Leaking Rulers and Confidential Officials
Secrecy and Status in Early Chinese Political Culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21878166 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Luke Habberstad (0000-0002-9080-7371, University of Oregon, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-22 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Chinese History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-1632 • E-ISSN: 2059-1640 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/jch.2023.14 |
| OpenAlex | W4386069303 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 11 |
This article traces the spread of a norm of confidentiality within elite political culture during the Warring States, Qin, and Western Han periods. Instead of an emphasis on secrecy within military and administrative contexts, it explores discussions of “leaking” ( xie 泄/洩 or lou 漏) and characterizations of “confidentiality” ( zhou 周 and mi 密) in idealized representations of political action. While Warring States texts drew upon a medical language of qi circulation to fashion a model of a perfectly leakproof ruler, by Western Han attention had shifted from rulers to officials. This valorization of official confidentiality was connected to institutional developments, especially proscriptions against leaking from privileged spaces at the imperial court, visible in sources from the late Western Han. In this final period there arose a celebrated norm of circumspection, shared by rulers and officials alike, that in theory would allow all parties to evade disaster
Confidentiality · Elite · Political science · Politics · Ruler · Secrecy · Sociology · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Law · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |