Overview
Da Jin jili (Collected Ritual Regulations of the Great Jin) is a compilation of ritual materials associated with the Jurchen-founded Jin dynasty. The received text comprises forty volumes and preserves information about imperial accessions, honorific titles and posthumous designations, sacrifices, court audiences, ceremonial processions, and related regulations. Following the establishment of Jin rule in 1115, the dynasty developed court ritual institutions that incorporated elements of Jurchen political tradition as well as precedents inherited or adapted from earlier Chinese imperial practice.
Historical Background
Bibliographic discussions commonly associate the work's compilation with approximately Mingchang year six (1195), during the reign of Emperor Zhangzong. Questions concerning the precise stages of editing, the transmission of the received text, and missing passages require specialist textual research. The version included in the Siku quanshu organizes material under headings such as imperial titles and additional posthumous honors. Volume forty preserves detailed procedures for regular court audiences at the new and full moon, including prescribed official positions, clothing, and the order in which matters were presented.
Sources and Interpretation
Unlike a concise retrospective narrative, a ritual manual can illuminate how formal ceremonies were meant to be conducted in practice. It may also preserve information not described extensively in the later History of Jin. Its significance for Manchu studies is comparative: the Jurchen world of the Jin dynasty forms part of the longer history of northeastern Asia, but the institutions described here should not be treated as direct descriptions of the Qing Eight Banners. Connections and differences between the two historical periods must be demonstrated rather than assumed.
Sources and Bibliography
Links reproduce references supplied with the Chinese editorial manuscript; they do not establish that every individual statement has undergone independent archival verification.
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