Memorials and Petitions

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

4.3

Word count: 1K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Now, when offices are established and duties divided, high and low are linked in service. The Son of Heaven listens with hanging pearl strings, and the feudal lords attend court with jingling jade. They set forth their reports in speech and are clearly tested by achievement. Thus Yao consulted the Four Mountains, and Shun appointed the Eight Yuan; there were requests of firm refusal and repeated yielding, and grants of "Go, and be reverent." All these were presented in speech at the imperial court, not through written documents. That being so, setting forth reports in speech is the meaning of zhangbiao; being clearly tested by achievement is the rule for conferring rank. When Tai Jia had ascended the throne, Yi Yin wrote an admonition; thinking of the constant way, he returned to Bo and again wrote a document in praise. Thus the matter of written documents offering and replacing advice becomes visible here. The Zhou, surveying the two dynasties, made pattern and principle ever more abundant. Bowing twice and touching the head to the ground, responding to and extolling the gracious charge, receiving the document and accepting the tablet, they dared to bear the great and illustrious. Although speech and writing were not yet divided, the presenting of thanks can be seen. Down to the Seven States, the ancient form was not changed; those who set forth matters to the king all called it shangshu.

Editor's review

"Zhangbiao" begins with the establishment of offices and division of duties and with court audiences and reports, tracing the origins of zhangbiao and similar official documents: from oral reports to written documents offering and replacing advice, and from "those who set forth matters to the king all called it shangshu" to an increasingly rich pattern and principle, it sketches the place of upward-flowing documents in ritual order and political communication. Though brief, it sets "presenting words at the imperial court" alongside "being clearly tested by achievement," suggesting that zhangbiao is not merely a matter of rhetoric but is tied to institutions such as the conferring of rank and remonstrance. For today's readers, it offers a key to understanding the nature of ancient official documents and the evolution of genres, and can also be used to observe how the ancients organized their words within an order in which high and low were linked in service. It is suitable as close-reading material at the intersection of genre history and institutional history; readers should note its narrative thread from antiquity to its own time and key judgments such as "speech and writing were not yet divided."

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers of ancient genres concerned with the origins of zhangbiao and similar official documents
History enthusiasts who want to understand early court reports and the shangshu system
Learners of official document writing who hope to understand upward-flowing documents from tradition
Chinese majors who need short close-reading materials on genre history

Not a good fit for

Those who only want to read literary works and have no interest in institutions or genre evolution
Those who fear classical Chinese and historical terms and need a light reading experience

Reading tips

First sort out the timeline: what changes occurred in the stages of Yao and Shun, Tai Jia, the Zhou dynasty, and the Seven States.
Compare the two modes of expression, "setting forth reports in speech" and "shangshu," and note the points at which genres diverged.
After reading, summarize in your own words the evolution of zhangbiao from oral report to written document, in no more than two hundred characters.

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
章表第二十二

FAQ

What kind of genre is zhangbiao?

Zhangbiao is an upward-flowing document by which subjects in ancient times presented feelings and matters to the ruler. This piece begins with oral reports, explains their early form, and points out that before the Seven States, those who set forth matters to the king all called it shangshu, showing that zhangbiao is closely related to the shangshu tradition.

Is the focus of this piece literature or institutions?

The two are interwoven. It discusses institutional background such as the establishment of offices, division of duties, and court audiences and reports, and also changes in diction such as written documents offering and replacing advice and increasingly rich pattern and principle. Thus it should not be read only as literary criticism, nor only as institutional regulations.

What background materials should I read before this piece?

It is best to have some understanding of the basic historical outline from pre-Qin times to the Warring States period, and to know that shangshu and zhangbiao broadly belong to upward-flowing official documents. If you are familiar with the common knowledge of ancient genre classification, reading will be smoother, but beginners can also start with annotations.

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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.