1
群臣上表儀宰臣赴上儀朝省集議班位臣僚上馬之制臣僚呵引之制
On the rites for ministers presenting memorials, for chief ministers reporting to court, for seating at provincial assemblies, for officials mounting horses, and for ushering officials along the route.
2
群臣上表儀。 《通禮》：守宮設次於朝堂，文東武西，相對為首設中書令位於群臣之北。 禮曹掾舉表案入，引中書令出，就南面立。 禮部郎中取表授中書令，令即受表入奏。
Rites for ministers presenting memorials. The Comprehensive Rites prescribe that palace attendants arrange stations in the audience hall, with civil officials east and military west, facing one another at the head of the formation, and the Director of the Secretariat's place set north of the assembled ministers. A Rites Bureau clerk carried in the memorial case, escorted the Director of the Secretariat forth, and had him stand facing south. A Ministry of Rites director took the memorial and presented it to the Director of the Secretariat, who at once received it and went in to present it to the throne.
3
其禮：凡正、至不受朝，及邦國大慶瑞、上尊號請舉行大禮，宰相率文武群臣暨諸軍將校、蕃夷酋長、道釋、耆老等詣東上閣門拜表，知表官跪授表於宰臣，宰臣跪授於閣門使，乃由通進司奏禦。 凡有答詔，亦拜受於閣門，獲可，奏者奉表稱賀。 其正、至，樞密使率內班拜表長春殿門外，亦閣門使受之。
The procedure was as follows: on the solstices, when the court did not hold audience, and whenever the realm celebrated a major auspicious event, or when ministers petitioned to bestow an honorific title and perform a grand ceremony, the chief minister led civil and military officials together with army commanders, tribal chieftains, Daoist and Buddhist clergy, and elders to the eastern upper Gatehouse to kowtow and submit a memorial. The memorial officer knelt and passed the document to the chief minister, who knelt and handed it to the Gatehouse commissioner; the Memorial Submission Office then presented it to the emperor. When an imperial reply arrived, recipients likewise kowtowed to receive it at the Gatehouse; once approval was granted, the presenter held up the memorial and offered congratulations. On the solstices, the Bureau of Military Affairs commissioner led the inner guard in kowtowing and presenting a memorial outside the Changchun Hall gate, which the Gatehouse commissioner likewise received.
4
又西京留守拜表儀制：留司百官每五日一上表起居，質明，並集長壽寺立班，置表於案，再拜以遣。 其春、秋賜服及大慶瑞並如之。 或令分司官齎詣行在，或止驛付南京留司，約用此制。 若巡幸，東京則留司百官亦五日一上表起居，並集大相國寺。
There were also rites for the Western Capital guardian's memorial: every five days the officials remaining in the capital submitted a memorial on the emperor's well-being. At daybreak they assembled at Changshou Temple in formation, set the memorial on a table, and dispatched it with two bows. Spring and autumn distributions of court robes, as well as major celebrations and auspicious omens, followed the same procedure. Sometimes branch-office officials were ordered to carry the memorial to the traveling court, or it was left at a courier station for the Nanjing remnant staff—roughly following this system. When the emperor was on tour, officials remaining in the Eastern Capital likewise submitted a well-being memorial every five days, assembling at Daxiangguo Temple.
5
其制：群臣詣閣拜奏者，首雲文武百僚具官臣某等言； 常奏禦者，止雲臣某言，並稱尊號，已有功臣爵邑者具之； 狀奏者，前後列銜，不稱尊號，亦雲功臣爵邑。 其外，又有書疏、奏劄、榜子之類。
The rule for ministers kowtowing and presenting memorials at the Gatehouse required an opening such as, 'The civil and military officials of full rank, your subjects So-and-so and others respectfully state'; for routine presentations to the throne, the opener was simply, 'Your subject So-and-so states,' together with the emperor's honorific title, and any existing noble rank or fief was listed; for formal reports, titles were listed fore and aft without the honorific title, though noble ranks and fiefs were still recorded. Besides these forms, there were also letters, folded memorial notes, and placard-style submissions.
6
乾德二年，令有司詳定表首。 太常禮院言：「僕射南省官品第二，太子三師官品第一，品位雖高，而南省上臺為尊，合以僕射充首。 若專以品秩為定，則諸行侍郎品第四，列于諸司三品卿監之上，不可以品序為准。 按唐貞元六年詔，每有慶賀及諸臣上表，併合上公為首，如三公闕，以令、僕行之。 中書、門下列貢章表，則僕射是百僚師長，難同宮僚之例。」 詔百官集議。 翰林學士陶谷等曰：「按唐制：上臺、東宮並是廷臣，當時左右僕射、侍中、中書令為正宰相。 貞觀末，帶同中書門下三品者方為宰相。 今僕射既非宰相，合在大子三師之下，理固不疑。 若以宮僚非廷臣，既宰相豈當兼領？ 今若先二品而後一品，升後列而退前班，紊其等威，事恐非順。 請以太子三師為表首。」 竇儀等曰：「東宮三師為表首，論討故典，實皆無據。 左右僕射當為表首者，其事有六：按《六典》，尚書為百官之本，今自一品至六品常參官，皆以尚書省官為首，則僕射合為表首，一也。 又唐制，上表無上公，即尚書令僕以下行之，其嗣王合隨宗正，若有班位，合依王品，則嗣王雖一品，不得為表首，二也。 僕射位次三公，合為表首，三也。 況僕射為百僚師長，東宮三師非師長之任，四也。 晉天福中詔，謝賀上表，上公行之，如闕，即令僕射行之，五也。 立制之班，卑者先入後出，尊者後入先出。 今東宮一品立定，僕射乃入，僕射既退，東宮一品乃出，且在兩省之後，六也。」
In the second year of Qiande (964), the throne ordered the relevant offices to review and fix the standard opening lines of memorials. The Court of Imperial Sacrifices Rites Office argued: 'Vice Directors of the Secretariat are second-rank officials of the Southern Administration, whereas the Heir Apparent's Three Preceptors are first rank; although their rank is higher, the superior platform of the Southern Administration takes precedence, so the Vice Director should lead the memorial. If rank alone were decisive, fourth-rank bureau vice directors would stand above third-rank directors and commissioners of other agencies—rank could not be the sole criterion. Under the Tang edict of the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), whenever the court celebrated or ministers submitted memorials, the senior lord was to lead; if no Three Duke held office, the Director and Vice Directors of the Secretariat acted in his place. When the Secretariat and Chancellery submitted tribute memorials, the Vice Director, as chief among the hundred officials, could not be classed with palace staff.' An edict then ordered the hundred officials to assemble and deliberate. Hanlin Academician Tao Gu and others argued: 'Under Tang rules, both the superior platform and the Eastern Palace counted as court officials; at that time the Left and Right Vice Directors, the Attendant-in-Chief, and the Director of the Secretariat were the true chief ministers. By the end of the Zhenguan era, only those who concurrently held the title Same Rank as the Secretariat and Chancellery Third Rank were counted as chief ministers. Today the Vice Director is no longer a chief minister and should stand below the Heir Apparent's Three Preceptors—a conclusion that follows necessarily. If palace staff were not court officials, how could chief ministers hold such posts concurrently? To place second rank before first, advancing the rear row while demoting the front, would disorder precedence and dignity and would likely be improper. We ask that the Heir Apparent's Three Preceptors lead the memorial.' Dou Yi and others replied: 'Making the Eastern Palace Three Preceptors lead the memorial has no real support in precedent when one examines the ancient regulations. That the Left and Right Vice Directors should lead has six grounds. First, the Six Offices treat the Department of State Affairs as the root of the bureaucracy; from first through sixth rank, regular attendees all take Department officials as head, so the Vice Director should lead. Second, under Tang rules, when no senior lord led a memorial, the Secretariat Director and Vice Directors did so; imperial clansmen followed the Imperial Clan Court and, where they had a place in formation, took rank according to princely status—so even a first-rank imperial prince could not lead. Third, the Vice Director ranks immediately after the Three Dukes and should therefore lead. Fourth, the Vice Director is chief among the hundred officials, whereas the Eastern Palace Three Preceptors do not hold a chieftain's role. Fifth, a Jin edict of the Tianfu era required the senior lord to lead thanks and congratulatory memorials, with the Director and Vice Directors acting if he were absent. In regulated formations, the lower in rank enter first and leave last, while the higher enter last and leave first. Sixth, today the Eastern Palace first rank takes position first, then the Vice Director enters; after the Vice Director withdraws, the Eastern Palace first rank departs—and does so only after the two administrations.'
7
詔從儀等議，以僕射為表首焉。
The throne accepted Dou Yi and his colleagues' view and decreed that the Vice Director should lead memorials.
8
宰臣赴上儀。 《開元禮》有任官初上相見之儀。 宋制：凡牧守赴上，多仍州府舊禮。 台省之制，宰相、親王、使相正衙謝訖，出文德殿便門至西廊，堂後官、兩省雜事迎參； 至中書便門，兩省官迎班； 升都堂，與送上官對揖見任侍中、中書令、同平章事者
Rites for chief ministers reporting to court. The Kaiyuan Rites prescribe the ceremony by which a newly appointed official presents himself and is received. Under Song rules, prefects and circuit guardians reporting to court generally kept their former prefectural or circuit ceremonies. For the Secretariat and Chancellery: after a chief minister, imperial prince, or commissioner with chief-minister standing finished thanks in the main hall, he exited through Wende Hall's side gate to the western corridor, where rear-hall officials and clerks of the two administrations came out to receive him; at the Secretariat side gate, officials of the two administrations formed a welcoming line; ascending to the main hall, he exchanged facing bows with the presenting superior—the incumbent Attendant-in-Chief, Director of the Secretariat, or Commissioner Equal in Authority to the Chief Minister
9
，降階，又與送上官對拜訖，分東、西升坐於床。 兩省雜事讀案，堂後官接案。 搢笏頂筆判署，凡三道：一，司天監壽星見； 二，開封府嘉禾合穗； 三，澶州黃河清。 並判准，始謝送上官，訖，三司使、學士、兩省官、待制、三司副使升堂展賀。 百官先班中書門外，上事官降階，百官入，直省官通班贊致賀，歸後堂，與參知政事、樞密副使、宣徽使相見，會食訖，退。
, then descended the steps and exchanged facing bows again with the presenting superior; when finished, he and the superior took seats on the east and west couches respectively. Clerks of the two administrations read out the cases, which rear-hall officials received. He inserted his tablet and, brush held to his forehead, marked approval on three items: first, the Directorate of Astronomy reported the appearance of the Longevity Star; second, Kaifeng prefecture reported auspicious grain with conjoined ears; third, the Yellow River at Dazhou ran clear. After marking all three approved, he thanked the presenting superior; then the Three Departments commissioner, Hanlin academicians, officials of the two administrations, holders of Awaiting Imperial Orders, and Three Departments vice commissioners ascended to offer congratulations. The hundred officials first formed ranks outside the Secretariat gate. When the presenting official descended, they entered; a direct provincial clerk announced congratulations for the whole formation. He then returned to the rear hall to meet the Vice Commissioner for Participation in Governance, the Bureau of Military Affairs vice commissioner, and the Palace Domestic Service commissioner, shared a meal, and withdrew.
10
建隆三年，中書、門下言：「准唐天成元年詔故事，藩鎮帶平章事，合於都堂視事，刊石以記官族，輸禮錢三千貫。 近年頗隳曩制。 自今藩鎮帶平章事者，輸禮錢五百千，刻石記歲月。 其錢以給兩省公用，望舉行之。」 詔自今宰相及樞密使兼平章事、侍中、中書令者，輸禮錢三百千，藩鎮五百千，刻石以記如舊制。 增秩者不再輸，舊相復入者輸如其數。
In the third year of Jianlong (962), the Secretariat and Chancellery reported: 'Under the Tang precedent of the first year of Tiancheng (926), a frontier commissioner who held Equal in Authority to the Chief Minister was to conduct business in the main hall, have his lineage carved in stone, and pay three thousand strings of cash as a ceremonial gift. In recent years that older system had largely fallen into disuse. Henceforth frontier commissioners with that title were to pay five hundred thousand in ceremonial cash and have the year and month carved in stone. The funds were to cover shared expenses of the two administrations; they asked that the rule be put into effect.' An edict followed: henceforth chief ministers and Bureau commissioners concurrently holding that title, Attendants-in-Chief, and Directors of the Secretariat were to pay three hundred thousand, frontier commissioners five hundred thousand, with stone records as before. Those promoted in rank did not pay again; former chief ministers returning to office paid the full amount anew.
11
乾德二年，置參知政事，就宣徽院赴上，而樞密使、副止上事於本廳。 後以曹彬兼侍中，為樞密使，特令赴中書上事。
In the second year of Qiande, Vice Commissioners for Participation in Governance were established; they reported to court at the Palace Domestic Service courtyard, while the Bureau commissioner and vice commissioner reported only within their own bureau. Later, because Cao Bin concurrently held Attendant-in-Chief while serving as Bureau commissioner, he was specially ordered to report at the Secretariat.
12
大中祥符中，詔自今宰相官至僕射者，並於中書都堂赴上，不帶平章事亦令赴上。 有司上儀注，宰相用常儀。 僕射本省上日，郎中、員外班迎于都堂門內，尚書丞、郎於東廊階上稍近班迎揖，金吾將軍升殿展拜賀，禮生贊引，主事讀案。 見任中書樞密使相、前任中書門下並不赴，余如宰相之儀。 上訖，與本省御史台四品、兩省五品、諸司三品以上會食。
During the Dazhong Xiangfu era, an edict required all officials from chief minister down to Vice Director to report at the Secretariat main hall, including those without the concurrent chief-minister title. The relevant offices submitted ritual protocols; chief ministers followed the regular ceremony. On a Vice Director's departmental reporting day, directors and vice directors formed a welcoming line inside the main-hall gate; assistant directors and directors on the eastern corridor steps formed a nearer line and bowed; the Golden Guard general ascended to offer congratulatory bows; ritual ushers guided; the chief clerk read the cases. Incumbent Secretariat and Bureau chief ministers and former Secretariat and Chancellery officials did not attend; the remainder followed the chief minister's rites. After reporting, he dined with fourth-rank officials of his department and the Censorate, fifth-rank officials of the two administrations, and third-rank officials of other agencies and above.
13
右僕射王旦充玉清昭應宮使，有司按故事，宰相凡有吉慶，百官皆班賀。 詔以未葺攸司，其班賀權罷。 旦赴上修宮所，特賜會，丞、郎、三司副使以上悉預。 自是宮觀使副上日皆賜會作樂。
Wang Dan, Right Vice Director, also served as commissioner of the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace; by precedent, whenever a chief minister celebrated an auspicious event, the hundred officials formed ranks to congratulate. An edict noted that because the palace office was not yet repaired, the ranked congratulations were temporarily suspended. When Dan reported at the palace site under repair, a special banquet was granted; assistant directors, directors, and Three Departments vice commissioners and above all attended. Thereafter, on the reporting day of palace commissioners and their deputies, banquets with music were always provided.
14
天禧初，太保、平章事王旦為太尉。 國朝以來，三公不兼宰相，無赴上儀。 特詔有司詳定，就尚書省赴上，百官班迎，宰相而下悉集。 御史大夫、中丞、知雜、三院御史皆僚屬送上，判案三道。 中丞以上，即京府尹、赤縣令、諸曹、節度、刺史、皇城、宮苑使悉集。 翰林學士入院日賜設，惟學士、中書舍人赴坐。 又資政、侍讀、侍講、龍圖閣學士、直學士兼秘書監並赴上。 秘閣及兩省五品以上任三館學士、判館、修撰者，皆賜設焉。
At the beginning of Tianxi, Grand Guardian and Commissioner with Equal Authority Wang Dan was appointed Grand Preceptor. Since the dynasty's founding, the Three Dukes had not concurrently served as chief minister, and no court-reporting ceremony existed for them. A special edict ordered the relevant offices to define the rite; he reported at the Department of State Affairs, the hundred officials formed ranks to welcome him, and everyone from the chief minister down assembled. The Censor-in-Chief, Vice Censor-in-Chief, Commissioner in Charge of Miscellaneous Affairs, and censors of the three bureaus, as his subordinates, presented him; three cases were marked for approval. From the Vice Censor-in-Chief upward, the capital prefect, magistrates of the imperial counties, bureau heads, military commissioners, prefects, and commissioners of the Imperial City and Palace Parks all assembled. On the day a Hanlin academician entered the academy, a banquet was granted; only academicians and Secretariat drafting officials took seats. Privy Council academicians, Readers-in-Waiting, Expositors-in-Waiting, Dragon Diagram Hall academicians, and direct academicians who concurrently held Director of the Palace Library likewise reported to court. Officials of the Secretariat Pavilion and fifth rank or above in the two administrations who served as Three Institutes academicians, institute directors, or compilers likewise received banquets.
15
朝省集議，前代不載其儀。 宋初，刑政典禮之事當集議者，先下詔都省，省吏以告當議之官，悉集都堂，設左、右丞于堂之東北，南向； 御史中丞於堂之西北，南向； 尚書、侍郎于堂東廂，西向； 兩省侍郎、常侍、給事、諫舍於堂之西廂，東向； 知名表郎官于堂之東南，北向； 監議御史於堂之西南，北向。 又設左右司郎中、員外于左、右丞之後，三院御史於中丞之後，郎中、員外于尚書、侍郎之後，起居、司諫、正言於諫舍之後。 如有僕射、御史大夫，即于左右丞，中丞之前。 如更有他官，即諸司三品于侍郎之南，東宮一品于尚書之前，武班二品於諫舍之南，皆重行異位。 卑者先就席。 左、右丞升廳，省吏抗聲揖群官就坐，知名表郎官以所議事授所司奉詣左、右丞，左、右丞執卷讀訖授中丞、中丞授于尚書、侍郎，以次讀訖，復授知名表郎官。 將畢，左、右丞奉筆叩頭揖群官，以一副紙書所議事節署字於下，授四坐。 監議御史命吏告云：「所見不同者請不署字。」 以官高者為表首。 如止集本省官，坐如常儀，其知名表郎官、監議御史坐仍北向。 惟僕射以上得乘馬至都堂，他官雖同平章，事亦止屏外。
Assemblies for deliberation at the provincial offices were not recorded in earlier ages. Early in the Song, when penal, canonical, or ceremonial matters required joint deliberation, an edict went first to the provincial offices; clerks summoned the designated officials to the main hall, where the Left and Right Assistant Directors sat in the northeast, facing south; the Vice Censor-in-Chief in the northwest, facing south; Directors and Vice Directors in the eastern wing, facing west; Vice Directors, Regular Attendants, Drafters, Remonstrators, and Advisers of the two administrations in the western wing, facing east; notable memorial drafters in the southeast, facing north; supervising censors in the southwest, facing north. Behind them sat the Left and Right Bureau directors and vice directors behind the Assistant Directors; censors of the three bureaus behind the Vice Censor-in-Chief; directors and vice directors behind the department heads; and Regular Attendants, Remonstrators, and Rectifiers behind the Remonstrators and Advisers. If Vice Directors or a Censor-in-Chief were present, they sat before the Assistant Directors and Vice Censor-in-Chief. Other officials took assigned places: third-rank agency heads south of the Vice Directors; Eastern Palace first rank before the Directors; second-rank military officials south of the Remonstrators—all in double rows at separate stations. The lower in rank took their seats first. The Assistant Directors ascended; clerks called out and bowed the officials to their seats. The notable memorial drafter delivered the matter to the relevant office and brought it to the Assistant Directors, who read it through and passed it to the Vice Censor-in-Chief, then to the Directors and Vice Directors in turn, and finally back to the notable memorial drafter. Near the end, the Assistant Directors took the brush, kowtowed, bowed to the assembly, wrote the matter on a separate sheet with their signatures below, and distributed copies to the four seats. The supervising censor had a clerk announce: 'Those who disagree should not sign.' The highest-ranking official led the memorial. When only one's own department assembled, seating followed the regular arrangement; the notable memorial drafter and supervising censor still faced north. Only officials from Vice Director upward might ride a horse to the main hall; others, even with the concurrent chief-minister title, still halted outside the screen.
16
明道二年，尚書議莊獻、莊懿太后升祔，省官帶內外制、兼三司副使承例移文不赴。
In the second year of Mingdao (1033), when the Department deliberated enshrining Empresses Dowager Zhuangxian and Zhuangyi, provincial officials who concurrently held drafting posts and Three Departments vice commissioner titles sent documents under precedent and did not attend.
17
監議御史段少連以為官帶近職，一時之選，宜有建明，不當反自高異。 乃奏議事不集以違制論。 從之。
Supervising Censor Duan Shaolian argued that holders of near-service posts were chosen for the moment and ought to offer constructive views rather than hold themselves aloof. He therefore memorialized that failure to attend deliberation should be prosecuted as a regulatory violation. The throne accepted his view.
18
集賢校理趙良規言：「國朝故事，令敕儀制，別有學士、知制誥、待制、三司副使著位，視品與前朝異，固無在朝敘職、入省敘官之說。 若全不論職，則後行員外郎兼學士，在朝立丞、郎上，入省居比、駕下； 知制誥、待制入朝與侍郎同列，入省分廁散郎； 員外郎任三司副使、郎中任判官，在三司為參佐，入本省為正員。 所以舊來議事，集尚書省官，帶職者不赴。 別詔三省悉集，則及大小兩省； 內朝官悉集，則及學士、待制、三司副使； 更集他官，則諸司三品、武官二品，各次本司長官。 故事，尚書省官帶知制誥，中書省奏班簿，是於尚書省、御史台了不著籍，故有絕曹之語。 又凡定學士、舍人、兩省著位，除先後入外，若有升降，皆特稟朝旨，豈有在朝、入省迭為高下？」 御史台、禮院詳定，久不決。
Collator Zhao Lianggui of the Hall of Assembled Talents argued: 'Dynastic precedent assigns separate positions in edicts and ritual codes to academicians, drafters, Awaiting Imperial Orders recipients, and Three Departments vice commissioners; their court rank differs from Tang practice, and there is no clear rule for court versus provincial precedence. If office were wholly disregarded, a rear-row vice director who concurrently served as academician would stand above assistant directors and directors at court yet below them in the provincial offices; drafters and Awaiting Imperial Orders recipients would rank with Vice Directors at court yet share latrines with unattached directors in the provincial offices; a vice director serving as Three Departments vice commissioner, or a director serving as judge, was a subordinate in the Three Departments but a full regular official in his own department. For this reason, deliberations at the Department of State Affairs traditionally summoned only its own officials, while those holding concurrent posts did not attend. When a separate edict required all three administrations to assemble, both the senior and junior two administrations were included; when inner-court officials were summoned, academicians, Awaiting Imperial Orders recipients, and Three Departments vice commissioners were included; if still other officials were called, third-rank agency heads and second-rank military officers each followed their own department chiefs. By precedent, a Department official who concurrently served as drafter was listed on the Secretariat's rank roster but not registered with the Department or Censorate—hence the phrase 'severed from the bureau.' Moreover, assigning positions to academicians, drafters, and the two administrations depended on order of entry and special court orders for any promotion or demotion—how could court and provincial precedence simply alternate?' The Censorate and Rites Office reviewed the matter at length but could not reach a decision for some time.
19
判禮院馮元等曰：「會議之文，由來非一，或出朝廷別旨，或循官司舊規。 故集本省者，即南省官； 集學士、兩省、台官者，容有兩制、給舍、中丞； 集學士、台省及諸司四品以上者，容有卿、監； 集文武百官者，容有諸衛。 蓋謀事有小大，集官有等差，率系詔文，乃該餘職。 少連乙太常易名之細，考功覆議之常，誤謂群司普當會席，列為具奏，嬰以嚴科，遂使絕曹清列，還入本行，分局常員，略無異等。 請臣僚擬諡，止集南省官屬，或事緣體大，臨時敕判，兼召三省、台、寺，即依舊例。」 御史台言：「今尚書省官任兩制者，系台省之籍，無坐曹之實。 論職官之言，正為絕曹者設，豈可受祿則系官定奉，議事則絕曹為辭？ 況王旦、王化基、趙安仁、晁迥、杜鎬、楊億皆嘗預議於尚書省。 故相李昉為主客郎中、知制誥日，屢經都省議事。 又議大事，僕射、御史大夫入省，唯僕射至廳下馬，於今行之，所以重本省也。 故都堂會議，列狀以品，就坐以官，忽此更張，恐非通理。」
Feng Yuan and others, adjudicating for the Rites Office, argued: 'Assembly summons had never been uniform—some issued from separate court instructions, others followed each office's old regulations. When one's own department assembled, that meant Southern Administration officials; when academicians, the two administrations, and Censorate officials assembled, drafters, memorial drafters, Regular Attendants, and the Vice Censor-in-Chief might be included; when academicians, the Censorate and provincial offices, and fourth-rank officials and above assembled, directors and commissioners might be included; when civil and military officials assembled, the various guards might be included. Deliberations varied in scope, and summoned officials varied in rank—all according to the edict, which thereby covered the relevant offices. Shaolian had treated minor matters—the Grand Sacrifices Office's Yi-year name change and the Ministry of Personnel's routine review—as if every office should always attend, listed them in a full memorial, and sought severe punishment, forcing 'severed bureau' officials back into ordinary rows with little distinction among regular posts. We ask that deliberations on posthumous titles summon only Southern Administration subordinates; if the matter were exceptionally weighty, a temporary edict might additionally summon the three administrations, Censorate, and courts, following old precedent.' The Censorate replied: 'Today a Department official who concurrently serves as drafter is entered on the Censorate and provincial roster yet does not actually sit in the bureau. Rules on office and rank exist precisely for those severed from the bureau—how can one draw salary under a fixed office title yet plead severance from the bureau when deliberating affairs? Moreover Wang Dan, Wang Huaji, Zhao Anren, Chao Jiong, Du Hao, and Yang Yi had all deliberated at the Department of State Affairs. Former chief minister Li Fang, while Director of the Bureau of Receptions and drafter, had repeatedly deliberated at the provincial main hall. When great affairs were deliberated, Vice Directors and Censors-in-Chief entered the provincial offices; only the Vice Director dismounted below the hall—a practice still observed today—to honor the department. At main-hall assemblies, memorials were ordered by rank and seats by office; to overturn this abruptly would likely violate sound principle.'
20
禮官吳育曰：「兩奏各有未安。 尚書省制度雖崇，亦天子之有司，在朝廷既殊班列，入有司輒易尊卑，是以朝省為彼我、官職分二事也。 兩制近職，若有事議而雲絕班不赴，非所以求至當。 且知制誥中書省奏班簿，是謂絕班。 翰林學士亦知制誥，不絕班簿。 此因循之制，非確據也。 縱絕班有例，而絕官無聞，一人命書，三省連判，而都無所系，止為奉錢，豈命官之禮？ 今取典故中最明一事，足以質定。 祥符五年僕射上事儀：絕班之官，別頭贊引，不與本省官同在迎班。 請凡會議，省官帶近職者，別作一行而坐，自為序列，非以相壓。 若招兩制、台省、諸司、諸衛官畢集，則各從其類，自作一行，書議如其位次。」
Rites official Wu Yu said: 'Neither proposal is fully satisfactory. Though the Department of State Affairs ranks high, it remains the emperor's bureaucracy; ranks already differ at court, yet entering the offices one suddenly reverses superior and inferior—making court and provincial offices rival camps and splitting office from duty. If near-service drafters refused attendance on grounds of severed rank when affairs required deliberation, that was no way to reach the best outcome. Moreover the drafter's rank roster submitted by the Secretariat is what 'severed rank' means. Hanlin academicians also hold the drafter title but are not severed from the rank roster. That was inertia, not firm precedent. Even if severed rank had precedent, severed office did not; one man's appointment was countersigned by all three administrations yet tied to none, receiving only salary—is that how offices are appointed? Take the clearest single precedent, sufficient to settle the matter. The fifth year of Xiangfu ceremony for a Vice Director's presentation required officials severed from rank to have a separate usher and not share the welcoming line with their own department. We ask that at deliberations, provincial officials with near-service posts sit in a separate row forming their own sequence, not to dominate others. If drafters, Censorate and provincial officials, various agencies, and guards are all summoned, each category forms its own row, and the written deliberation follows their proper order.'
21
詔尚書省議事，應帶職官三司副使以上並不赴，如遇集議大事，令赴，別設坐次。
An edict ruled that at Department deliberations, concurrent officials from Three Departments vice commissioner upward need not attend; when major deliberations required them, they attended with separate seating.
22
是歲，紫宸、垂拱殿刊石為百官表位。 三司使，內朝班學士右，獨立石位； 門外，亦班其上。
That year, ranked positions for the hundred officials were carved in stone at the Zichen and Chuigong halls. For the Three Departments commissioner: in the inner-court formation, academicians stood to the right with a separate stone marker; outside the gate, likewise ranked above them.
23
熙寧二年，御史台、太常禮院詳定臣僚禦路上馬之制：近上臣僚及北使到闕，並於禦路上行馬。 中書樞密院執政官、宣徽院、御史中丞、知雜御史、左右金吾、攝事官清道者，導從呵止依舊式，其三司副使以上亦許出節。 正任觀察使以上與合出節臣僚，並許自宣德門外至天漢橋北禦路上行馬，如從賀出入及宗室內庭諸宮院車騎，並不在此限。
In the second year of Xining (1069), the Censorate and Court of Imperial Sacrifices Rites Office defined regulations for mounting horses on the Imperial Way: senior officials and northern envoys arriving at court all rode along the Imperial Way. Chief ministers of the Secretariat and Bureau, Palace Domestic Service commissioners, Vice Censor-in-Chief, Commissioner in Charge of Miscellaneous Affairs, Left and Right Golden Guard, and acting commissioners with clear passage kept the old escort and shouting rules; Three Departments vice commissioners and above might also display insignia. Regular appointees of military commissioner and above, together with officials permitted insignia, might ride the Imperial Way from outside Xuande Gate to north of Tianhan Bridge; processions for congratulations and imperial-clan inner palaces were excepted.
24
御史台又言：「舊制：百官台參、辭謝臣僚于朝堂，先赴三院御史幕次，又赴中丞幕次，得以體按老疾。 今止于御史廳一員對拜，不惟有失舊儀，兼恐不能公共參驗。 請如舊制朝堂拜揖，遇放常朝，即詣御史台。」 已而詔宰臣、親王、使相、兩府、宣徽使，遇入樞密院門，許至從南第二門外上下馬。 又詔：宰臣上馬，樞密院次之，諸司又次之，左、右丞上下馬處並同兩省侍郎。
The Censorate added: 'Under the old rules, when the hundred officials attended the provincial offices or presented thanks and farewell at the audience hall, they first visited the three bureaus' censor screens, then the Vice Censor-in-Chief's screen, where age and illness could be accommodated. Today only a single censor in the Censorate hall exchanges bows—not only losing the old ceremony but likely preventing joint public verification. We ask to restore bows in the audience hall, proceeding to the Censorate only when regular audience was canceled.' An edict soon allowed chief ministers, imperial princes, chief-minister commissioners, the two administrations, and Palace Domestic Service commissioners to mount and dismount outside the second gate south of the followers when entering the Bureau gate. A further edict set mounting order: chief ministers first, then the Bureau, then other offices; the Left and Right Assistant Directors mounted and dismounted at the same places as the two administrations' Vice Directors.
25
御史台言：「左丞蒲宗孟、右丞王安禮賀僕射上尚書省，於都堂下馬。 按左、右丞上下馬於本廳。 請付有司推治。」 安禮爭論上前，以為今日置左、右丞為執政官，不應有厚薄。 左、右丞於都堂上下馬自此始。
The Censorate reported: 'Left Assistant Director Pu Zongmeng and Right Assistant Director Wang Anli congratulated the Vice Director at the Department and dismounted at the main hall. Regulations required Assistant Directors to mount and dismount at their own hall. We ask the relevant offices to investigate and punish.' Wang Anli argued before the emperor that Assistant Directors were now chief executive officials and should not be treated unequally. From this time Assistant Directors mounted and dismounted at the main hall.
26
尋詔執政官退朝上馬，宰臣于樞密院，余於隔門外。 都堂聚議退，左丞于門下侍郎廳，右丞于中書侍郎廳。 品官詣尚書省上下馬依雜壓，大中大夫以上就第一貯廊，監察御史以上就過道，諸六曹尚書、侍郎即大中大夫以上就本廳，監察御史以上就客位，餘並過道門外。
Soon an edict required chief executive officials after audience to mount at the Bureau for chief ministers and outside the partition gate for others. After main-hall deliberations adjourned, the Left Assistant Director mounted at the Gatehouse Vice Director's hall and the Right at the Secretariat Vice Director's hall. Ranked officials mounting at the Department followed miscellaneous precedence: Palace Grandees and above at the first storage corridor, Supervising Censors and above at the passageway; Six Bureaus Directors and Vice Directors at Grandee rank or above at their own hall, Supervising Censors and above at the guest seat, others outside the passageway gate.
27
政和朝參臣僚上馬次序：俟皇城門開，樞密入，次三省執政官，次一品二品文臣觕、六曹侍郎、殿中監、開封尹、大司成、侍從官、兩省，次百官，御史台編欄以次入。
Under Zhenghe, mounting order at audience was: after the Imperial City gate opened, the Bureau entered first, then three-administration chief executives, then first- and second-rank civil officials in coarse dress, Six Bureaus Vice Directors, Palace Directorate director, Kaifeng prefect, Grand Director of Studies, attendants, and the two administrations, then the hundred officials, with the Censorate arranging entry by column.
28
其宰相罷政，韓琦以司徒、節度判相州，曾公亮以司空、節度為集禧觀使，王安石以觀文殿大學士、吏部尚書知江甯府。 曹佾以中書令、節度充景靈宮使，韓絳以觀文殿大學士、吏部侍郎知大名府，致仕太師文彥博來朝，其大朝會班位儀物如之。 吳育以觀文殿大學士、吏部尚書為西太一宮使，大朝會綴中書、門下班而已。 自是，舊相按例重輕以特旨行之。
When chief ministers left office: Han Qi served as Grand Mentor and military commissioner judging Xiangzhou; Zeng Gongliang as Grand Guardian and military commissioner of the Jixi Palace; Wang Anshi as Academician of the Hall for Observing Culture, Director of Personnel, and Jiangning prefect. Cao Yi as Director of the Secretariat and military commissioner headed the Jingling Palace; Han Jiang as Academician of the Hall for Observing Culture and Vice Director of Personnel governed Daming; retired Grand Preceptor Wen Yanbo attended court—all retaining their great-audience rank, position, and regalia. Wu Yu as Academician of the Hall for Observing Culture and Director of Personnel headed the Western Supreme Unity Palace; at great audience he merely followed the Secretariat and Chancellery formation. Thereafter, former chief ministers' precedence followed special edicts weighing each case.
29
治平四年，御史台言：「慶曆中，有詔詳定武臣出節呵引之制：節度使在尚書下，三節。 節度觀察留後在諸行侍郎下，兩節。 觀察使在中書舍人下，諸衛大將軍、防禦，團練使在大卿監下，內客省使比諸司大卿，景福殿使比將作監，引進使比庶子，在防禦使上，以上各一節。 諸州刺史、諸衛將軍在少卿監下，宣慶、四方館使比少卿，宣政、昭宣、閣門使比司天監少監，諸衛將軍上，皇城使以下諸司使比郎中，客省、引進、閣門副使比員外郎，樞密都承旨在司天少監下、閣門使上，副都承旨在閣門使下，樞密副承旨、諸房副承旨在諸司使下，以上並兩人呵引。 當時已施行矣，而皇祐編敕刪去此制，請復舉行。」
In the fourth year of Zhiping (1067), the Censorate reported: 'During Qingli an edict had defined military officials' insignia and escorts: a military commissioner ranked below the Director and displayed three insignia. A military commissioner, observation commissioner, or acting commissioner ranked below bureau vice directors and displayed two insignia. An observation commissioner ranked below a Secretariat drafter; guard grand generals, defense commissioners, and training commissioners below grand directors; the Inner Reception commissioner equaled grand directors, the Jingfu Hall commissioner the Directorate of Imperial Works, the Presentation commissioner the Palace Son—all above defense commissioners and each displaying one insignia. Prefects and guard generals ranked below vice directors; Xuanqing and Four Directions commissioners equaled vice directors; Xuanzheng, Zhaoxuan, and Gatehouse commissioners equaled the Directorate of Astronomy vice director, above guard generals; Imperial City and other commissioners below directors; Reception, Presentation, and Gatehouse vice commissioners below vice directors; Bureau chiefs below the Astronomy vice director and above Gatehouse commissioners; bureau deputy chiefs below office commissioners—all with two shouting ushers. That system had already been in force, but the Huangyou compiled statutes deleted it; we ask that it be restored and enforced again.'