Official communications of the Chinese Empire

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Emperor Gaozong's imperial decree to General Yue Fei, Song Dynasty (National Palace Museum) Imperial Order Presented to Yue Fei.jpg
Emperor Gaozong's imperial decree to General Yue Fei, Song Dynasty (National Palace Museum)

The Chinese Empire, which lasted from the 221 BC until AD 1912, required predictable forms and means of communication. Documents flowed down from the Emperor to officials, from officials to the Emperor, from one part of the bureaucracy to others, and from the Emperor or his officials to the people. These documents, especially memorials to the throne, were preserved in collections which became more voluminous with each passing dynasty and make the Chinese historical record extraordinarily rich.

Contents

This article briefly describes the major forms and types of communication going up to and down from the emperor.

Edicts, orders, and proclamations to the people

Zhu Xi's letter (1194) instructing a subordinate official on local government matters after he stepped down as Administrator of Tanzhou for reappointment at the imperial court Letter on Government Affairs - Zhu Xi.jpg
Zhu Xi's letter (1194) instructing a subordinate official on local government matters after he stepped down as Administrator of Tanzhou for reappointment at the imperial court

Under Chinese law, the emperor's edicts had the force of law. By the time the Han dynasty established the basic patterns of bureaucracy, edicts or commands could be issued either by the emperor or in the emperor's name by the proper official or unit of the government. Important edicts were carved on stone tablets for public inspection. One modern scholar counted more than 175 different terms for top down commands, orders, edicts, and such. [1]

Edicts formed a recognized category of prose writing. The Qing dynasty scholar Yao Nai ranked "Edicts and orders" (Zhao-ling) as one of the thirteen categories of prose writing, citing prototypes which went back to the Zhou dynasty and the Book of History . Han dynasty edicts, sometimes actually written by high officials in the name of the emperor, were known for their literary quality. In later dynasties, both emperors and officials who wrote in the emperor's name published collections of edicts. [2]

The history of China features a range of famous edicts and instructions. Here are examples in chronological order:

Treat your parents with piety; respect your elders and superiors; live at peace in your villages; instruct your children and grandchildren; make your living peacefully; commit no wrong. [5]

Memorials

A memorial, most commonly zouyi, was the most important form of document sent by an official to the Emperor. In the early dynasties, the terms and formats of the memorial were fluid, but by the Ming dynasty, codes and statutes specified what terminology could be used by what level of official in what particular type of document dealing with what particular type of problem. Criminal codes specified punishments for mistranscriptions or using a character that was forbidden because it was used in one of the emperor's names. The Emperor might reply at length, perhaps dictating a rescript in response. More often he made a notation in the margin in vermilion ink (which only the emperor could use) stating his wishes. Or he might simply write "forward to the proper ministry," "noted," or use his brush to make a circle, the equivalent of a checkmark, to indicate that he had read the document. [8]

In 1370, the Hongwu emperor established an office to organize the flow of memorials, which could come from both officials and commoners, and this became the Office of Transmission (Tongzheng si). The staff copied each memorial received, and forwarded the original to the emperor. The emperor once severely scolded a director of the office for failing to report several memorials: “Stability depends on superior and inferior communicating; there is none when they do not. From ancient times, many a state has fallen because a ruler did not know the affairs of the people.” [9]

By the height of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, memorials from bureaucrats at the central, provincial, and county level supplied the emperors (and modern historians) with personnel evaluations, crop reports, prices in local markets, weather predictions, intelligence on social affairs, and any other matter of possible interest. [10]

Folding memorial from an official to the Kangxi emperor Kang Xi Wu Shi Qi Nian Liang Guang Zong Du Yang Lin Guan Yu Shi San Xing De Zou Zhe .jpg
Folding memorial from an official to the Kangxi emperor

Memorials were transported by government couriers and then copied and summarized by the Grand Secretariat, which itself had been perfected in the preceding Ming dynasty. They would be copied by clerks and entered into official registers. [11]

This bureaucracy saved the emperor from being swamped with tedious detail but might also shield him from information which he needed to know. The Kangxi Emperor (r. 1672-1720), the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1720-1736), and the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1793) therefore developed a supplementary system of "Palace Memorials" (zouzhe) which they instructed local officials to send directly, without passing through bureaucratic filters. One type, the "Folding Memorial," was written on a page small enough for the Emperor to hold in his hand and read without being observed. [12] The Yongzheng Emperor, who preferred the written system over audiences, increased the use of these palace memorials by more than ten times over his father. He found he could get quick responses to emergency requests instead of waiting for the formal report, or give frank instructions: Of one official he said, “he is good-hearted, hard-working old hand. I think he’s very good. But he’s a bit coarse... just like Zhao Xiangkui, except that Zhao is intelligent.” Likewise a provincial governor could frankly report that a subordinate was “scatter brained.” The emperor could then instruct the official to also submit a routine memorial. Most important, bypassing the regular bureaucracy made it easier for the emperor to have his own way without being restricted by the regulations of the administrative code. [13]

The system of memorials and rescripts, even more than personal audiences, was the emperor's way to shape and cement relations with his officials. Memorials could be quite specific and even personal, since the emperor knew many of his officials quite well. The Kangxi Emperor, for instance, wrote one of his generals:

"I am fine. It is cool now outside the passes. There has been enough rain so the food now is very good... You're an old man -- are grandfather and grandmother both well?"

But sometimes impatience broke through: "Stop the incessant sending of these greetings!" or "I hear tell you've been drinking. If after receiving my edict you are not able to refrain, and so turn your back on my generosity, I will no longer value you or your services." [14] The historian Jonathan Spence translated and joined together memorials of the Kangxi Emperor to form an autobiographical "self-portrait" which gives an feel for the emperor's place in the flow of government. [15]

Related Research Articles

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The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led conquest dynasty and the last imperial dynasty of China. It was emerged from the Khanate of Later Jin (1616–1636), founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens who unified other Jurchen tribes to form a new ethnic identity as "Manchus", and proclaimed in 1636 as an empire in Manchuria. The Qing dynasty seized control over Beijing in 1644, then later expanded its rule over the whole of China proper and parts of Taiwan, and finally expanded into Inner Asia. The dynasty lasted until 1912 when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In orthodox Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multiethnic Qing empire lasted for almost three centuries and assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With 419,264,000 citizens in 1907, it was the world's most populous country at the time.

Ming dynasty Imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644

The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.

Emperor of China Sovereign of Imperial China

Huangdi, translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heaven and the autocrat of all under Heaven. Under the Han dynasty, Confucianism replaced Legalism as the official political theory and succession in most cases theoretically followed agnatic primogeniture. The lineage of emperors descended from a paternal family line constituted a dynasty.

Kangxi Emperor 3rd Emperor of the Qing dynasty (r. 1661–1722)

The Kangxi Emperor (康熙帝)(Xuanye; 4 May 1654 – 20 December 1722) was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1722.

Shunzhi Emperor 2nd Emperor of the Qing Dynasty; first to rule over China proper (r. 1644-61)

The Shunzhi Emperor was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succeed his father, Hong Taiji (1592–1643), in September 1643, when he was five years old. The princes also appointed two co-regents: Dorgon (1612–1650), the 14th son of the Qing dynasty's founder Nurhaci (1559–1626), and Jirgalang (1599–1655), one of Nurhaci's nephews, both of whom were members of the Qing imperial clan.

Yongzheng Emperor Emperor of Qing-dynasty China from 1722 to 1735

The Yongzheng Emperor was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, the Yongzheng Emperor's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor used military force to preserve the dynasty's position.

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Zhang Tingyu

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History of the Ming dynasty

The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, founded by the peasant rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the Hongwu Emperor, was an imperial dynasty of China. It was the successor to the Yuan dynasty and the predecessor of the short-lived Shun dynasty, which was in turn succeeded by the Qing dynasty. At its height, the Ming dynasty had a population of 160 million people, while some assert the population could actually have been as large as 200 million.

The Deliberative Council of Princes and Ministers, also known as the Council of Princes and High Officials and Assembly of Princes and High Officials, or simply as the Deliberative Council, was an advisory body for the emperors of the early Qing dynasty (1636–1912). Derived from informal deliberative groups created by Nurhaci (1559–1626) in the 1610s and early 1620s, the Council was formally established by his son and successor Hong Taiji (1592–1643) in 1626 and expanded in 1637. Staffed mainly by Manchu dignitaries, this aristocratic institution served as the chief source of advice on military matters for Hong Taiji and the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors. It was particularly powerful during the regencies of Dorgon (1643–1650) and Oboi (1661–1669), who used it to enhance their personal influence.

The history of the Qing dynasty began in 1636, when Manchu chieftain Hong Taiji founded the dynasty, and lasted until 1912, when Emperor Puyi abdicated the throne in response to the Xinhai Revolution. The final imperial dynasty in China, the Qing dynasty reached heights of power unlike any of the Chinese dynasties which preceded it, engaging in large-scale territorial expansion. However, the Qing dynasty's inability to successfully counter Western and Japanese imperialism ultimately led to its downfall, and the instability which emerged in China during the final years of the dynasty ultimately paved the way for the Warlord Era.

In 1670, when the Kangxi Emperor of China's Qing dynasty was sixteen years old, he issued the Sacred Edict, consisting of sixteen maxims, each seven characters long, to instruct the average citizen in the basic principles of Confucian orthodoxy. They were to be publicly posted in every town and village, then read aloud two times each month. Since they were written in terse formal classical Chinese, a local scholar was required to explicate them using the local dialect of the spoken language. This practice continued into the 20th century.

A memorial to the throne was an official communication to the Emperor of China. They were generally careful essays in Classical Chinese and their presentation was a formal affair directed by government officials. Submission of a memorial was a right theoretically available to everyone from the Crown Prince to a common farmer, but the court secretaries would read them aloud to the emperor and exercised considerable control over what was considered worthy of his time. They were used in imperial China as a means of regulating corrupt local officials who might otherwise have escaped oversight.

High Qing era Era of the Qing dynasty

The High Qing era refers to the golden age between 1683 and 1799 during the Qing dynasty of China during which the empire's prosperity grew to new heights. Set after the rule of the Ming dynasty, the High Qing saw China transformed into a commercial state with nearly twice the population of its predecessor, due to high political stability. Improvements in literacy also took place during this period, and China's territory greatly expanded north and west compared to the previous smaller Ming dynasty.

Events from the year 1670 in China.

Events from the year 1672 in China.

Events from the year 1683 in China.

Events from the year 1686 in China.

References

Citations

  1. Endymion Wilkinson. Chinese History: A Manual. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series Rev. and enl., 2000. ISBN   0674002474), pp. 532-533.
  2. William H. Nienhauser. The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), p. 96-97.
  3. Xie, Xuanjun (2016). My Way of Looking at the Second Phase of Chinese Civilization. p. 81. ISBN   9781329995345.
  4. Anita M. Andrew and John A. Rapp. Autocracy and China's Rebel Founding Emperors: Comparing Chairman Mao and Ming Taizu. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000; ISBN   0847695794), esp. pp. 60-68.
  5. Wilkinson (2013): 281.
  6. Spence, The Search for Modern China (New York City: Norton; 3rd,
  7. Ssu-Yü Têng, John King Fairbank, ed., China's Response to the West: A Documentary Survey, 1839-1923. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1954), p. 19
  8. Wilkinson. Chinese History: A Manual. p. 534-35.
  9. Brook (1998), p.  33-34.
  10. Jonathan D. Spence. The Search for Modern China. (New York: Norton, 2nd 1999. pp. 70-71, 87.
  11. Silas H. L. Wu. Communication and Imperial Control in China: Evolution of the Palace Memorial System, 1693-1735. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; Harvard East Asian Series, 1970). ISBN   0674148010.
  12. Mark C. Elliott. The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China. (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001. ISBN   0804736065 pp. 164, 161-162.
  13. Beatrice S. Bartlett. Monarchs and Ministers: The Grand Council in Mid-Ch'ing China, 1723-1820. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991; ISBN   0520065913): 48-53.
  14. Elliott, The Manchu Way, p. 161
  15. Jonathan D. Spence. Emperor of China: Self Portrait of K'ang Hsi (New York: Vintage Books, 1975). ISBN   0394714113.

Sources

  • Beatrice S. Bartlett. Monarchs and Ministers: The Grand Council in Mid-Ch'ing China, 1723-1820. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991). ISBN   0520065913.
  • Brook, Timothy (1998). The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Philip A. Kuhn, John King Fairbank, with the assistance of Beatrice S. Bartlett and Chiang Yung-chen, Introduction to Ch`ing Documents (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1993). A syllabus for the study of Qing documents.
  • Ch. 20 "Official Communications," in Endymion Wilkinson. Chinese History: A New Manual. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series. New Edition; Second, Revised printing March 2013; ISBN   9780674067158, pp. 280–285.
  • Silas H. L. Wu. Communication and Imperial Control in China: Evolution of the Palace Memorial System, 1693-1735. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; Harvard East Asian Series, 1970). ISBN   0674148010.