Dismissal from Office

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJul 2024

4.0

Word count: 693 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

“The Book of Chen, Biography of Zhang Zhong”: “The court appointed Zhong as Auxiliary Officer of the West Campaign Office; Zhong declined on the grounds of his mother's old age and submitted a memorial to the throne setting forth his request. He was impeached by the authorities and, as a consequence, was dismissed from office.”

Editor's review

This book is organized around the phrase “was dismissed from office” in the “Biography of Zhang Zhong” in The Book of Chen; it belongs to the genre of collation and explication of historical terms or entries concerning historical events. Its value lies in restoring a seemingly simple term for the handling of an ancient official post to the context of the original biography: Zhang Zhong, citing his mother's old age, submitted a memorial to the throne requesting to decline the post of Auxiliary Officer of the West Campaign Office, but was impeached by the authorities and consequently dismissed. These few words bring out the institutional and personnel relationships among declining office, impeachment, and removal from office. This collated edition is suitable as auxiliary material for studying the relevant biographies in The Book of Chen and for understanding the operation of official posts and the art of historical biography writing in the Southern Dynasties. Readers may use the entry to enter the primary sources, observe how historical biographies record the outcome of disciplinary action in extremely concise language, and further examine the differences in usage between “dismissal from office” and related terms in historical works. The book is limited in length and focuses on historical sources and word meaning; it does not provide a complete biographical narrative or popularized elaboration, and should be used together with the original text of The Book of Chen and studies of the relevant official post system.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Professional historians studying The Book of Chen and Southern Dynasties historical sources
Scholars of documentary and textual studies examining ancient official terminology and the art of historical biography writing
Learners of Classical Chinese who need to look up the usage of terms such as “dismissal from office” in historical works
University teachers and students of literature and history who collate entries in historical works and make notes on historical sources

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping to read a complete historical story or biography
Those lacking experience in Classical Chinese and reading historical works who need popular explanation
Researchers expecting a systematic discussion of institutional history rather than entry-based explication

Reading tips

First open the original text of the “Biography of Zhang Zhong” in The Book of Chen and read the context, then return to the entry in this book to understand the context of “dismissal from office.”
Make a comparison table of “dismissal from office” and related terms such as removal from office, striking from the register, and dismissal for an offense, and compare their usage in historical works.
Consult research works on the Southern Dynasties official post system and impeachment procedures to fill in the institutional background behind the entry.
When making source cards, note the biography name, volume number, and original wording for later verification and citation.

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
黜免第二十八

FAQ

Is this book a complete biography of Zhang Zhong?

No. According to the materials, this book is organized around the passage on “being dismissed for an offense” in the “Biography of Zhang Zhong” in The Book of Chen; it is an entry-based collation and explication, not a complete biographical narrative. To learn about Zhang Zhong's life, one should read the original biography in The Book of Chen and related historical sources.

What exactly does “dismissal from office” mean here?

According to the “Biography of Zhang Zhong” in The Book of Chen, Zhang Zhong was appointed Auxiliary Officer of the West Campaign Office; citing his mother's old age, he submitted a memorial to the throne declining the post, was impeached by the authorities, and was consequently dismissed for the offense. Here “dismissal from office” means removal from office as a result of impeachment; the specific details of the handling should be understood in light of the original biography and the institutional background.

Can someone without a foundation in Classical Chinese read this book?

It will be rather difficult. This book centers on entries from original historical texts and involves official terminology and the art of historical biography writing; it lacks sentence-by-sentence vernacular explanation. It is advisable first to have basic Classical Chinese reading ability, or to use it together with a modern annotation and translation of The Book of Chen and works on the relevant institutional history.

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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.