183 "mayors" recorded on monument of Northern Song Dynasty

Kaifeng Fu, known as "the world's first administrative institution", was the administrative and judicial office in Kaifeng, the capital city of the Northern Song Dynasty. The Kaifeng Fu Inscription Monument is known as "the first inscription monument" of the Northern Song Dynasty. Different from people's cognition, what is engraved on this monument is not famous literary works, but the names of some people, including the two emperors Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Heng of the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan,Cai Xiang, etc....... Why do the names of these historical figures appear on the monument at the same time? It turns out that they all once served in the same official position---Kaifeng prefectural magistrate, which is today's mayor of Kaifeng. This monument is actually a "mayor list" of Kaifeng during the Northern Song Dynasty.

开封府，是北宋都城官吏行政、司法的衙署，被誉为“天下首府”。《开封府题名记》碑则被称为北宋第一题名记碑。和我们认知中的碑刻不同，这块碑上刻的不是经文古籍，也不是良言名篇，而是一些人名。大宋两任皇帝宋太宗赵光义、宋真宗赵恒、欧阳修、范仲淹、蔡襄......这些历史名人的名字为何会同时出现在碑上呢？原来，他们都任过同一个官职——开封府尹，也就是如今的开封“市长”。这块碑实际上是一份北宋年间历任开封“市长”（府尹）“名单”（录）。

The six characters of the Kaifeng Fu Inscription Monument were engraved in seal script, surrounded by vine and intertwined peony patterns, while the inscriptions were in regular script. The monument records from top to bottom, right to left the name, title, and date of appointment of the 183 highest administrative officers of Kaifeng Fu, from the first year of Jianlong (960 AD) of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, to the fourth year of Chongning (1105 AD) of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. It is the most detailed inscription monument discovered in China so far that records the largest number of the highest-ranking officials in a capital city.

碑额“开封府题名记”六字为篆书，四周以蔓草和缠枝牡丹纹饰镶边，碑文为楷书，以从上到下从右到左的顺序，记录了从宋太祖建隆元年（960年）至宋徽宗崇宁四年（1105年）共146年间，开封府最高行政长官的姓名、职衔和上任年月等，共计183人次。是目前为止我国所发现的记载人名最多、时间最详细、涉及官职最多的都城最高长官题名记碑。

But why is there no Bao Qingtian on the list of 183 "mayor list" ? Bao Zheng is considered to be a cultural symbol of the Kaifeng Fu. Although he only served for one year and three months in the Kaifeng Fu, he abolished unbeneficial policies, enforced laws strictly, and was much loved by the people, earning him the title "Bao Qingtian (which means honest and upright official)". It turned out that when people were looking at the monument, they couldn't help touching the name of Bao Gong due to their admiration and nostalgia for him. Over time, the name of Bao Gong was rubbed off, leaving only a shiny dent.

但是183人次的“市长名单”上为啥没有包青天？“包拯”可以说是开封府文化符号，虽然他在开封府任职仅一年零三个月，但他革除弊政，执法如山，受到人民的爱戴，被誉为“包青天”。原来是老百姓在看《开封府题名记》碑时，因为心怀对包公的敬仰和怀念，便在包公的名字上亲切抚摸。久而久之，竟然将包公的名字磨掉了，只留下发亮的凹痕。

Web editor: Shen Jianqi, Zhang Rui