{"id":1978,"date":"2026-04-25T01:11:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/?p=1978"},"modified":"2026-04-24T06:59:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T22:59:04","slug":"employee-badge-proof-of-authorization-in-ancient-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/1978","title":{"rendered":"“Employee Badge”: Proof of Authorization in Ancient China"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

Employee badges in ancient times differed from modern employee badges in both form and function. In ancient China, there were no employee badges in the modern sense, but there were several items with similar functions, such as Yufu (\u9c7c\u7b26 ; y\u00fa f\u00fa) and Yapai (\u7259\u724c ; y\u00e1 p\u00e1i).<\/p>\n

Warring States Period<\/h5>\n

During his reforms in the state of Qin, Shang Yang created the \u201cZhaoshentie (\u7167\u8eab\u5e16 ; zh\u00e0o sh\u0113n ti\u0113)”, a bamboo tablet engraved with the holder\u2019s portrait and place-of-origin information, which can be regarded as the earliest form of an employee badge in ancient China.<\/p>\n

Sui and Tang dynasties<\/h5>\n

The Yufu (\u9c7c\u7b26) appeared, shaped like a fish and consisting of two parts, left and right. It was engraved with the official\u2019s name, office, and rank. The material of the Yufu varied according to rank: princes and officials of the third rank and above used gold Yufu, those of the fifth rank and above used silver, and those of the sixth rank and below used bronze.<\/p>\n

Song dynasty<\/h5>\n

The Yufu was abolished, and officials\u2019 identity tokens became waist plaques (\u8170\u724c ; y\u0101o p\u00e1i).<\/p>\n

Ming dynasty<\/h5>\n

Officials used Yapai (\u7259\u724c) as identity markers, made from materials such as ivory, animal bone, and wood.<\/p>\n

Qing dynasty<\/h5>\n

Waist plaques (\u8170\u724c) contained more information, some even engraved with the holder\u2019s facial features to prevent misuse.<\/p>\n

Du Tiger Tally from the Warring States Period (\u6218\u56fd\u675c\u864e\u7b26 ; zh\u00e0n gu\u00f3 d\u00f9 h\u01d4 f\u00fa)<\/h4>\n
\"Zhang<\/a>
Photo source: Baike Baidu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The earliest surviving proof of military mobilization<\/p>\n

Collection: Shaanxi History Museum<\/p>\n

On the back of the tiger are gold-inlaid inscriptions of 9 lines and 40 characters. The meaning is: to mobilize more than 50 armored soldiers, the left tally of Du must be matched with the ruler\u2019s right tally before action can be taken. However, in emergencies such as beacon fire warnings, it is not necessary to wait for the ruler\u2019s tally, reflecting the highly centralized yet flexible and practical military system of Qin.<\/p>\n

Bronze Yufu of the Tang Dynasty (\u5510\u4ee3\u94dc\u9c7c\u7b26 ; t\u00e1ng d\u00e0i t\u00f3ng y\u00fa f\u00fa)<\/h4>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

The mobilization code of the Shence Army (\u795e\u7b56\u519b)<\/p>\n

Collection: Dongying History Museum, Shandong<\/p>\n

Emperor Gaozu of Tang avoided the name of his ancestor \u201cLi Hu \u674e\u864e\u201d; the Hufu (\u864e\u7b26) was changed to Yufu. The outer side is carved with fish-scale patterns, while the inner side bears the inscription \u201c\u4e5d\u4ed9\u95e8\u5916\u53f3\u795e\u7b56\u519b\u201d. Jiuxian Gate is the western gate of Daming Palace, and the Shence Army was the central elite force. In the middle is a joint shaped like the character \u201c\u540c (t\u00f3ng)\u201d that fits together, from which the term \u201c\u5408\u540c (h\u00e9 t\u00f3ng)\u201d originates.<\/p>\n

Turtle Tally of the Wu Zhou Dynasty (\u6b66\u5468\u9f9f\u7b26 ; w\u01d4 zh\u014du gu\u012b f\u00fa)<\/h4>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

Collection: Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Institute of Culture and Museum<\/p>\n

After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, she felt that \u201cfish\u201d reminded people of the Li Tang dynasty, so she replaced the Yufu with Guifu (\u9f9f\u7b26 ; gu\u012b f\u00fa). On the Guifu\u2019s underside is engraved \u201c\u53f3\u7389\u94a4\u536b\u5c06\u519b\u5458\u5916\u7f6e\u963f\u53f2\u90a3\u4f3d\u5229\u652f\u201d, which was the credential of the famous Western Regions general Ashina Zhong (\u963f\u53f2\u90a3\u5fe0 ; \u0100 Sh\u01d0 N\u00e0 Zh\u014dng). At that time, officials of the third rank and above wore gold turtle tallies \u2014 from then on, \u201c\u91d1\u9f9f\u5a7f (\u91d1\u9f9f\u5a7f ; j\u012bn gu\u012b x\u00f9)\u201d became synonymous with a wealthy and successful man.<\/p>\n

Western Xia Bronze Waist Plaque (\u897f\u590f\u9752\u94dc\u8170\u724c ; x\u012b xi\u00e0 q\u012bng t\u00f3ng y\u0101o p\u00e1i)<\/h4>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

Collection: National Museum of China<\/p>\n

This is an official token from a non-Central Plains dynasty. Western Xia was founded by the Tangut people, so its plaque form differs from those of the Tang and Song. The round bronze plaque served as a pass for entering and exiting the palace, contrasting with the Hufu and Yufu, and reflecting the institutional integration of multi-ethnic regimes from the 11th to 13th centuries.<\/p>\n

Phagspa Script Command Token of the Yuan Dynasty (\u5143\u4ee3\u516b\u601d\u5df4\u6587\u4ee4\u724c ; yu\u00e1n d\u00e0i b\u0101 s\u012b b\u0101 w\u00e9n l\u00ecng p\u00e1i)<\/h4>\n
\"Zhang<\/a>
Photo source: Baike Baidu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An \u201cinternational pass\u201d across Eurasia<\/p>\n

Collection: Gansu Provincial Museum<\/p>\n

The surface is in Phagspa script, meaning \u201cBy the Mandate of Heaven, the sacred decree of the Emperor. Those who do not obey with reverence shall be punished.\u201d This was an authoritative token granted by the Yuan emperor, allowing the holder to travel freely across the Yuan territory and the four khanates, passing relay stations day and night \u2014 it can be called a \u201c13th-century international pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ming Dynasty Court Officials\u2019 Yapai (\u660e\u4ee3\u671d\u53c2\u5b98\u7259\u724c ; m\u00edng d\u00e0i ch\u00e1o c\u0101n gu\u0101n y\u00e1 p\u00e1i)<\/h4>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

Standard equipment for capital officials<\/p>\n

Collection: Qufu Cultural Relics Management Committee, Shandong<\/p>\n

The front is inscribed: \u201cOfficials attending court must wear this plaque; those without it shall be punished according to law. Lending or borrowing it incurs equal punishment. Not used outside the capital.\u201d Each category had specific characters: nobles used \u201c\u52cb (x\u016bn)\u201d, imperial sons-in-law \u201c\u4eb2 (q\u012bn)\u201d, civil officials \u201c\u6587 (w\u00e9n)\u201d, military officials \u201c\u6b66 (w\u01d4)\u201d. Without the plaque, entry was denied, showing a very strict system.<\/p>\n

Qing Dynasty Joseon Envoys\u2019 Bronze Waist Plaque (\u6e05\u4ee3\u671d\u9c9c\u4f7f\u81e3\u94dc\u8170\u724c ; q\u012bng d\u00e0i ch\u00e1o xi\u01cen sh\u01d0 ch\u00e9n t\u00f3ng y\u0101o p\u00e1i)<\/h4>\n

\"Zhang<\/a><\/p>\n

A \u201cdiplomatic pass\u201d of a tributary state<\/p>\n

Sangseowon was the institution in Joseon responsible for seals and official tokens. This plaque was used by Joseon envoys when traveling to the Qing. It is an official Qing-style plaque used by a tributary state, reflecting the diplomatic relations between ancient China and the Korean Peninsula, and is the only example among the nine types of plaques involving a foreign system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Employee badges in ancient times differed from modern employee badges in both form and function. In ancient China, there were...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":1979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[39,446,1255,1265,591,1256,1267,1260,1257,1261,1262,1259,1266,1263,1258,1264],"class_list":["post-1978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-culture","tag-ancient-china","tag-ancient-officials","tag-employee-badge","tag-guifu","tag-hufu","tag-proof-of-authorization","tag-yaopai","tag-yapai","tag-yufu","tag-zhaoshentie","tag-1262","tag-1259","tag-1266","tag-1263","tag-1258","tag-1264"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}