H 4 in., face area 3 1/2 in. X 3 1/2 in. This is a very important jade seal of Zhu Yuan Zhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Before he became the Ming emperor, he fought against the Mongolian rulers as well as the Chinese rebels for more than 20 years. In 1364, he was the king of the central part of China called Wu. This jade seal was carved with four Chinese characters meaning 'The seal of Wu Emperor'. Four years later in 1368, he became the Emperor of Ming Dynasty called Hongwu. This seal was of special importance because this was the only seal found belonged to Zhu Yuan Zhang. No other Hongwu seal was ever discovered. This seal was carved with a dragon amidst flowers. Special attention should be paid that this dragon had its head and tail covered by the flowers because Zhu Yuan Zhang believed that the time was not ripe for him to call himself Emperor yet. Therefore, this seal was designed with the dragon head and tail hiding behind the flowers.朱元璋出身平民，幼時貧窮，曾為地主放牛。公元1344年，入皇覺寺， 25歲時參加郭子興領導的紅巾軍反抗蒙元政權。先後擊敗了陳友諒、張士誠等其他起義軍，統一南方，後北伐滅元，建立大一統的皇朝，國號「大明」。 This jade seal is indeed the most important artifact of the Ming Dynasty.

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