Duduan 獨斷どくだん

Duduan 獨斷どくだん "Definitions [in government and administration]" is a short handbook on the political institutions and rules of government ("constitution") of ancient China until the Later Han period 後こう漢かん (25-220). It is traditionally attributed to the scholar Cai Yong 蔡邕 (132-192) from the very end of the Han period. The compilers of the series Siku quanshu 四よん庫こ全書ぜんしょ, however, were aware that the received version cannot have been written by Cai Yong but must be of a somewhat later date.

The information provided in the Duduan corresponds to descriptions in the contemporary ritual classic Liji 禮れい記き, and not to that in the Zhouli 周しゅう禮あや, which allegedly reflects administrative rules of the government of the Western Zhou period 西にし周あまね (11th cent.-770 BCE). Exceptions are some minor differences like the size of official caps. It can also be seen that sources quoting from the Duduan, like the Tang-period 唐とう (618-907) encyclopaedia Chuxueji 初學しょがく記き, present sentences not included in the received version. The latter nevertheless seems to be a complete overview of the most important ceremonial aspects of the central government. The Song-period 宋そう (960-1279) scholar Wang Yinglin 王おう應おう麟 (1223-1296) reconstructed the Duduan from the literary fragments he could obtain. His Xinding duduan 新定しんじょう獨斷どくだん, a revised version of the Duduan, is lost, and the version compiled for the Siku quanshu 四よん庫こ全書ぜんしょ is thus only fragmentary.

The Duduan begins with definition of a lot of terms centering around the emperor, personal pronouns used by himself and by others, imperial carriages, the palace, seals, and documents issued by the emperor and submitted to him. It goes on to define the different terms for the imperial consorts, the princely establishments, the hereditary states, ancestors and gods, and the various sacrificial spots. It describes the ritual activities of the emperors through the year, like offerings or hunts. The last part of the Duduan deals with names of ceremonial caps and posthumous honorific titles for emperors and dignified persons.

The Duduan is included in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川ももかわ學海がっかい, Gujin yishi 古今ここん逸史いっし, Gezhi congshi 格かく致叢書しょ, Han-Wei congshu 漢かん魏ぎ叢書そうしょ, Congshu jicheng 叢書そうしょ集成しゅうせい, Sibu congkan 四よん部ぶ叢くさむら刊かん. These editions are based on several prints, one from the Baojing Studio 抱だき經堂きょうどう, one facsimile of a Song print by the Ming-period scholar Liu Xun 劉りゅう遜へりくだ, and one from Jin Weiyuan 金きん維垣.