"Full Tang Wen" Official Document Research

Quan Tang Wen is the collection of published articles in Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. From 1808, more than 100 scholars spent 7 years to compile 20,025 articles of 3,035 Tang writers. With other 2 literature edited by Lu Xinyuan in Guangxu Period, Tang Wen Shi Yi and Tang Wen Xu Shi, they receive a total of 22,896 papers, including 11,427 official documents which accounted for 50%. This percentage makes Quan Tang Wen as an indispensable literature in research field.This paper aims to review official documents in Tang Dynasty with close reading and statistics of texts. Using Quan Tang Wen as breakthrough point, this article tries combining with the operation system, other pertinent literature, current social and political conditions,to give a comprehensive statement of Tang Dynasty's official documents in the fields of stylistics, historiography and literary.The first three chapters describes the variety, literary forms, distribution of authors and the changes of times in Tang Dynasty's official documents with writers,regulation and practical articles perspective. These chapters verify or correct some stereotypes in Tang Dynasty's official documents: Zhi, Chi and Zhao is the majority of imperial edict genre and Zhao didn't disappear because of the replacement of empress Wu; there are some ignored genres like Zhaoyi, Weiqu and Biezhi; Zouchao should not be considered as a independent genre proper; only a small part in Pan has the attribute of official documents; Zha develops and confirms in Tang Dynasty instead of Song Dynasty with extensive use in Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.Next chapter pays more attention to the developments and the social characters of official documents. Rhythmical prose is the mainstream of all Tang Dynasty's official documents even there was plenty free style prose appeared in middle period. The official documents about set of etiquette in central government decreases, and social engagement documents of local government increases with the formation of military governor.Last part attempts to give an annotation of evolution process in philosophical,political and cultural perspectives. The ancient official document system have differential pattern: put emperor above everything else, the value of imperial edict,memorials and feudal officials decrease progressively; Chidie appeared, and Zouzhuang replaced Zouchao as the mainstream official documents since the establishment of Secretariat-Chancellery; there was a whole word processing system to fit government affairs while adjusting with the changes of central and local government admission.In the end, it discusses the enlightenment of Tang Dynasty's official documents."Writings are for conveying truth", the responsibility of scholars comes down in one continuous line to current professionals.