An imperial compilation of the Kaiyuan era
Compilation accompanied Emperor Xuanzong's efforts to organize government institutions. The Siku edition's bibliographical notice traces a plan based on six categories associated with classical government and records successive involvement by Lu Jian, Zhang Yue, Xu Jian, Wei Shu, Zhang Jiuling and Li Linfu. The title refers to that sixfold conception.
The resulting work describes institutions including the three departments, courts, directorates and guards. It sets out offices, staffing, ranks and duties, with historical changes often placed in notes. Older title attributions emphasize the emperor and Li Linfu, but the bibliographical tradition itself preserves evidence of successive contributions over several years.
References: [1]
Personnel administration as a worked example
Volume two first lists offices in the Ministry of Personnel and then describes appointments, titles, merit awards and assessments. Rank, responsibility and procedure appear together. Notes trace earlier institutions and changes of name or staffing within the Tang, allowing an office's status to be distinguished from its duties.
The selection provisions assess bearing, speech, writing and judgments, alongside conduct, ability and service. Candidates for different ranks pass through specified forms of review, with some appointments referred to higher authorities. The account shows a system of qualifications, documentary work and institutional scrutiny beyond success in a single examination.
References: [2]
Education and the interpretation of institutional texts
Volume twenty-one describes the Directorate of Education and six schools, covering classical study, law, writing and mathematics. Its mathematics provisions name texts including the Nine Chapters, Sea Island, Sunzi and Zhui shu, with periods of study. Admissions also depended on social and official qualifications, which varied among schools.
These provisions offer detailed institutional evidence. Their relationship to practice must be examined by period and locality. The Siku notice preserves disagreement over the work's implementation rather than treating that question as settled. Comparison with decrees, officials' careers and other institutional records helps establish the scope and changes behind its arrangements.