In 1636 (天聰十年) Hong Taiji established three offices for the handling of archival documents. I'm interested in how this reflects Hong Taiji's views on the difference between "history" (suduri) and "precedent" (kooli). Prior to this event, the Mongolian word suduri (a loanword ultimately from Sanskrit sūtra) was not used to refer to records of past events, only the word kooli was used.
The three offices were:
National Office of History (gurun-i suduri ejere yamun)
The functions of this office were:
- To record the emperor's speeches and edicts
- To store documents written by the emperor's own hand
- To compose the following types of documents to be read before the throne
- Records relating to the emperor's handling of military and government affairs
- Texts connected with rituals addressed to Heaven (abka wecere bithe)
- To compile and compose histories from the following sources
- Texts related to rites performed at ancestral temples
- Historical texts of ancestors over the generations
- Funerary stelas
- All secret documents
- Back-and-forth communications with officials
- All documents submitted to the throne
- To decide which of the following are suitable for recording as history
- Letters of posthumous enfeoffment
- Text to be made into seals (? doron de arara bithe)
- Communications with foreign and guest nations
Office of Secret Documents (narhūn bithei yamun)
There may be something wrong with the Manchu text here, because this description ends with a noun phrase and no verb. It appears to me this reads as follows:
- To consign the following types of documents to the temple of Confucius for ritual purposes
- Documents exchanged with foreign nations
- Whatever documents have been submitted by [other] nations
- Accusations of wrongdoing
- Documents issued by the emperor
- Imperial rescripts to be given to civil and military officials
- Texts to be left with people who have died. (There is no verb to say what is to be done with these documents)
Office for Promulgating Precedents
The functions of this office were:
- To write explanations of good and bad precedents across the generations since ancient times, and to report them to the emperor
- To discuss these with the Heir Apparent
- To teach the princes
- To promulgate precedents to the masses
