China's Heirloom Seal passed to every usurper for 1,100 years, and the last Later Tang emperor carried it into the fire

The Heirloom Seal of the Realm was cut in jade for the First Emperor of Qin in 221 BC. Its inscription reads "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may the emperor lead a long and prosperous life." The Shiji records that in 206 BC Ziying, the last Qin ruler, rode out in a plain carriage with a cord around his neck and surrendered the seal to Liu Bang, founder of Han. In AD 9 Wang Mang took the throne and sent for the seal. The Han shu says the Empress Dowager, his aunt, threw it to the ground for his envoy to pick up. A corner broke off and was later repaired in gold^†. During the war against Dong Zhuo, Sun Jian's soldiers found the seal in a well at Luoyang, according to a source quoted by Pei Songzhi. Another source he quotes says Yuan Shu detained Sun Jian's wife to take it. Pei Songzhi doubted both. The seal passed to the Wei, the Jin and later dynasties^†. In the eleventh lunar month of 936 the Later Jin army reached Luoyang. The Zizhi Tongjian records that the Later Tang emperor Li Congke, Empress Dowager Cao, his empress and his son climbed the Xuanwu Tower carrying the seal and burned themselves. Later claims that the seal survived have not been accepted^†. It has not been found.