Biographies of Exemplary Officials

CORE DEFINITION

Biographies of exemplary officials is a category in the Chinese dynastic histories, including the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han, that records officials who followed the law while protecting the welfare of the population. The category is defined in contrast to the biographies of harsh officials who governed through severe punishment. The core proposition is that governance standards are transmitted more effectively through concrete models than through abstract rules, so the histories supply exemplars that officials can imitate. The key qualification is that the contrast with harsh officials is not a contrast with law, since the exemplary official is rigorous about the law and humane in its application.