power symbol, as if there are still traces to follow. When the Qin state was only the "Qin State" of the Spring and Autumn And Warring States period, there was a legend about jade, that is, "Heshi Bi".
It is rumored that this piece of jade was mined from Jingshan merchants. It is a typical "stone mountain" in itself, in which there is a cave chamber, and Bian He found Heshi Bi in a cave room, so later this cave chamber was named "Bian He Cave".
Of course, this piece of jade originally did not have a name, only because after Bian He found it, he wanted to sacrifice this piece of jade to the King of Chu, but the two Chu kings believed in Bian He, believing that this was a plain stone, did not accept his offering, and broke two legs of Bi He successively.
The king took peace as his curse and cut off his left foot. and Li Wangxue, king Wu is on the throne... The king again cut off his right foot with peace.
It can be said that it is a "flying disaster", what treasure is there to offer? After suffering two blows in succession, Bian He was very depressed inside, so he held the jade and cried, and when the tears dried up, blood and tears flowed out, which attracted the attention of King Wen of Chu.
He Nai hugged Qipu and wept under the Chu Mountains, three days and three nights, weeping and then blood... Wang Nai made the jade people rationalize their pu, and the fruit was treasured, so he ordered the "Heshi Bi".
As a result, a piece of jade that was said to be unparalleled in the world broke away from the shell of the stone, revealing the jade body that was amazing. King Wen of Chu also used his name to appease Bian He, which is also known as "Heshi Bi", which is regarded as a national treasure. Later, Chu and Zhao were sent to the Zhao state as a gift, but it also attracted the attention of the monarch of the Qin state at that time, who was willing to exchange the city for the city. At this point, there is the familiar story of "returning to Zhao after finishing bibi".
According to legend, after the Qin State destroyed the Six Kingdoms and Qin Shi Huang obtained the position of overlord of the world, the Heshi Bi that was not obtained at the beginning was also carved into a jade seal by Qin Shi Huang, and the Heshi Bi became the National Seal.
Of course, the legend here is not found in the main history, because it is uncertain about the prototype of Heshi Bi, and the Chuanguo Jade Seal was also lost in the late Tang Dynasty and has not been found so far, so no one can be completely sure whether the Chuanguo Jade Seal and the Heshi Bi are related in the end.
The meaning of the jade seal
The jade seal of Qin Shi Huang has indeed become a symbol of succession to the throne in later generations, and the eight characters of "ordained by heaven, both Shou Yongchang" also symbolize the emperor's mission, and it is the Son of Heaven who leads the country to prosperity.
Therefore, after many dynasties, at the beginning, everyone shouted at Qin Shi Huang to kill, but many things he left behind affected hundreds of thousands of years in the future.
For example, the jade seal that the emperors competed for, Qin Shi Huang also threw it into the bottom of the river because of falling into the water, which shows that he did not care about the jade seal itself; for example, the centralized system and the county system after the national unification still have a certain influence on the social pattern until now; and for example, the emperor system, from the Qin to the abdication of the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, which dynasty did not regard the emperor as the supreme existence?
To put it bluntly, in fact, the existence of the jade seal is more like a symbolic meaning, in the eyes of the ancient emperors, the representative of competing power and "orthodox" status. But now, whether it is the jade seal that has not yet been found, or the jade seal that has been rebuilt later, it is a witness of a dynasty, and it is more of the historical significance of cultural relics.