The so-called Posthumous Bestowal meant that officials of the fifth rank and above could receive corresponding posthumous noble ranks. Its purpose was "to make the spirit un-benighted, let glory shine forever through generations, and encourage the cultivation of filial piety and loyalty"!
To put it plainly, it meant that those who received the Posthumous Bestowal would turn toward the Imperial Abode after death, and their divine might would be ten, a hundred, or a thousand times that of ordinary people. This was precisely "making the spirit un-benighted."
As for leaving a name in history and thereby achieving one of the three unperishables, this was "letting glory shine forever through generations."
These were all personal treatments and benefits, but what benefits did the imperial court gain?
It was "encouraging the cultivation of filial piety and loyalty," making everyone loyal and filial, which naturally led to pure customs and a long-lasting dynastic reign.
Moreover, aside from the person themselves, the Posthumous Bestowal could also be extended to parents and wives. The higher the official rank, the more prosperous the posthumous imperial grace and shade.
To explain it even more plainly, why did believers follow religions? A small part sought wealth and nobility in the mortal realm, while the greater part hoped to enter the Pure Land and paradise after death, or gain benefits through reincarnation.
The imperial court's Posthumous Bestowal system ensured that those who were enfeoffed could be reincarnated into the Imperial Abode after death while also protecting their parents and wives.
This was essentially a "Paradise (Pure Land) Permit."
In previous dynasties, why were countless foreign ideologies assimilated upon encountering them? It stemmed precisely from this—Book of Documents scholars and officials were all believers of the Heavenly System, and upon death, they entered the land of the Heavenly System: the