When commodity exchange occurred in human society, commodity marks corresponding to commodity exchange also emerged. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, many craftsmen have engraved their names on their products as a mark. This is a form of responsibility for product quality. These symbolic marks have gradually transformed into trademarks, which should be the embryonic stage of trademarks. Inscribed bricks from the Eastern Han Dynasty had the name of the producer and the year of production engraved (cast) on the bricks, which already had the function of promoting products. However, the words are all on one side of the bricks, arranged in a row. The distinction between products is not obvious, and there is no decoration. This is still a sign and cannot be regarded as a trademark. A trademark in the true sense must meet two conditions, one is to have the function of distinguishing goods, and the other is to be beautiful. Judging from the decoration of this "Shengshi" brick, it basically has the characteristics of a trademark. "Shengshi Brick" is the signboard that the owner of this brick kiln wants to build. These three words are placed on the long side of the brick so that it can be seen even if it is built on the wall. The arrangement of the text is also very clever. There are many strokes of "rope", occupying half of the space of the picture frame, making the whole picture full and the theme prominent. "Shi" has few strokes, the structure is tight at the top and loose at the bottom, and the oblique hooks follow the trend, all the way to the lower right corner of the picture frame, showing a free and honest expression, with a difference in density. The word "brick" is secondary here, even a redundant word. There are many ways to write the word "brick" in traditional Chinese, with many strokes and troublesome casting. The author simplified it by himself. On the left is next to the word "earth", which means that bricks are made of earth. Successfully, the word "brick" was cleverly placed in the blank space at the lower left, making the whole picture rich in variety and balanced. It can be said to be original and just right. The era name is secondary and needs to be changed every year. It is not a business sign. The manufacturer changed the traditional inscription brick model and separated it from the main content "Shengshi Brick", which further highlights the theme. The layout of the inscriptions on the entire brick is dignified and rigorous, arranged in a well-proportioned manner, with fine lines around it as the outer frame, and rhombus-shaped patterns decorating the top and bottom. It is like a delicate seal, giving people a sense of beauty that goes far beyond the scope of production marks. , it can be said that this is the earliest trademark in my country. Compared with the records that the earliest trademarks in my country originated from the Song Dynasty, it is hundreds of years earlier.

It can be seen from the above that the ancestors of the Sheng surname basically knew how to protect their commercial intellectual property rights in the Han Dynasty. This is the clearest and only time in history that the Sheng surname has been recorded.