Early medieval testamentary edict as a tool of political legitimization

0563801 - OÚ 2023 eng A - Abstract
Hrubý, Jakub
Early medieval testamentary edict as a tool of political legitimization.
[Biennial conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies /24./. Olomouc, 24.08.2022-27.08.2022]
Method of presentation: Přednáška
Event organizer: European Association of Chinese Studies, Department of Asian Studies (Palacký University, Faculty of Arts)
URL events: https://eacs.upol.cz 
Institutional support: RVO:68378009
Keywords : Medieval China * imperial institutions * testamentary edicts * emperorship
OECD category: History (history of science and technology to be 6.3, history of specific sciences to be under the respective headings)

Comparing the Early Medieval imperial testamentary edicts (yizhao), transmitted through various dynastic histories, it seems clear that by the end of the Han the yizhao became a well-established and thoroughly formalized imperial institution deemed indispensable for the legitimacy of the dynasty and ordering of the imperial succession. These official documents served various aims at the same time, ranging from leaving a political testament, assessing one`s role in the chain of dynastic succession, to practical instructions about the government and, last but not least, the funerary arrangements. On the symbolic level, they also played an important role in establishing the moral credit of the dynasty and securing legitimacy of its succession. On the other hand, the same documents could be manipulated or even forged by the powerful people around the throne who used them to strengthen their own position and assert their claim on the Mandate. Closely reading the available sources, this paper will demonstrate mainly on the case of the Eastern Jin (317-420 AD) the importance of the testamentary edicts as tools of political legitimization in the Early Medieval period.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0339378