Introduction

The ching dynasty were innovators in the field of official communications. They ran a system which relied on big data long before there were micro processors and fibre optics to transmit such information. Keeping tabs on a bureaucracy spanning an emp ire was a full time job, requiring progressive thinking in the fields of communication and information management. The kangshi emperor grew concerned about how the quality of the information inevitably degraded by the time it reached his desk. With so many eyes reading each document, in so many hands crafting the official reply, it was almost impossible for the emperor to know what was happening even in his own household. These secret missives would evol into a system of confidential palace memorials