The Seal of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (), or the Founding Seal (), was the

national seal A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

from 1949 to 1959. It is not in use anymore, and is kept in the

National Museum of China The National Museum of China () flanks the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. The museum's mission is to educate about the arts and history of China. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic ...

. The seal was designed by . Earlier in 1949, Zhang Yuecheng would carve the seals for

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

and

Zhu De Zhu De (; ; also Chu Teh; 1 December 1886 – 6 July 1976) was a Chinese general, military strategist, politician and revolutionary in the Chinese Communist Party. Born into poverty in 1886 in Sichuan, he was adopted by a wealthy uncle at ...

, and the seal of the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Municipal People's Government. Zhang Yuecheng was recommended by to design "The Seal of the Central Government of the People's Republic of China". Zhang then submitted four different designs with four different typefaces for the print of the seal, these were made in

Clerical script The clerical script (; Japanese: 隷書体, ''reishotai''; Korean: 예서 (old spelling 례서); Vietnamese: lệ thư), sometimes also chancery script, is a style of Chinese writing which evolved from the late Warring States period to the Qi ...

, the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, Han seal, and Qin seal. After these designs were finalised, Chairman

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

selected the design with

Design

The Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China is cast from

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

, with a little

ammonium The ammonium cation is a positively-charged polyatomic ion with the chemical formula or . It is formed by the protonation of ammonia (). Ammonium is also a general name for positively charged or protonated substituted amines and quaternary a ...

added. The seal has a square base, and a

cylindrical A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infini ...

handle on the top. The height of the seal base is 2.5 centimetres, and the handle is 10.9 centimetres tall, totalling 13.4 centimetres in height. Its base is 4.5 centimetres wide and 4.5 centimetres long, the perimeter is 18 centimetres. There are no obvious

patterns A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

symbols A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

engraved on the seal other than the face, however there is a slight concave on the handle for better grip. Its inscription 「中華人民共和國中央人民政府之印」 meaning ''The Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China'' is written in

, styled from right to left and from top to bottom.

History

11 June 1949

asked

Chen Shutong Chen Shutong (1876 – 17 February 1966) was a Chinese politician, scholar and administrator who served in the governments of the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China (1912-1949), Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

maker, regarding the making of

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

for the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. Together with ,

maker. Few days later,

gathered Zhang and some experts to discuss and decide the design of the National Seal. 27 September 1949 after several months of discussion, four potential

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

designs were picked. The four designs mainly differs in font, there was the

, the

, Han seal, and the Qin seal. 1 October 1949 The

Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

was established and was set as the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

controlled all the

used to pass laws, commands, and other authorities proclaimed by the president or the

, including the National Seal. 27 October 1949 The

design was approved by

and

, immediately after the national seal's bill was paid and the making started. 31 October 1949 The National Seal was finished and handed to the

. September 1949 The

was changed from the

to the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

, and together all the seals are transferred to the new

. May 1959 The National Seal was declared obsolete by the

General Office of the State Council General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China () is an administrative agency of the State Council which assists the leaders with the day to day administrative operations of the Chinese government. It is also known as Stat ...

and was sent to the

References

{{Seal (East Asia)

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Government of China

Design

History

See also

References