The oldest lettering in China is the stone carvings of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Zhou and Qin in Yin. All words engraved on gold, copper, jade and other materials are generally called "Jinshi". The seal is contained in the "stone". The origin of Xi seal, or Shang Dynasty, or Yin Dynasty, is still inconclusive. According to relics and historical records, it appeared at least in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was widely used in the Warring States Period. At first, it was only used as a voucher for commodity exchange. After Qin Shihuang unified China, the scope of the seal was expanded to prove the rights and interests of those in power, and it was held by those in power as a tool for ruling the people.

During the Warring States Period, Su Qin, which advocated unity, wore the seals of the six countries. The cultural relics unearthed in recent years have pushed the history of seals forward for hundreds of years. In other words, seals existed in the Zhou Dynasty.

Most of the ancient seals handed down from ancient times came from ancient city ruins, rivers and ancient tombs. Some were abandoned by the defeated in the war in exile, while others were abandoned by the dead in the battlefield. At that time, the practice was that the engine was handed over to the seal seized on the battlefield, and officials had to take off the seal after transferring their posts and dying. Many others, such as official posts with names, auspicious seals, Xiao seals, etc. Generally, they are sacrificial offerings, not physical objects. Other pottery and standard measuring tools of the Warring States period, as well as gold coins of some vassal States, were all stamped with seals, and the names of craftsmen or symbols with icons were recorded, which were also handed down.

Ancient seal is the general name of pre-Qin seal. Most of the earliest seals we can see now are ancient seals in the Warring States period. Many features of these ancient seals are unknown to us now. Most ancient seals in Zhu Wen are equipped with wide edges. The strokes of seals are as thin as hair, and they are all cast. The ancient seal script in white language is made by adding more side bars or vertical grids in the middle, and the characters are cast and chiseled. In addition to the names of Sima and Situ, the official seal has various irregular shapes, and the content is also engraved with auspicious words and vivid objects. Most of the ancient seal characters in Zhu Wen are made by casting and chiseling characters with a border or vertical grid in the middle. In addition to the names of Sima and Situ, the official seal has various irregular shapes, and the content is also engraved with auspicious words and vivid objects.