关键词: 遗诏, 仪式文本, 礼仪场景, 政治秩序, 政治文化

Abstract:

The emperor testaments of Song dynasty were a kind of ritual text composed of three parts. The first part was mostly written by Hanlin Academicians, which included personalized statements on the emperor’s life and achievements; the second part was about the arrangements on heir and the empress dowager indicating the legitimacy of enthronement, which was usually the bone of contention, and compromise among the empress dowager, the new emperor, and grand councilors; and the third indispensable part was about the emperor’s funeral instructions following the old expressions. The emperor testament was the essential text of the ceremony for the heir emperor’s acceding to the throne and the funeral of the late emperor. It was read at bedchamber to a small scale of people, at the court and almost at the same time arrived at the local level through post-delivery with the edict announcing amnesty in celebration of the coronation. Therefore, the messages of the late emperor’s death and the new emperor succession were spread in a corrugated form. And the ministers completed the reconfirmation of the political order by submitting consolation instruments and congratulations. Meanwhile, the government sent diplomatic envoys to inform and comfort people, which made Liao and Jin know the sad news so that the court could have a smooth transition in political order. As a kind of political culture, the emperor testament was indispensable for the throne inheriting the legitimacy. It is easier to grasp the meaning of emperor testament in a specific ritual field, and its key role in funerals of the emperor and empress dowager could be highlighted in case of the absence of such text.