Analysis of Doubts in the Artificers' Record

The state possesses Six OfficesThe Liu Zhi (六職): the six major functional divisions of the Zhou government, including the offices of Heaven (Administration), Earth (Taxation/Education), Spring (Rites), Summer (Military), Autumn (Justice), and Winter (Public Works)., and the Hundred Crafts are counted as one among them.

That which Kings and Dukes undertake is a Heavenly Office; they share these duties with the scholars and officials. As for why farmers, artisans, and merchants are also said to hold "offices," it is because each has a profession they must maintain to serve those above them. If even one person loses their office, then the means of production and nourishment will fail, and the systems of education and governance will collapse. The female scribes manage the ritual offices of the Queen, and the titled ladies of the inner court also all have their specific offices; how much more so then must the titled ladies of the outer court, and even the wives and daughters of farmers, artisans, and merchants, possess their own duties?

In the era of the Former Kings, whether noble or base, male or female, there was not a single person who did not have an office.

Ritual. Music. Governance. Punishment. Nothing. was. not. a. means. to. alert. them. to. their. duties. Therefore, from the highest to the lowest, none dared to harbor idle thoughts original: 淫心 (yín xīn); refers here to a wandering or "licentious" mind that strayed from one's duty. or withhold their strength. This is the fundamental root of rectifying virtue, promoting utility, and enriching livelihood. These three—"rectifying virtue" (zheng de), "promoting utility" (li yong), and "enriching livelihood" (hou sheng)—are the "Three Great Tasks" of government described in the Classic of History. The Grand Steward’s The Da Zai (大宰) was the chief administrator of the royal household and the state. Nine Offices do not deviate from the basic three categories of farmer, artisan, and merchant; even that which the Wardens of Mountains and Marshes The Yu Heng (虞衡) were officials in charge of managing natural resources like forests and fisheries. manage is simply the guarding of the mountains and waters...