Heshibi was a famous piece of jade stone which previously belonged to the Zhao state.

The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life."

(受命於天, 既壽永昌) were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou.

This association further complements the idea of the Mandate of Heaven and why the Seal was carved in jade, China's most valued material for thousands of years.

At the end of the Han dynasty in the 3rd century AD, General Sun Jian found the Imperial Seal when his forces occupied the evacuated Han imperial capital Luoyang, in the course of the campaign against Dong Zhuo, giving it to his chief, warlord Yuan Shu.

This began a rivalry between them, and Sun Jian, according to his oath, died a violent death in an ambush while fighting Liu Biao later on.

The Seal remained in the hands of Wei dynasty emperors until the last emperor Cao Huan was forced to abdicate in Sima Yan's favor, passing the Seal from Cao to Sima and establishing the Jin dynasty in 265.

Although square in shape following the traditional design, the seal dies themselves were made of wood, in imitation of western government precedents and, contrary to earlier Qing imperial seals which were bilingual (Chinese and Manchu), had only Chinese text.

After the fall of the Qing Empire in 1912, the Republic of China government likewise adopted a set of square-shaped official seals.

The People's Republic of China initially adopted a similar square seal, but this fell out of use by 1954.