From"Zuoce"to"Neishi":The Origin and Evolution of the System of Ancient Chinese Historians
The evolution of the functions of historiographers in ancient China is closely related to"Zuoce".According to the re-search of Japanese scholar Shizuka Shirakawa,"Ce"was originally a fence for the maintenance of sacrificial animals,and later a book that reported this maintenance status to the monarch,and the books used for praying to the deities were also known as"Ce".The official position of"Zuoce"originated from the personnel who tended to the sacrificial animals,as they were required to write corresponding documents.The roles of"Zuoce"in the Shang Dynasty continued to expand,taking on all responsibilities such as prayers,proclamations,decrees,and documents of enfeoffment and rewards,becoming a crucial position in the Shang era.After the Western Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty,they retained"Zuoce"in their original role while introducing"Neishi"to gradually incorporate its functions with the intention of eventual replacement.In the late Western Zhou Dynasty,the role of"Zuoce"faded from official positions,and"Neishi"monopolized court textual affairs.With the emergence of historiogra-phy in the period of"republican administration","Neishi"and"Dashi"took on the responsibility of recording current events in chronological order,which marked the inception of historiographers in terms of historical record-keeping.
ZuoceNeishiinscriptions on tortoise shells and bonesinscriptions on ancient bronze objects
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