Official’s training in early imperial China: a comparative analysis of the *Congzheng zhi jing 從政之經, *Wei li zhi dao 為吏之道 and Wei li zhi guan ji qian shou 為吏治官及黔首 manuscripts

The reign of the Qin dynasty (221-206 BCE) was characterised by a search for imperial unity. During this period, the governing elite of the dynasty developed a centralised administration system based on the employment of bureaucracy. The premises for the control of the central power were based on a frequent communication between the central government and local administrative entities. The functioning of this bureaucratic system was leaning of the work of thousands of civil officials, in charge for the smooth bureaucratic interchange. Therefore, officials must have followed some clear and standard regulation to ensure the functioning of the bureaucratic machine of the empire. Aim of this research project is to study the training process of Qin imperial officials. Specifically, to analyse if they had to follow a unified studying curriculum to prepare for administering their post. The study has been done through the comparative analysis of three Qin unearthed manuscripts: the *Congzheng zhi jing 從政之經 (belonging to the cache of Qin looted manuscripts of the Peking University 北京大學), the *Wei li zhi dao 為吏之道 (belonging to the cache of Qin texts unearthed from Shuihudi 睡虎地, Yunmeng 雲夢 county, Hubei 湖北) and the Wei li zhi guan ji qianshou 為吏治官及黔首 (belonging to the cache of Qin looted manuscripts of the Yuelu Academy 岳麓書院). These texts, labelled as studying manuals, were probably the foundation of the studying curriculum of an imperial official. In my dissertation I analyse and compare the layout and contents features of the manuscripts, paying particular attention to their use of rhythmical, metrical and modular compositions. Through this comparison I investigate the ideas at the basis of officials’ training, analysing if the standard issued by the central government really (and to which extent) reached the local realities of the empire.