Memorials and Petitions

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.3

Word count: 1.1K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

In ancient times, the ministers of Tang and Yu presented their reports in speech; the assistants of Qin and Han submitted documents called memorials. Setting forth government affairs, presenting statutes and ceremonies, reporting urgent developments, and impeaching errors were all collectively called memorials. "Memorial" means to advance: words are laid out below, and feelings are advanced above.

Editor's review

This book centers on the "memorial," an ancient upward-flowing official document genre, beginning with its origins in the Tang and Yu ministers who "presented reports in speech" and the Qin and Han assistants who "submitted documents called memorials." It sorts out the functions of memorials—setting forth government affairs, presenting statutes and ceremonies, reporting urgent developments, impeaching errors—and clarifies the genre's essential meaning: "memorial means to advance." Concise yet information-dense, it serves well as an introductory reader on ancient official document systems and ruler-minister communication. Its value lies not in storytelling but in helping readers build a basic framework for understanding the memorial genre and see the political logic behind "words laid out below, feelings advanced above." Read it with specific historical contexts in mind and note how tone and form differ under different occasions. For readers interested in ancient genre studies, official history, or a historical perspective on official writing, this book works as a desk companion for casual reading and reference.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History and literature enthusiasts interested in ancient official document genres and memorial systems
University students and researchers studying ancient genre theory and official history
Workplace writers seeking a historical perspective on top-down and bottom-up communication
Language teachers needing supplementary genre knowledge for classical Chinese instruction

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete anthology of memorial texts with detailed annotations
General readers who prefer story-like narration and light reading
Those with little interest in ancient political institutions and genre classification

Reading tips

Read the opening definition first to grasp the origins and functional categories of the memorial, then revisit the examples of specific occasions.
Read alongside Qin-Han histories or works on ancient officialdom to place genre knowledge in institutional context.
For each function, try summarizing its use scenario in your own words to test your grasp.
Keep it as a reference book; when encountering classical memorial texts, return to check genre classification and expressive conventions.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

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FAQ

What genre exactly was the "memorial" in ancient times?

According to this book, the memorial was an upward official document by which subjects addressed the ruler. The ministers of Tang and Yu presented reports in speech, while Qin and Han assistants submitted documents called memorials; setting forth government affairs, presenting statutes and ceremonies, reporting urgent developments, and impeaching errors were all called memorials, whose core meaning is "to advance," that is, to convey subordinate conditions to the sovereign.

Is this book suitable for readers with no background?

It suits readers with some classical Chinese reading ability or an interest in ancient institutions. It is short and focused, so even beginners can grasp the main ideas, but without any familiarity with Qin-Han officialdom and classical expression, they may need supplementary materials for the specific categories of occasions.

What practical help does reading it give?

Mainly an overall understanding of the memorial genre: its origins, functional categories, and expressive conventions. This helps in reading memorials in ancient histories, understanding ruler-minister communication logic, and reflecting on official writing from a historical angle, though it offers no modern document templates.

Does the book include complete original memorial texts?

From the available information, the book focuses on genre origins and functional overview rather than being a complete anthology of memorials. For close reading of individual texts with annotations, use a dedicated memorial anthology alongside it.

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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.