The Art of Chinese Chop Engravings
A sentence frequently heard in the everyday life of a Chinese man or women is "Please sign your name and put your chop on it." You need your name chop to withdraw money from the bank, to pick up a registered letter from the post office, to legalize a contract and to acknowledge receipt of official documents. In China, from ancient times to the present, from official government business to everyday affairs, no matter how important or minor, your chop attaches your credit and your promise. After signing your name, your chop is still required for a document to be legally binding. Name chops are also the constant companions of Chinese calligraphers and painters. Artists follow the custom of stamping their works with their name chops to "sign" them and as proof of authenticity.
Usually when making name chops the general publics are usually made out of copper but name chops for royalty are usually made of jade. Both copper and jade are highly durable materials which must be slowly and carefully cast or ground by an expert craftsman in a very challenging process. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D.), however, the great painter Wang Mien began to carve his own chops from pyrophylite, a relatively soft mineral.
Usually when making name chops the general publics are usually made out of copper but name chops for royalty are usually made of jade. Both copper and jade are highly durable materials which must be slowly and carefully cast or ground by an expert craftsman in a very challenging process. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 A.D.), however, the great painter Wang Mien began to carve his own chops from pyrophylite, a relatively soft mineral.