China's archive keepers say they have uncovered a classified letter addressed to two Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) officials by the imperial court in 1905.

Full text of the hand-written letter, with 186 Chinese characters on the size of an A-4 sheet, conveyed Emperor Guang Xu's (1875 - 1908) decree that Ting Jie, an assistant minister, should go on a special mission to reclaim land in today's northeastern province of Liaoning.

The letter was addressed to Ting Jie himself and General Zhao Erxun of Shengjing -- today's Liaoning Province.

On the right side of the envelope was written "sealed by the Privy Council", and on the left "to assistant minister Ting Jie".

The official stamps on the letter -- three in the front and at the back of the envelope and one on a blank wrapping sheet inside -- are bilingual, in Mandarin and the Manchu language spoken by the dominant ethnic group in the Qing Dynasty.

Yang Jibo, an official with the State Archives Administration, said such imperial letters were quite rare. "In fact, it's the only one ever found in China that is still intact," he said.

The historical letter would provide valuable clues for further study into the secretarial and courier services of the Qing Dynasty, as well as the history of the northeastern provinces, said Zhao Yunpeng, deputy head of the provincial archive and professor of history with Liaoning University.

Zhao and his colleagues are applying to the State Archives Administration to include the letter in its list of ancient Chinese archives next year.

According to Zhao, Qing Dynasty emperors used to dictate letters to the ministers to give orders or exchange ideas on strategic issues. Most letters were drafted and sent by the privy council -- a secretarial office established in the early 18th century -- instead of the cabinet.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2003)