傳國玉璽=Seal Transmitting the State (chuanguo xi or ch'uan-kuo his); 疊篆=folded seal characters; 御前之寶=yu qian zhi bao (yü ch'ien chih pao); 制詔之寶=zhi gao zhi bao (chih kao chih pao); 林丹汗=Ligdan Qan; 皇太極=Hong Taiǰi; 阿勒坦汗(俺答汗)=Altan Qan; 二教之門=the two principles; 正統; 合法性; 符號=symbol
The Precious Jade Seal or the Seal Transmitting the State (chuanguo xi 傳國璽) of the Qin dynasty was a strong legitimating symbol for later Chinese dynasties. The Mongol-Yuan dynasty (13th-14th centuries), the Northern Yuan Mongols (14-17 centuries), and the Manchu-Qing dynasty (1644-1911) also participated this myth. A seal with Chinese characters was accepted as a political symbol by the Mongol-Yuan Empire. The edicts of the Yuan emperors preserved in Tibet were all stamped with the this imperial seal (yu qian zhi bao 御前之寶, lit. Seal in front of the Emperor) in Chinese folded seal characters. On the other hand, after the Qubilai Qan's death, the second Yuan Emperor, Temür, used a newly rediscovered Seal Transmitting the State to ensure his legitimacy. After the Mongols were expelled from China proper, their leaders still kept the Seal Transmitting the State to show their legitimacy vis-à-vis the Chinese Ming dynasty. As well, non-Chinggis blooded tribe leaders obtained the Seal Transmitting the State to justify their rule. During the late 16th century, Altan Qan of the Tümed Mongols supported a political theory of Tibetan Buddhism named the "two principles". He claimed that the "two principles" had been already carried out by Qubilai Qan, and he followed Qubilai Qan in promoting Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, Altan Qan raised his political status and made himself independent of the Čaqar Mongols, the chief leader of all the Mongols. During the first half of the 17th century, the Seal Transmitting the State was rediscovered, and Ligdan Qan of the Čaqar Mongols used this Seal to prove himself the legitimate ruler of the whole Mongols. The Manchu Emperor Hong Taiǰi conquered the Čaqar Mongols and seized the Seal Transmitting the State. With this seal, Hong Taiǰi claimed the Mandate of Heaven, and he then founded the Qing dynasty and ascended the throne as Emperor. However, on the edicts of Hong Taiǰi, the seal marks of this so-called Seal Transmitting the State are "zhi gao zhi bao" (制誥之寶, Seal of Edict) which was not the same phrase used by the Qin dynasty. And the Chinese seal characters of this seal were not in the folded style of the Yuan dynasty, but rather the same as the Ming Emperor's seal. Indeed this so-called Seal Transmitting the State was made by Ligdan Qan. The memory of the 17th century Mongols was limited to the fact that the Yuan emperor obtained a Chinese character seal called Seal Transmitting the State which legitimated his rule. Therefore, Ligdan Qan used a Ming seal as the model and made a fake Seal Transmitting the State. The fake Seal Transmitting the State and the falsification of the history of the "two principles" were all political measures carried out by the Mongols and the Manchus.
