Measurements: L. 7 cm, H. 4.8 cm W. 7 cm
Period: Jin dynasty (1115-1234)
Provenance: Unearthed at Chang village, Yima Coal Mine, Mianchi county, 1972

Being square in shape with a straight handle, the seal bears six Chinese characters in “Jiudie” seal script carved in relief. The back of the seal was carved with “Tian Xing Er Nian” (lit. The second year of Tianxing period) in running script on the right, “Zong Bu Zao”(lit. Made by the head office) on the left, “Zhao Fu Fu Shi Yin” (lit. The Seal of the Rebellion Pacifying Deputy Commissioner) on the side face. The seal was created for the temporarily designated post which was responsible for offering amnesty and enlistment to rebels aiming to pacify the insurgence.

The “Jiudie” seal script was predominantly used for seal-carving, it features overlapped/linked angled,  evenly paralleled strokes, it was prevalent in Song and Yuan times. The seal words “Tianxing” is the reign title of Emperor Aizong of the late Jin dynasty (1232-1234), which was under attack from Song in the South and Yuan in the north, thus Jin was forced to launch more military campaigns to defend itself, consequently, Jin appointed excessively generals for recruitment, which resulted in setting more official posts. The seal was discovered in present day Mianchi county of Sanmenxia which was under the jurisdiction of Henan Fu (province) at the time, thereby the seal is presumably the relic of the Rebellion Pacifying Deputy Commissioner of Henan Fu (present day Luoyang), so it is a new physical reference to the study on the government offices and ranks, and administrative areas of the time.