The chroniclers serving the emperor at court would store up those of the 'collected sayings' of the emperor that touched on matters of critical importance to the emperor or the state, and then for each generation, after the emperor passed away, they would compile and edit a 'veritable record', which contained his collected sayings.
朝廷内で皇帝に侍る史官が、皇帝および国家の重大事を記録する「起居注」を蓄積し、皇帝が崩御すると、代ごとに起居注をまとめた「実録」が編纂される。