Page 414 - The Golden Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People’s Republic of China

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Gold seal of Emperor Wen
3
3
Height 3.1 (I'A), width 1.8 ( / 4), depth 1.8 ( A);
weight 0.15 (Vi)
Western Han Dynasty, second century BCE
From the tomb of the King of Nanyue at Xianggang,
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

The Museum of the Western Han Tomb of the
Nanyue King, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Facing political difficulties in the year 134 BCE,
Zhao Mo sought the help of the Han imperial gov-
ernment, which dispatched an expedition to come
to his assistance (although the enemies of the
king were defeated before it reached the south).
In thanks, and as proof of his loyalty, he sent his
heir apparent, Yingqi, to serve the emperor at the
court in Xi'an. After his death in 122 BCE, Zhao Mo
was awarded the title King Wen, or Wenwang; his
successor, however, referred to him, as Emperor Wen,
or Wendi, the title inscribed on this seal. 1
The right to use seals indicated that their own-
ers had entered into (or had been accepted into),
the sphere of the court. The seal must have been
ordered and cast in the state of Nanyue, for it is
unlikely that the imperial court would have coun-
tenanced the award of the title "Emperor Wen" —
in competition with the Han emperor himself—
to the ruler of the distant small kingdom.
The tomb of the King of Nanyue has yielded
a number of seals, some in gold, others in bronze,
jade, or crystal. The fact that several of the seals
were buried with the king's attendants in the tomb
suggests that the Han afterlife included a bureau-
cracy that would require individuals to have seals
to authenticate their roles and to carry out official
business.
The seal has a narrow square base topped by
a scrolling dragon in relief. The seal is inscribed
Wendi, xingxi: "administrative seal of Emperor
Wen." JR

i Excavated in 1983 (D 79); reported: Guangzhou 1991,1:207,
fig. 136:1.

413 TOM B OF THE KIN G OF N A N Y U E