On the Role of Xingzhuang in Requesting Posthumous Titles
In the Northern and Southern Dynasties,situ(司徒)and shangshu(尚书)were jointly responsible for the review of private xingzhuang(行状;a brief biography of a deceased person).According to the convention,situ was the main responsible person for this work at that time.As time went on,libu(吏 部;the Ministry of Personnel)got the authority of reviewing xingzhuang for merit examination.The overall trend of the censorship of xingzhuang was increasingly strict,multiple measures have been conducted to ensure its authenticity.Reviewed xingzhuang served as an important basis for discussing posthumous titles,even could be absolutely emphasized sometimes.Nevertheless,posthumous titles did not involve all deeds recorded in xingzhuang,only the mainly part was taken under consideration.Generally speaking,people pursued on the correspondence between one's deeds and his posthumous title.The content and application of xingzhuang was supervised and influenced by relevant institutions and individuals,the will of relatives and friends of the departed had only limited impact.
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