jian 諫, remonstrance

Admonition or critique (jian 諫) was introduced when ministers or authorised officials were not convinced by an imperial decision. The term thus refers to remonstration against a verdict or legal ruling, as well as the rejection of a document due to formal or factual shortcomings.

The word is used by Confucius (Lunyu 論語, ch. Li ren 里仁) to emphasise that sons, serving their parents, may be permitted to remonstrate with them, but only in a gentle manner. Liu Xiang 劉向 (79-8 or 77-6 BCE), author of the collection Shuoyuan 說苑 (ch. Chenshu 臣術), places it within the context of court politics and advocates criticism of a ruler's faulty decisions, because silence in the face of errors could endanger the state and harm the ancestral altars. Liu describes "admonishment" (jian 諫) as a form of critique which, if not accepted by the ruler, might lead the official to leave the court (bu yong ze qu zhi 不用則去之). "Disputation" (zheng 諍) was a type of critique whose rejection by the ruler could result in the critic's execution (bu yong ze si 不用則死).

An example of such a risk is given in the Tang-period 唐 (618-907) story Yangdi kaihe ji 煬帝開河記 (transformed into the novella Sui Yangdi yi you zhao qian 隋煬帝逸游召譴, ch. 24 of Feng Menglong's 馮夢龍 [1574-1645] collection Xingshi hengyan 配世恒言). Emperor Yang 隋煬帝 (r. 604-617) of the Sui dynasty 隋 (581-618) had all critics of his canal projects executed (jian zhen bu kai he zhe, jian zhi 諫朕不開河者，斬之). Another paradigm of execution for critique is Wu Zixu 伍子胥 (d. 484) who was ordered to commit suicide (cisi 賜死) after having criticised the king of Wu 吳.

There were apparently five different modes for presenting critique (wujian 五諫), but the terminology and classification vary. The Shuoyuan (ch. Zhengjian 正諫) enumerates them as direct admonishment (zhengjian 正諫), devious admonishment (jiangjian 降(=譎?)諫), loyal admonishment (zhongjian 忠諫), reckless admonishment (gangjian 戇諫), and indirect admonishment (fengjian 諷諫). Ban Gu's 班固 (32-92 CE) Baihutong 白虎通 (ch. Jianzheng 諫諍) calls them "allusive admonition" (fengjian 諷諫), "conciliatory admonition" (shunjian 順諫), "observant admonition" (kuijian 窺諫), "indicating admonition" (zhijian 指諫), and "daring admonition" (xianjian 陷諫). The summary of Li Yun's 李雲 (d. 160 CE) biography in the official dynastic history Houhanshu 後漢書 says that indirect/allusive admonishment (fengjian) was the most respectable form. A commentary by Li Xian 李賢 (654–684) adds that the conciliatory admonition (shujian) attempted not to hurt the ruler's mind, the watching admonition (alternatively written 闚諫) was voiced while regarding the sovereign's facial complexion, the indicating admonition (zhijian) was expressed while bringing forward substantial arguments (zhi zhi 質指), and the daring admonition (xianzhi) pointed at the potential harm inflicted to the country when the speaker did not consider of one's own life (wang sheng 忘生).

The collection Kongzi jiayu 孔子家語 (ch. Bianzheng 辨證) quotes Confucius, who listed the five types of admonishments as "devious admonishment" (juejian 譎諫), "reckless admonishment" (kanjian 戇諫), "dismissive admonishment" (jiangjian 降諫), "direct admonishment" (zhijian 直諫), and "indirect admonishment" (fengjian 風[=諷]諫). He Xiu's 何休 commentary on the Classic Gongyangzhuan 公羊傳 (Zhuanggong 莊公 24) finally gives examples for the five types of admonishments, which are indirect admonishment (fengjian 諷諫), conciliatory admonishment (shunjian 順諫), direct admonishment (zhijian 直諫), remonstrating admonishment (zhengjian 爭[=諫]諫), and reckless admonishment (kanjian 贛[=戇]諫).

The typical documentary form of remonstration was jianyi 諫議 or jianshu 諫疏. These documents usually weighed the advantages and disadvantages of an imperial decision and then proposed a better solution than that outlined in an imperial edict. In pre-imperial China, the word jian is often used when a sovereign was criticised for a notorious behaviour that endangered government finances, political security, or the dynastic altars.

The word jian 諫 or jianyi 諫議 is also the abbreviation of Grand Master of Remonstrance (jianyi dafu 諫議大夫, jian dafu 諫大夫). The office was created by the Qin dynasty 秦 (221-206 BCE) and was subordinated under the Chamberlain for Attendants (guangluxun 光祿勳) during the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE). During the Sui and Tang periods, the duty of remonstrating was divided among a left and right Grand Master of Remonstrance (zuo jianyi dafu 左諫議大夫, you jianyi dafu 右諫議大夫) who were subordinated under the Chancellery (menxiasheng 門下省) and the Palace Secretariat (zhongshusheng 中書省). The office was abolished in the early Ming period 明 (1368-1644).

The Remonstrance Bureau (jianyuan 諫院) was a Song-period 宋 (960-1279) office responsible for scrutinising documents flowing to and from the throne and for criticising proposals and policy decisions deemed improper. It was a relatively small institution with remonstrators (sijian 司諫) and exhorters (zhengyan 正言), with a total number of six functionaries, and was abolished in 1382. Thereafter, the remonstrance functions were assigned to the Censorate (duchayuan 都察院) and the Six Offices of Scrutiny (liuke 六科).