Gaoshen (告身),as a trust authorized by the emperor and stored up by the officer,was one of ancient official documents when an officer was granted.However,in practice,Gaoshen often went beyond the scope,resulting in many nonessential applications.Although the central government placed much emphasis on the management of Gaoshen and developed a system of official formats,there were still numerous defects.For example,the blank Gaoshen might be temporarily filled with anything wanted,especially during the Later Five Dynasties and Tang Dynasty.From the perspective of record type,Gaoshen was still a would-be record type by analysizing the evolution of its various stages.Unfortunately,this evolution was not complete and finally gave way to Gaoming and Chiming record type.