The owner of this seal is the ultimate father-in-law and the model of everyone that has daughters. Dugu Xin had seven daughters, three of whom were married to emperors of feudal China.
Multi-Facet Jet Seal by Dugu Xin 独孤信多面体煤精组印
Jet | Western Wei Dynasty (535-557 AD) | Dimensions – H: 4.5cm, W: 4.35cm, weight: 75.7g | Shaanxi History Museum, Unearthed from Xunyang County, Ankang City in 1981. 煤精 | 西魏（公元535年一557年）| 高 4.5公分，宽 4.35公分，重 75.7克｜陕西历史博物馆，1981年安康市旬阳县城东门外出土
This multi-faceted jet seal of the Western Wei dynasty (535-556 AD), belonged to the famous General Dugu Xin 獨孤信. It has 8 edges and 26 sides: 18 square and 8 triangular ones. The jet, a composite organic gem, from which the seal is carved, is known in China as “coal jade” 煤玉.
How it was discovered
The seal was accidentally discovered in 1981 by Song Qing, a student from Xunyang county (旬陽縣), Ankang, Shaanxi. While returning home from school, he picked up a weird object in the gravel on the roadside, which aroused his curiosity with its bizarre shape. Song Qing had no idea what it was. Having examined the inscriptions at home, he gave the find for examination to the local archaeological museum, where the artifact was considered not of particular cultural value.
The seal vegetated on the outskirts of the local exposition for another decade, until it was revealed and recognized by a prominent researcher Wang Hanzhang (王翰章) from the Xi’an Institute of Literature and History.
This 26-faced seal has 8 edges with 14 faces inscribed with inscriptions, which belongs to Dugu Xin, a famous general of the Western Wei Dynasty. It is made of jet. The inscriptions on the seal were used for specific purposes such as for official documents, petitions and letters. This seal is a very precious data for the study of seal system of the Northern Dynasties.
It is the ancient polyhedral seal found so far with the largest number of facets. Among them, 14 sides are engraved with inscriptions. The inscriptions range from one-character to five-character. The functionality of each facet is differentiated, including the use in official letters, orders, document labelling, etc. The facets and their meaning give an idea how important Dugu Xin was at that time:
- 柱國之印 – Seal of the Pillar of State (The highest military rank of medieval China)； Dugu Xin was one of eight appointed during Western Wei period.
- 大司馬印 – Seal of the Minister of War
- 大都督印 – Seal of the Supreme Commander
- 刺史之印 – Seal of the Governor
- 臣信上疏 – You subject, Xin, recommends (to the emperor)
- 臣信上章 – You subject, Xin, reports (to the emperor)
- 臣信上表 – You subject, Xin, writes (to the emperor)
- 臣信啓事 – You subject, Xin, announces
- 信啓事 – Xin announces
- 耶勅 – Father writes (to children)
- 令 – order
- 密 – secret message
- 獨孤信白書 – Dugu Xin writes
- 信白牋 – Xin writes
Dugu Xin was described as an extremely handsome man and was fond of wearing strange clothes. He is best remembered today due to his three daughters: it is because of their marriages that he was a father-in-law to three emperors from two Chinese dynasties (Emperor Ming of Northern Zhou 周明帝 宇文毓 and Emperor Wen of Sui 隋文帝 杨坚), and one posthumously (Emperor Shizu of Tang 唐世祖 李昞, who was the father of Emperor Gaozu).
He was also the maternal grandfather to two emperors from two dynasties (Emperor Yang of Sui 隋炀帝 李广 and Emperor Gaozu of Tang 唐高祖 李淵), all after his death. In fact, every Chinese emperor for three centuries (from 604 to 907, with the exception of Emperor Wu Zetian and self-proclaimed rebels) was descended from him. During the Sui dynasty, Dugu Xin was honoured as Duke Jing of Zhao (趙景公) by Emperor Wen (who married his seventh daughter Dugu Qieluo).
About Western Wei (535-557 AD)
Western Wei 西魏 was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei (386-535 AD). One of the Northern dynasties during the era of the Northern and Southern dynasties, it ruled the western part of northern China from 535 to 557. As with the Northern Wei dynasty that preceded it, the ruling family of the Western Wei were members of the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei. Buddhism and Buddhist art flourished under the Western Wei, even though the dynasty only lasted twenty-two years. Western Wei caves opened at Dunhuang and Maijishan.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
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