From ancient times to the present, in human production and life, our ancestors have also tried their best to prevent counterfeiting. It is precisely the continuous accumulation and development of human wisdom in this long history that has led to the current advanced anti-counterfeiting technology. So, how did people in ancient times guard against counterfeiting?
Tiger symbols are in harmony
Before the Qin Dynasty unified the world, it was divided everywhere and wars were endless. It was the highest honor to have military power. You could give orders and deploy troops. In order to prevent someone from falsely passing military orders, the ancients invented the "Tiger Talisman", which was made of copper in the shape of a tiger, with inscriptions engraved on the back, and divided into two halves on the left and right. Before sending troops, the emperor divided the complete tiger talisman into two parts, and handed one half to the commander.
The delicate thing is that the two halves are specially designed with "mother and daughter buckles", which must match perfectly during verification, becoming the first layer of anti-counterfeiting. On the tiger charm, there are irregular protrusions, concave points and lines, which are like passwords and become the second layer of anti-counterfeiting. In addition, there are gold inscriptions on the tiger talisman. That is to say, the inscriptions are carved on it first, and then the gold wire is embedded in the inscriptions. Finally, the whole body is polished to form the inscription. With these multiple anti-counterfeiting measures, it is not that easy for others to forge the Tiger Talisman!
Signature and pledge
In ancient times when communications were underdeveloped, letters were an important channel for transmitting information. Everyone's handwriting is different and has different characteristics. The ancients used simple handwriting anti-counterfeiting in daily life, but in commercial trade and law, it rose to the anti-counterfeiting technology of signatures, paintings and stamps.
Although there was no modern and sophisticated fingerprint recognition technology at that time, smart people have discovered that everyone's fingerprints and palm prints are different, so they become a symbol of identity. In ancient times, evidence of commodity transactions and confessions of crimes required to be signed and fingerprinted. We are still using this method now. It is nothing more than that the database has evolved from paper to the Internet.
Anti-counterfeiting of calligraphy and painting
There were many literati in the Tang Dynasty, and the art of poetry, calligraphy and painting was unique. In order to prove "originality", many calligraphers and painters will make some secret marks or stamp their own seals on their works. It is said that Dai Song, a painter of the Tang Dynasty, was good at painting cows. When he was observing cows by a pond, he found the shadow of a shepherd boy in the eyes of the cows. Therefore, the cows he painted later had an unnoticeable little shepherd boy in their eyes, which is similar to today's The miniaturization technology is very similar.
Dai Song is not the only artist who uses this method. Many calligraphers also carve their own unique seal and stamp it upon completion of their work.
The "ID card" of the ancients
The earliest "ID card" appeared in the Qin State. Shang Yang invented the "photograph sticker", with the name of the holder written on the bamboo board. , occupation, portrait and official seal. It is said that when Shang Yang was on the run, he was reported and arrested because he could not produce his "photograph".
In the Tang Dynasty, the styles of "ID cards" became richer, such as free charms, fish charms, turtle charms, dragon charms, etc. Among them, the fish charm is the most popular. The fish talisman is divided into left and right sides. The left talisman is placed in the inner court as a stub, and the right talisman is carried by the holder as a proof of identity. It was recorded in the "Shijiyuan" compiled by Gao Cheng in the Song Dynasty.
In order to prevent the "ID card" from being stolen, an anti-counterfeiting mark was also invented - matching a fish bag with a fish charm or making "ID cards" of different textures to represent different people. , you must also have a bag to prove your identity. Later, Wu Zetian changed the fish talisman to the turtle talisman. There is a poem in the Tang Dynasty: Marry for no reason to get a golden turtle son-in-law, live up to the incense quilt and serve in the early court. The Golden Turtle Son-in-law here refers to the person holding the Golden Turtle Talisman.
Anti-counterfeiting of banknotes
In ancient times, there were no security threads, watermarks and other anti-counterfeiting technologies. How did coins prevent counterfeiting? The commodity economy was developed in the Song Dynasty, and the world's earliest banknote "Jiaozi" was issued in Sichuan. In order to prevent counterfeit banknotes, "Chupi" Sichuan paper was used specifically for printing banknotes in the Song Dynasty, and private procurement was not allowed - this is the special paper anti-counterfeiting law.
The Jiaozi pattern is composed of figures made of house wood, with a patterned border on the outside. The graphics are complex and difficult for counterfeiters to imitate. Later, red, blue, black and other colors were used to overprint patterns and official seals. This was probably the beginning of two-color and multi-color overprinting - the pattern anti-counterfeiting method.
In the Yuan Dynasty, banknotes not only used special materials, special patterns and the seal of the management agency, but also had the warning "Counterfeiters beheaded" printed in a prominent position in the center, which served as a deterrent.
Trademark Anti-Counterfeiting Law
With the emergence and development of the commodity economy, some junior "trademarks" have also appeared. According to legend, there was a shoemaker named Ren Yilang in the Song Dynasty who was highly skilled and had a prosperous business.
However, fakes soon appeared to disrupt the market. In order to combat counterfeiting, Ren Yilang hid a piece of cloth inside the shoes he made. The cloth not only wrote the manufacturing time of the shoes, but also the corresponding number. It was simply modern. Anti-counterfeiting trademark. This "trademark anti-counterfeiting law" has also been imitated by the business community.
In ancient times, some legislation also appeared one after another to combat counterfeiting. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, food safety supervision was relatively comprehensive, detailed punitive measures were formulated for counterfeiters, and there was even a "return" system.
Watermark
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, anti-counterfeiting technology became more advanced, especially for anti-counterfeiting of "imperial edicts". The fabric of the imperial edict is very exquisite. It is made of fine silk brocade and the embroidery is exquisite. There are flying silver dragons on both ends of the imperial edict as an "anti-counterfeiting" sign. The silk cloth was printed with auspicious cloud patterns, just like today's anti-counterfeiting watermarks. Moreover, the first word at the beginning of all imperial edicts must be printed on the first auspicious cloud in the upper right corner. In order to show the authenticity of the imperial edict, the emperor's seal will also be stamped. The seal's material, sealing method, and layout are extremely fine, and unless stolen, it is generally difficult to forge.
Secret encryption
Shanxi merchants in the Qing Dynasty adopted the secret encryption technology to prevent counterfeiting. To put it simply, cipher is a cryptography method in which Chinese characters represent numbers. Set up a seemingly unrelated language system, which may appear to outsiders as an incomprehensible bible, but in fact it contains hidden secrets. Secret information such as the date, the amount of silver, etc. can be read out through certain rules. After a period of time, the code will be changed, making it more difficult to decipher, thus achieving the "anti-counterfeiting" effect.
For example, in the ninety-five years from 1826 to 1921, the Rishengchang bank account number had a total of 300 sets of passwords exchanged. According to historical records, there was not a single case of the number being fraudulently claimed. .
From these historical anti-counterfeiting stories, it is not difficult to find that almost all technologies set "thresholds" to prevent copying and imitation. However, in fact, even today, most anti-counterfeiting technologies still do not truly achieve the effect of “easy to identify, difficult to imitate”.