Heavenly Offices: Grand Steward

AnonymousThe Commercial Press · ChinaJul 2024

4.3

Word count: 10K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The Heavenly Official冢宰, an official title and another name for the Grand Steward (太宰). The Grand Steward originally was the office in charge of the royal household's finances and palace affairs. When King Wu of Zhou died, King Cheng was young, and the Duke of Zhou once assumed regency in the capacity of 冢宰. The Analects, Xian Wen: "When the ruler dies, for three years the hundred officials gather themselves and take orders from the 冢宰." The 冢宰 was the master of the inner court. In the Rites of Zhou it appears as the Heavenly Official and became the first of the Six Ministers, overseeing the realm's major affairs. Zheng Xuan's commentary: "Changing 冢 to 大 is a difference of name according to advancement and withdrawal. When all officials are gathered under him, he is called 冢; when his duties are arrayed before the king, he is called 大. 冢 is above 大. A mountain peak is called 冢."

Editor's review

This book centers on the ancient official title "Heavenly Official 冢宰," drawing on the Analects, the Rites of Zhou, and Zheng Xuan's commentary to trace the evolution of the Grand Steward's and 冢宰's duties and their ritual significance. Concise yet information-dense, it explains both the naming distinction in "changing 冢 to 大" and the institutional link between master of the inner court and first of the Six Ministers. For readers seeking a clear outline of pre-Qin officialdom and the traditions of the Duke of Zhou's regency and officials receiving orders, it is a reliable primer. The original Republican-era Commercial Press edition also offers material clues for readers interested in textual scholarship and modern publishing history. It is best read as a cross-disciplinary work of institutional history and classical exegesis rather than narrative history; reading it alongside the Heavenly Official section of the Rites of Zhou and the relevant passage of the Analects, Xian Wen, will better convey the commentators' precision of wording.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginners in literature and history interested in pre-Qin officialdom and ritual institutions
Students needing to look up the meanings of Zhongzai and Taizai
Classical-studies readers interested in the Heavenly Official system of the Rites of Zhou and Zheng Xuan's commentary
Bibliophiles collecting original Republican-era Commercial Press editions

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete institutional history or lengthy treatise
Those who want only popular historical stories and are unused to commentary style

Reading tips

First read the relevant passage of the Analects, Xian Wen, then return to this book's explanation of the 冢宰's regency to establish contextual contrast.
Copy out Zheng Xuan's line "changing 冢 to 大" and compare it sentence by sentence with the opening section of the Heavenly Official in the Rites of Zhou.
Read this book alongside the Heavenly Official section of the Rites of Zhou, marking the two threads: first of the Six Ministers and master of the inner court.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

"Republic-era Commercial Press Original Editions" refers to original books printed by The Commercial Press during the Republican period, not a separate publishing house. Judging from the 300 titles held in the collection, its publishing focus centers on classical poetry and lyrics, literary appreciation, classic works, military texts, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy. Representative titles include Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, Zhong Rong's Shipin, the lyric collections of Xin Qiji and Liu Yong, Sun Wu's The Art of War, and Lü Buwei's Xianshi Lan. Its author resources are mainly classical writers, together with modern scholars such as Li Jingbang and Guo Huaruo, whose collations and annotations are also represented, giving the list a character centered on original texts while attending to annotation and appreciation. Public information on the precise Republican-era catalog and printings is limited; this overview is based only on the titles held in the collection.

版权信息
天官冢宰第一

FAQ

Are Zhongzai and Taizai the same office?

According to this book, Taizai originally managed the royal household's finances and palace affairs, and Zhongzai is another name for Taizai. Zheng Xuan's commentary notes that the names differ according to the occasion: when presiding over all officials it is called zhong, and when ranked before the king it is called da, but both point to the same official system.

What does the Duke of Zhou's regency as Zhongzai have to do with this book?

The book mentions that when King Wu of Zhou died and King Cheng was young, the Duke of Zhou served as Zhongzai and acted as regent, and it cites the Analects: 'For three years the hundred officials took their orders from the Zhongzai.' This provides a key example for understanding Zhongzai's political function as inner-court chief.

Can this book be used directly as an introduction to the Rites of Zhou?

This book focuses on the single official title Tianguan Zhongzai and its commentary, and is limited in length; it is better suited as an entry-level guide or for use alongside the Heavenly Official section of the Rites of Zhou. Readers with no classical-studies background should first read through the relevant chapters of the Rites of Zhou before consulting it.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.