Cultural icon used to mark identity provides an insight into history and tradition, Wang Xin reports in Shanghai.

Kazunori Matsumura, a Japanese researcher specializing in ancient Chinese sealing clay, was excited and felt at home in China with his fellow academics from across East Asia last month.

He was participating in a seminar hosted by the Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Paleography at Fudan University in Shanghai on Sept 28 and 29, where dozens of scholars and collectors from China, Japan and South Korea gathered to share their latest collections and research results on ancient Chinese seals.

Archaeological excavations have shown that seals have been used in China since the later period of the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) and were commonly used in many ancient civilizations in Eurasia.

Over the 3,000 years since then, seals have continuously transformed into unique forms with special functions, as they evidenced social, political, economic and cultural activities in ancient East Asia.

Currently, seals as a credential tool are still widely used in daily life and play an important role in East Asian countries and regions.

For researchers and collectors, ancient seals generally refer to official and private seals in daily use. But the research examines not just seals but also sealing clay and pottery inscriptions.