The Holy Decree is an important document issued by the emperor in ancient China, representing the imperial power and being able to decide the life and death of a person. In ancient dramas, we often see eunuchs holding holy decrees and reading to ministers, "Fengtian carriers, the emperor's edict says". However, in real history, the production and issuance of holy decrees are very rigorous and complex, and there are a variety of anti-counterfeiting technologies and systems, making it almost impossible to forge holy decrees.
This article will introduce the production and anti-counterfeiting technology of ancient holy decrees, as well as the evolution and significance of the sacred decree system from the following three aspects.
Ancient decree making and anti-counterfeiting technology
The production of ancient holy decrees required the use of expensive and rare materials such as fine silk, silk brocade, jade shafts, and rhinoceros horn shafts, which were difficult to procure by ordinary people and could only be purchased with special permission.
The process of making the ancient decree was also very complex, requiring multiple steps, and the craftsmen involved in the production had to sign the semi-finished product in order to finally trace the responsibility. These artisans are also tightly controlled and do not leak their skills, and they must serve for life, or they will be hunted down or even executed once they leave the workshop.
The anti-counterfeiting marks of the ancient holy decree are also very unique and diverse, such as the word "Feng" on the holy decree is not written with pen and ink, but by the specially trained court embroidery master to sew it by hand on silk, and the position of the word "Feng" in each holy decree is different, to echo with the first auspicious cloud on the holy decree, which requires very skilled stitching to complete.
In addition, there are anti-counterfeiting patterns such as the silver dragon, auspicious cloud patterns, and denomination numbers on the holy decree, which are embroidered with silk threads, which are very fine and complex, and difficult to imitate.
The color and shaft handle of the ancient holy decree also reflect the grade, the high-level holy decree is mainly golden yellow, and is equipped with auspicious patterns such as auspicious clouds and cranes, while the low-level ** holy decree only has a single yellow or white. The higher the level, the more colors there are, and the highest level is the seven-color decree. The material of the shaft handle is also different according to the **grade, and it is strictly different: the first product is the jade shaft, the second product is the black rhinoceros horn shaft, the third product is the gold shaft, the fourth and fifth grades are the black horn shaft, and the sixth and below are all ebony shafts.
The size of the ancient decree was also very large, several meters long, and it required the joint efforts of many people to unfold it, and the large use of fine silk made it more difficult to imitate. 
The Evolution of the Ancient System of Divine Decrees
The system of holy decrees originated in the Qin Dynasty, after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, he began to use the holy decrees to govern the world, at first the format of the holy decrees was not rigorous, and there was no fixed writing department, but in the highly centralized environment of the Qin Dynasty, there were very few people who dared to openly disobey the holy decrees.
By the time of the Tang Dynasty, the production of the decree had become so rigorous that it had to be drafted by the Zhongshu Province and reviewed by the Menxia Province before it could be promulgated by the emperor. Moreover, the format of the decree also has clear provisions on different matters, for example, the decree of conferring official positions must be written on silk paper, the official position must be filled in with a red pen, the decree of setting up prefectures and counties must be written in black and white paper, and the decree of confirming candidates for the imperial examination must be written on yellow paper.
The decrees of the Yuan Dynasty were written in Mongolian, which not only eliminated the need for translation, but also allowed the emperor to express his meaning directly. During the period of Yuan Shizu, the Mongolian holy decree was generally concise and clear, and by the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the emperor's name became longer and longer, and each holy decree had to be written in large letters to write the emperor's full name and title, and the number of words surged.
The decrees of the Ming Dynasty were written in Chinese, but there were as many as 24 seals of the emperor, and if you want to forge the decrees, you must copy them one by one, which is simply more difficult. The holy decree of the Qianlong period was as many as a dozen pages, and the content was even more cumbersome.
The edicts of the Qing Dynasty were written in both Manchu and Han scripts, which not only reflected the dominance of the Manchus, but also facilitated the understanding of the Han people. The holy decrees of the Qing Dynasty also have different levels and formats, such as the colors of the holy decrees for more than five grades are three-colored, five-colored and seven-colored, and the colors below the fifth grade are generally a single pure white silk.
The Significance of the Ancient System of Divine Decrees
The Divine Decree System is an important part of the ancient Chinese political system, which embodies the sacredness and absoluteness of imperial power, and also reflects the ancient monarch's respect for power and order.
The Divine Decree System is also an important part of ancient Chinese culture, which shows the highly developed cultural wisdom of ancient civilizations, and also reflects people's pursuit of aesthetics and craftsmanship.
The Divine Decree System is also an important part of ancient Chinese history, which records the political decisions and social changes of ancient monarchs, and also reflects the character and style of ancient monarchs.
The Divine Decree System is a treasure of ancient Chinese culture, which is not only a symbol of imperial power, but also a witness of history, which is worthy of our cherishing and study.
Epilogue. Through this article, we can understand the exquisite craftsmanship of the ancient holy decrees, the wisdom of the ancient people, the production of the holy decrees and how excellent the anti-counterfeiting technology is. If you have any opinions on this article, welcome to discuss in the comment area!