清朝以皇帝之名頒布的命令主要有制、詔、誥、敕等形式。其中詔書的目的乃向天下臣民布告國政或是垂示彝憲。其書寫格式例以「奉天承運，皇帝詔曰」開宗，用「布告中外/天下，咸使聞知」結尾。詔書多由內閣撰擬，再呈請皇帝欽定。惟古來帝王多以死為忌諱，臣工往往無由預聞聖意以草擬遺詔，皇帝臨終前恐亦未得寓目定案。然而這一道皇帝最後的命令，卻可能是其在位中最重要的一道命令。 本文主要探討清代遺詔製作與頒布機制的沿革，同時從歷史書寫的角度，析論歷朝遺詔與帝王的自我歷史定位。清代歷朝遺詔的製作過程與書寫內容，具體而微地反映出從早期皇權對國家機器的掌控，漸轉成後半葉國家機器對皇帝的鉗/牽制。清初諸帝或親自酌定詔稿，或於生前預擬藍本：如順治以罪己之姿痛自列舉弊歧，以期懲前毖後；康熙著眼於自我歷史定位，儼然是自傳式的墓誌銘；雍正則關注過去章程的審酌與未來政治的布局。乾隆禪位於嘉慶，所欽定的傳位詔既總結一朝政績，復宣示皇權繼承，內容格式實有如「乾隆朝」之遺詔。嘉慶之後，皇帝的遺詔則多於死後由臣工摭拾過去上諭，或概括地總結其在位期間的國情與政績，已然不見皇帝個人掌控歷史解釋權的任何企圖。在逐漸常規化的製作過程中，皇帝個人的色彩完全黯然褪蝕在格式套語之中。早期皇帝在制度上的酌定或更張，積累而成祖宗家法，中葉之後皇帝多在祖宗家法的枷鎖下動彈不得。國家典制層建累構，越演越繁，皇帝個人的威權卻在敷衍格套中愈形支拙。

It was common practice in imperial China for the emperor to proclaim a last testament to “His subjects under Heaven.” Before the Qing, the emperor’s last testament was composed posthumously and was thus not in fact sanctioned by the late emperor. Yet arguably the last imperial testament might be the most significant edict ever issued in the name of the emperor. This paper utilizes official documents and especially original archives held in Taipei and Beijing to examine the changes seen in the production and reproduction of the last imperial testaments during the Qing period. It focuses in particular on the Kangxi Emperor’s last testament, which was deemed the only official document to legitimize the Yongzheng Emperor’s seizure of power, yet its authenticity has also been questioned ever since it was issued. In the first half of the Qing dynasty, most emperors either composed or prescribed their last testaments. In addition to assuring the continuity of imperial genealogy and succession to the Throne, they intended to define and summarize their political achievements, demand future rectification of their past mistakes, and even arrange the allocation of political power after their deaths. Yet after the death of the Jiaqing Emperor, the making of the emperor’s last testament tended to become routinized and its format highly formalized. Later emperors no longer endeavored to define the past or influence the future through the composition of their last testaments. This paper also delves into the evolving procedures for the proclamation of the emperor's last testament throughout China, which played a major role in the national mourning ceremony. Since the proclamation of the imperial edict was one of the few direct channels for the populace to grasp the imperial will, special attention is paid to how the emperor’s last testament was understood by its large audience, and hence how it helped shape the collective memory of later times. This can shed new light on the role of the Kangxi Emperor’s last testament in the formation and spread of the controversy concerning the Yongzheng Emperor’s succession to the throne.