A chop (Chinese "印" (Mandarin "yìn", Japanese "hanko"), Korean 도장 ("dojang")) is a seal or stamp used in east Asia to prove identity on documents, contracts, art, and so forth. Chops are typically made of stone, sometimes of wood, and are typically used with a special red ink paste (Chinese "印泥" "yìnní"). In Japan it is known as a hanko or inkan.

The presense of the chop says that the authority of this person (e.g. artist) or institution (e.g. bank) or organization (e.g. government entity) represented by that specific chop verifies the authenticity of this item. Example authorisation: Responsible Organization: (Company Chop) Responsible Person: (Signature/chop) Date: (Format varies). [1]

Chops were common in the past, but in western culture has mostly been replaced by signatures, and is currently being replaced by electronic identification and authentication (often called "signatures"). East Asia currently uses a mixture of chops, chops and hand signatures, and increasingly electronic signatures. [2]

Chops used by government authorities

During the monarchy, Emperors of China, their families and officials used large chops known as xǐ (璽), which corrresponds to the Great Seals of Western countries. xǐ were usually made of jade (although hard wood or precious metal could also be used), and were originally square in shape, but were changed to a rectangular form during the Song Dynasty; these were reverted to a square form during the Qing Dynasty, and were officially renamed bǎo (寶, "treasure"). These chops typically bore the titles of the offices, rather than the names of the owners; different chops could be used for different purposes. The Forbidden City in Beijing currently has a collection of 25 bǎo from the Qing Dynasty.

The government of the Republic of China has continued to use square chops of about 30 centimetres square (one square foot), known by a variety of names depending on the users' hierachy. Similar square chops (also known as 璽) have also existed in Japan for centuries, and are still used by the Japanese government today.

External links and references

• nortonwhite A news summary of an Indian court case involving the significance of a bank's chop in proving bank liability.

• perkinscoie "On August 28, 2004, the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress enacted the Electronic Signature Law of the People's Republic of China ("E-signature Law"), effective April 1, 2005. The E-signature Law supplements the Contract Law of the People's Republic of China ("Contract Law") with respect to the validity of electronic contracts. The Contract Law, in broad language, recognizes the validity of contracts consummated in the form of electronic data messages"

• lehmanbrown "A chop is necessary for approving decisions relating to the operations and management of a company in China and legally authorising documentation. A Company may hold a wide range of chops in China, each being used for different purposes and applying to different documentation. Whilst the Company Chop is mandatory for every company incorporated in China, there are also a number of chops which only have a very specific scope and power. These chops are not mandatory and may include the Financial chop, Human Resources chop, and the Contract chop. Such 'specific' chops provide company departments with the ability to, for example, enter into contracts on behalf of the company without having to gain the seal of the Company Chop."

See Also

Seal script