对官制的记叙、考释，是古代中国一项活跃的学术活动，其兴起的背景和过程亟待阐明。儒学的演进，尤其是古文经学的崛起，激发了东汉中后期学者对当代制度的关注。鉴于“汉典寝而不著”的状况，他们提出模仿《周礼》记述汉代官制的构想。受此启迪的胡广在识字教材《小学汉官篇》的基础上，就百官的起源、沿革、职掌等问题进行了全面疏释，撰成首部官制研究专著——《汉官解诂》。因学术上的开创性以及胡广的政治地位，这部著作引起知识界的剧烈反响：同类作品集中出现，胡氏的视野、方法也被遵奉与拓展。在政治生活中，官制撰述充当着日常行政、制度建设的参考和指导，这一经世价值是官制之学继续发展的重要因素。

China has a long history of providing detailed accounts of its own governmental institutions, but there is a lack of systematic research on this topic. This literary trope came to fruition in the mid to late Han dynasty, with many works attempting to copy The Rites of Zhou. One important early example was Hu Guang’s Explanations of the Han Officials. This work was an immediate success. Since him there have been many more works, expanding both on his foundation and on this entire genre as well.