In many of the different dynasties of Imperial China, since the Emperor/Empress was considered to be supremely divine, their actions could not be questioned or criticized without also essentially criticizing the heavens themselves (which you did not do, if you wanted to keep your head on your shoulders). The Chinese were also notorious record keepers, and while many of their works include documentation of widely-recognized stellar phenomenon, chronicles of history, natural events, etc., they also contain many seemingly random and impossible feats, like the oceans receding, geese flying backwards, etc., that historians originally couldn't reconcile with the usually thorough and meticulous Chinese scholars. It's believed that these "recordings" were actually attempts to influence the Emperors decision making in a situation. Since one could not outright criticize or correct him, they would document "events" occurring throughout the land that demonstrated that the Emperor, the bridge between Heaven and Earth, was in some way destabilizing the balance between the two worlds. This would often force him to reconsider his actions, and not get any of his advisers killed for criticism.

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