Seals of the Nguyễn dynasty
| Heirloom seal of the Southern Realm (Imperial Seal of the Nguyễn dynasty) Ngọc tỷ truyền quốc của nước Đại Nam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger |  Nguyễn dynasty |
| Adopted | Thiệu Trị 5 (1846) |
| Relinquished | Bảo Đại 20 (1945)[a] |
| Motto | Đại Nam thụ thiên vĩnh mệnh truyền quốc tỷ (大南受天永命傳國璽, "The Great South has the eternal Mandate of Heaven, jade seal for the transmission of the legacy of the Empire")
大南受 |
| Earlier version(s) |  (Seal of the Nguyễn lords) |
| Use | Official seal of the Nguyễn dynasty government[1][2] |
| Seals of the Nguyễn dynasty | |
| Vietnamese alphabet | Ấn triện triều Nguyễn / Ấn triện nhà Nguyễn |
|---|---|
| Hán-Nôm | 印篆朝阮 印篆茹阮 |
The seals of the Nguyễn dynasty can refer to a collection of seals (印篆, Ấn triện or 印章, Ấn chương) specifically made for the emperors of the Nguyễn dynasty (Hán tự: 寶璽朝阮 / 寶璽茹阮), who reigned over Vietnam between the years 1802 and 1945 (under French protection since 1883, as Annam and Tonkin), or to seals produced during this period in Vietnamese history in general (the latter are generally referred to in Vietnamese as 印信, ấn tín).[3][4][5][6]
In its 143 years of existence, the government of the Nguyễn dynasty had created more than 100 imperial seals.[7] These imperial seals were made of jade, bronze, silver, gold, ivory, and meteorite.
Imperial seals typically have inscriptions written in the ancient seal script, but by the later part of the Nguyễn dynasty period both Traditional Chinese characters and Latin script were used for some scripts.
According to Dr. , Director of the , at the end of the Nguyễn dynasty period the Purple Forbidden City contained a total of 93 jade and gold seals of which 2 seals were from the Nguyễn lords period made under Lord Nguyễn Phúc Chu (1691–1725) in 1709, 12 during the reign of Emperor Gia Long (1802–1820), 15 during the reign of Emperor Minh Mạng (1820–1841), 10 during the reign of Emperor Thiệu Trị (1841–1847), 15 during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (1847–1883), 1 during the reign of Emperor Kiến Phúc (1883–1884), 1 during the reign of Emperor Hàm Nghi (1884–1885), 5 during the reign of Emperor Đồng Khánh (1885–1889), 10 during the reign of Emperor Thành Thái (1889–1907), 12 during the reign of Emperor Khải Định (1916–1925), and 8 during the reign of Emperor Bảo Đại (1925–1945).[7] Hải stated that as of 2016 that there were no more imperial seals left in the Nguyễn dynasty capital city of Huế with most being handed over to the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by Bảo Đại following his abdication in 1945 mostly now being in the hands of the National Museum of Vietnamese History in Hanoi.[7]
Dr. Phan Thanh Hải further stated that no imperial seals were produced during the reigns of Emperors Dục Đức (1883), Hiệp Hòa (1883), and Duy Tân (1907–1916).[7]
Overview[]
The Nguyễn dynasty's seal are rich and diverse in types and had strict rules and laws that regulated their manipulation, management, and use.[8] The common practice of using seals was clearly recorded in the book "Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ" on how to use seals, how to place them, and on what kinds of documents, which was compiled by the Cabinet of the Nguyễn dynasty in the year Minh Mạng 3 (1822).[8]
Seals in the Nguyễn dynasty were overseen by a pair of agencies referred to as the (印司 - 直處, Ấn ty - Trực xứ), this is a term that refers to two agencies which were established within each of the Six Ministries, these agencies were tasked with keeping track of the seals, files, and chapters of their ministry.[9] On duty of the Office of Ministry Seals Management were the correspondents of each individual ministry that received and distributed documents and records of a government agency.[9] These two agencies usually had a few dozen officers who would import documents from their ministry.[9] Usually the name of the ministry is directly attached to the seal agency's name, for example "Office of Civil Affairs Ministry Seals Management - Civil Affairs Ministry Officers on Duty" (吏印司吏直處, Lại Ấn ty Lại Trực xứ).[9]
Seals were also given to people after they received a noble title.[10] For example, after Léon Louis Sogny received the title of "Baron of An Bình" (安平男) in the year Bảo Đại 14 (保大拾肆年, 1939) he was also given a golden seal and a Kim Bài (金牌) with his noble title on it. The seal had the seal script inscription An Bình Nam chi ấn (安平男之印).[11]
Terminology[]
The various seals of the Nguyễn dynasty had different names based on their function, namely Bảo (寶), Tỷ (璽), Ấn (印), Chương (章), Ấn chương (印章), Kim bảo tỷ (金寶璽), Quan phòng (關防), Đồ ký (圖記), Kiềm ký (鈐記), Tín ký (信記), Ấn Ký (印記), Trưởng ký (長記), and Ký (記).[12][8]
Since the Nguyễn dynasty period seals have a fairly uniform shape (with or without a handle), the uniform description of these seals in Vietnamese are:[13]
- Thân ấn - The geometric block, or body, of the seal.[13]
- Núm ấn - The handle for pressing the seal down down on texts. In case the seal is shaped like a pyramid, there is no knob.[13]
- Mặt ấn - Where the main content of the seal (symbol or word) is engraved, this area is usually in the face down position. The stamp surface is often used up to engrave letters or drawings.[13]
- Lưng ấn - The face of the seal, where other information about the seal is engraved, usually in the supine position. In the case of the flat-head pyramid seal (ấn triện hình tháp đầu bằng), the flat head is the back.[13]
- Hình ấn - A word used to indicate the impression of the seal on a text.[13]
Seals of the Nguyễn lords[]
