Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Admonishing the World警世功过格

Also known as

Model of the Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Admonishing the World, Ledger of Merit and Demerit of the Ten Precepts (related)

Author / transmission

compiled by Qing-dynasty charitable halls, authorship mostly unknown

Period

Qing · A general term for the popular Qing-dynasty ledger-of-merit-and-demerit morality books; editions are numerous, and authorship and precise dates are mostly unknown; usually one fascicle, with an attached scoring table.

Canon division

Outside the Canon (Qing-dynasty morality book)

Collected in

Outside the canon.

Category

Morality Books (Shanshu)

Fascicles

1 juan (editions vary)

Synopsis

'Ledgers of Merit and Demerit for Admonishing the World' is a general term for the large number of admonitory ledger-of-merit-and-demerit morality books printed during the Qing dynasty, continuing the tradition of the Jin-dynasty Ledger of Merit and Demerit of the Immortal Lord of Taiwei and the late-Ming practice of Yuan Huang, and extending the quantified accounting method of good and evil to every social stratum. Such texts typically open with a general set of admonitions, followed by categorized lists of merit-items and demerit-items each assigned a point value, and conclude with blank tables for daily record-keeping. Texts of this kind proliferated in the Qing: alongside general editions aimed at the public, specialized ledgers were compiled separately for officials, scholars, merchants, physicians, women, and Buddhist and Daoist clergy — works such as the Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Officials and the Ledger of Merit and Demerit for Scholars. Many were printed and distributed free of charge by local charitable halls, lineages, or commercial presses, in conjunction with organizations such as paper-cherishing societies, life-release societies, and free-coffin bureaus. Scholars (Cynthia Brokaw, Sakai Tadao, Yau Chi-on, and others) treat these texts as an important window onto the moral order, class consciousness, and charitable practice of Ming–Qing society. Because the editions are numerous and variable and most lack a definite author, the specific printed edition must be specified when citing them.

Key Ideas

• A general term for Qing-dynasty ledger-of-merit-and-demerit morality books
• General admonitions, point-scored merit and demerit items, and daily record tables
• Specialized ledgers compiled by occupation and social stratum
• Circulated in conjunction with charitable organizations
• Numerous variant editions, mostly of unknown authorship

Structure

One fascicle: general admonitions, merit items, demerit items, and a blank record table.

Editions

• Numerous Qing-dynasty charitable-hall printed editions
• Ledger-of-merit-and-demerit texts included in the Daoist Texts outside the Canon

Translations

• Partial translations and analysis of related texts appear in the works of Cynthia Brokaw

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Ledgers of Merit and Demerit
• CTEXT: search

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