Genealogy News · Source Interpretation · Published on 2026-10-06

The Family Memory of Two Ming-Dynasty Imperial Patents of the Shang Clan in Lishang

The two Ming-dynasty silk imperial patents preserved by the Shang clan in Lishang Village, Chun’an, Zhejiang, concern the posthumous conferment of an honor on Shang Lu and Shang Mengru’s initial appointment to office, respectively. They serve both as tangible evidence of Ming-dynasty institutions and documentary forms and as verifiable clues for the study of local families.

In Lishang Village, Chun’an, the Shang clan is traditionally said to have preserved two Ming-dynasty imperial patents on damask silk. The genealogical records title them respectively “Imperial Patent Bestowing a Rank and the Posthumous Name Wenyi on Lord Wenyi” and “Imperial Edict Appointing Lord Rumeng to His First Office as a Jianxiao at the Nanjing Censorate.” One document concerns posthumous honors, while the other concerns an official appointment. They relate to different individuals, ranks, and periods. Considered together, they can help people understand the Ming system of imperial patents and edicts and provide concrete material reference points for the historical memory of local families.

One of the scrolls is an imperial patent received after Shang Lu’s death. Existing records indicate that it is made of multicolored brocade silk, with ascending and descending dragon motifs and the characters “Imperial Patent from Heaven” woven at the beginning of the scroll. The end of the scroll identifies its production as dating to the Chenghua period, while the brocade panels in the middle feature auspicious clouds, flying cranes, and other motifs. The document states that Shang Lu had served as Junior Guardian, concurrently Minister of Personnel and Grand Academician of the Jinshen Hall, and that he was posthumously granted the rank of Tejin Ronglu Dafu and Grand Preceptor, together with the posthumous name “Wenyi.” Shang Lu is relatively well known in the political and examination history of the Ming dynasty. Relevant records state that he placed first in all three levels of the civil service examinations, served under the Yingzong, Daizong, and Xianzong emperors, and later returned to his native place, where he died. To match this document item by item with Shang Lu’s complete official career, year of death, and family lineage, the original document, genealogies, local gazetteers, and Ming-dynasty sources should still be consulted and cross-checked together.

The other scroll is titled “Imperial Edict Appointing Lord Rumeng to His First Office as a Jianxiao at the Nanjing Censorate.” It is made of monochrome brocade silk, and its beginning is likewise woven with dragon motifs and seal script. The end of the scroll dates its production to the third year of the Zhengde reign. It records Shang Meng’s initial appointment as a jianxiao at the Nanjing Censorate. Because the surviving visible text does not present the full text of the edict, it is not advisable to make definitive judgments based solely on the object’s title or family tradition concerning the appointee’s life, the precise kinship between the appointee and Shang Lu, or the migration route of this branch of the Shang clan.

In the Ming dynasty, imperial patents and imperial edicts were clearly distinguished institutionally, with corresponding relationships among official rank, document designation, textile color, and decorative motifs. Documents of this kind preserved within families were not merely certificates of personal appointment or posthumous honors; they also reflect how state institutions entered local society and continued to be transmitted through ancestral halls, genealogies, and family narratives. For research on the Shang clan of Lishang, the document’s own signatures, seals, fibers, and ink traces, the lineage records in the genealogy, and local gazetteer accounts of people and places should preferably be used to establish separate chains of evidence before being cross-checked against one another.

It should be emphasized that Lishang is a place name, while Shang is a surname; no clan relationship with the Li surname can be inferred from this alone. Existing surname sources still require supplementation regarding the origins, ancestral seat, hall name, generation names, and migration history of the Li surname. The relationship between the Shang clan and the place name Lishang should likewise be determined on the basis of local genealogies, inscriptions, clan members’ recollections, and local gazetteer materials. Further genealogical research can begin with online family trees, family memoirs, and local-gazetteer databases, comparing people, places, dates, and branches item by item, and avoiding the assumption that people sharing a surname, a place, or similar traditions are directly evidence of belonging to the same lineage.

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