shi 式, administrative ordinances

Ordinances (shi 式) were a specialised type of administrative regulation in imperial China. Shi ordinances constitute a procedural system for official documents and records, as well as detailed regulations for administrative activities. The statecraft encyclopaedia Tang liudian 唐六典 states, "ordinances serve to regulate matters and establish procedures for individual affairs" (shi yi gui wu cheng shi 式以軌物程事). The treatise on law (ch. 56 Xingfa zhi 刑法志) in the official dynastic history Xintangshu 新唐書 defines shi ordinances as "rules that are consistently observed".

The usage of the term in the context of legal regulations can be traced back to the Western Zhou period 西周 (11th cent.-770 BCE). The Shangshu 尚書 "Book of Documents" (ch. Weizi zhi ming 微子之命), states, "the ten thousand states will imitate your rules" (wan bang zuo shi 萬邦作式). In early imperial times, the Qin state 秦 (221-206 BCE) promulgated shi ordinances, for instance, the Fengzhen shi 封診式 "Formal regulations for sealing and investigating", from among the Bamboo Slips of Shuihudi 睡虎地. Based on the Han-period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) statutes regarding official ranks, pinshi zhangcheng 品式章程, the Western Wei empire 西魏 (535-556) issued the code Datong shi 大統式.

The Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618) categorised laws and regulations into four types: statutes (lü 律), sub-statutes (ling 令), regulations (ge 格), and ordinances (shi 式). The Tang dynasty 唐 (618-907) adhered to this classification and promulgated the codes Wude shi 武德式, Zhenguan shi 貞觀式, Yonghui shi 永徽式, Chuigong shi 垂拱式, and Kaiyuan shi 開元式. Though these are named after the reigning motto in effect at the time, there was also a code named Zhifang shi 職方式, from which the regulatory function for the administration can be inferred.

During the Song period 宋 (960-1279), the term shi encompasses various types of documents whose names denote how the respective regulations originated. The treatise on law (ch. 199-201 Xingfa zhi 刑法志) in the Songshi 宋史, for example, references memorials (biaozou 表奏), registers (zhangji 帳籍), permits (guandie 關牒), and official messages with tokens (fuxi 符檄). Emperor Shenzong 宋神宗 (r. 1067-1085) defined shi ordinances as those that "prompt others to imitate them" (shi bi xiao zhi, zhi wei shi 使彼效之，之謂式). Examples of Song-period ordinances include Zhici shi 支賜式 (on official rewards), Guanma fengma caoliao shi 官馬俸馬草料式 (on fodder for government-owned horses), Suijiu shi 隨酒式 (on public banquets), Xining xinding shifu shi 熙寧新定時服式 (on official robes) and Xijing zangshi 熙寧葬式 (on burials).

The use of separate shi ordinances was discontinued under the Ming 明 (1368-1644) and Qing 清 (1644-1911) dynasties.