Documents, Contracts, Agreements

“Document question” is not a complete task. Arrival, status, approval, validity, signing, and dispute belong to different authorities and can carry different consequences.

This lesson produces a document-status record. It does not decide whether a paper is valid, enforceable, approved, safe to sign, timely filed, valuable, or likely to prevail in a dispute.

Build the status record

Field	Record	Authority boundary
Document label	Use the exact label from the source or issuing body	Do not invent a subtype
Requested output	Arrival, status, approval, validity, signing, filing, value, or dispute	Keep these tasks separate
Sender / issuer	Named person or institution	Their record owns issuance and status
Recipient	Named person or institution	Their record owns receipt
Official status source	Portal, register, notice, tracking, or direct confirmation	External fact
Consequence flag	Legal, financial, employment, health, travel, or none known	Refer when consequence is present or unknown
Routing decision	Continue, narrow, refer, or stop	UAYA workflow

An arrival question does not establish approval. Approval does not establish validity. Validity does not decide whether someone should sign or rely on the document.

Case 00115: a source-limit exercise

Example type: documented textual case; source boundary only.

Zengshan Buyi asks when an awaited 文书 would be received. A careful record preserves the generic wording:

Source field	What may be recorded	What must not be inferred
Object	Awaited 文书 / document	Official, administrative, legal, financial, or low-stakes document
Task	Timing of receipt in the historical source	Approval, legal validity, value, or consequence
Mechanics	Hidden Parent/Wu work is checked in the Fu Shen lesson	Proof of outcome or present-day guidance
Evidence class	Source record plus reproducible mechanics	Predictive validation

The lesson’s exact hidden-line calculation remains in Fu Shen. This page uses the case only to practise what the source does not establish.

Counterexample

Prompt: “The case says 文书, so it proves the permit will be approved and legally effective.”

This adds a subtype, approval decision, and legal effect that are absent from the source. Reject all three inferences. Record the issuing authority and official status source; choose refer.

Worked learner artifact

Copy this compact line into the Act 9 dossier:

Document: [exact label]
Task: arrival / status / approval / validity / signing / filing / value / dispute
Official source: [named source or unknown]
Consequence: legal / financial / other / unknown
Decision: continue mechanics study / narrow / refer / stop

Only a source-bounded mechanics comparison may continue here. Real documents with consequential status, validity, signing, filing, approval, or dispute questions are referred.

Trap and stopping condition

Do not let the chart label Parent become a claim that a document exists, is authentic, will arrive, will be approved, or has legal effect. Do not use Case 00115 as precedent for a modern document.

Stop before a signature, filing, deadline, approval, validity, right, obligation, transfer, payment, ownership, or dispute decision.

Claim source: Zengshan Buyi, checked composite, volume 2, “Flying and Hidden Spirits,” printed p. 53/PDF physical p. 54; CText work ctp:ws157683, displayed paragraphs 78–85. The source says 文书; subtype and stakes are unknown. The status record is a UAYA teaching workflow.

Next, study a historical weather case without turning it into a forecast: Weather.