Ancient seal offers clue to Hotan jade's arrival in Central Plains

By ZHAO RUINAN in Nanchang    |    chinadaily.com.cn    |     Updated: 2026-09-23 22:11

The jade seal bearing the characters "Liu He", unearthed from the tomb of Liu He, the first Marquis of Haihun, in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A jade seal that once helped archaeologists identify the owner of a major Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) tomb in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, is now offering new clues about when prized jade from today's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region reached China's Central Plains.

The personal seal of Liu He, the first Marquis of Haihun, located in Nanchang, is the earliest, most clearly dated and best-preserved specimen of Xinjiang Hotan jade pebble material unearthed through scientific archaeological excavation, according to Yu Ming, deputy director and secretary-general of the Jade Specialized Committee of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics.

"This is the earliest, most clearly dated and best-preserved specimen of Xinjiang Hotan jade pebble material discovered through scientific archaeology," Yu said at the International Symposium on Haihun Archaeology and Han Dynasty Jade in Nanchang.

Yu said the finding provides important archaeological evidence for when high-quality Hotan jade pebble material, known in Chinese as ziliao, reached the Central Plains.

Topped with a chi-dragon-shaped knob and inscribed with the characters "Liu He", the seal was found near the waist of Liu He's remains inside the main coffin. As his personal seal, it provided direct evidence confirming the tomb owner's identity.

An impression of the jade seal bearing the characters "Liu He". [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu He, a grandson of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, briefly ruled as emperor for 27 days before being deposed. He was later given the title Marquis of Haihun. His tomb has yielded a rich collection of gold, bronze, lacquerware, bamboo manuscripts and jade artifacts.

Researchers are now turning their attention to the material used to make the seal.

Xu Lin, a jade researcher at the Palace Museum, said microscopic observation showed that the seal has an oily luster and a felt-like interwoven fiber structure, while pale reddish natural skin can be seen on parts of the carved dragon — characteristics associated with Hotan jade pebble material.

Yu said the jade is hard and dense, with a fine and smooth texture, and retains traces of its natural surface. An unworked piece of Hotan jade pebble material was also unearthed from the tomb, providing further physical evidence of the material's use in the Central Plains during the Western Han Dynasty.

Experts said the seal offers a securely dated archaeological reference for studying the movement and use of high-quality Hotan jade in ancient China.

More than 100 scholars from China and overseas attended the symposium, discussing jade unearthed from the Marquis of Haihun tomb, Han Dynasty jade culture and scientific approaches to jade archaeology.

The chi-dragon-shaped jade seal of Liu He, made from Hotan jade pebble material. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]