Since Wei and Jin dynasties,under the double influence of aestheticism and the culture of nobility,ling and other styles of official documents characterized with their flowery language became vehicles for men of letters to show off their talent,which was especially so during Southern Dynasty.

They were called as Ling(令) from Shangyang period, but never as Zhang(长).

In Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, the interrelations between gushi (past practices) and laws such as lü (codes), ling (regulations), li (existing model), bi (precedent), pinshi zhangcheng (criteria and rules in detail), zhizhao (imperial decrees) and so on, were close and intricate.