Official Posts

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.8

Word count: 1K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Official Posts: This refers to officials holding certain positions in state institutions, covering the names of official posts, the scope of their authority, and their rank and status. The imperial examination was a system for selecting officials primarily through examinations, and it was closely tied to the official system and official posts. Selecting officials through examinations was a major invention in the state system of ancient China. The emergence of the ancient Chinese state began in the Xia Dynasty, and official posts appeared only with the emergence of the state; therefore, any discussion of official posts can only begin with the Xia Dynasty. The establishment of official posts in ancient China differed from dynasty to dynasty, and the situation was highly complex, with both inheritance and change as well as additions and reductions.

Editor's review

This book centers on the official post system of ancient China. Starting from the emergence of the state in the Xia Dynasty and the establishment of official posts, it systematically sorts out official titles, the scope of authority, and rank and status, and highlights the close connection between the imperial examination as a method of selecting officials and the official system. The book grasps the complex thread that official posts in ancient China differed in establishment from dynasty to dynasty, with inheritance and change as well as additions and reductions running in parallel, helping readers build a basic understanding of the evolution of the official system. For readers who want to understand how the ancient state system operated, how officials were selected, and how the official hierarchy worked, this book provides a concise and systematic introductory framework. When reading, one can compare it with the political systems of specific dynasties and pay attention to differences in the meaning of official titles across different eras. The 2024 edition from Bashu Publishing House is suitable as supplementary reading for the study of institutional history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in the history of ancient Chinese political institutions
Readers of literature and history who need a systematic understanding of the relationship between official posts and the imperial examination
Supplementary reading for lower-year students majoring in history or political science
Exam candidates preparing for civil service exams that involve common knowledge of ancient institutions

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers seeking in-depth textual research on the details of one dynasty’s official system
Casual readers hoping for a large number of case stories and anecdotes about historical figures
Readers concerned only with changes to the official system in the modern and contemporary periods

Reading tips

First read the introduction to grasp the overall thread of the official post system’s origins in the Xia Dynasty
Sort out changes in official titles and authority in dynastic order and make brief comparative notes
Read the content on imperial examination selection together with official rank and status to understand the relationship between appointment and duties
When encountering an official title with the same name but different substance, check the surrounding text to confirm its meaning in that era

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.

版权信息
官职

FAQ

Why does the discussion of ancient official posts begin with the Xia Dynasty?

According to the book, the emergence of the ancient Chinese state began in the Xia Dynasty, and official posts appeared only with the emergence of the state. Therefore, discussing official posts can only begin with the Xia Dynasty, which establishes the chronological starting point for the whole book.

What is the relationship between the imperial examination system and the official post system?

The imperial examination was a system for selecting officials primarily through examinations, and it was closely related to the official system and official posts. Selecting officials through examinations was a major invention in the state system of ancient China. Understanding the imperial examination helps grasp the sources of officials and the selection mechanism.

Why is the ancient official post system so complex and hard to remember?

The establishment of official posts in ancient China differed from dynasty to dynasty, and the situation was highly complex, with inheritance and change as well as additions and reductions. An official title with the same name may have different authority and rank in different eras, so readers need to pay attention to the historical context and should not apply a single standard throughout.

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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.