由漢至唐，皇帝面對天、祖宗，皆自稱「臣某」，並無二致。但官僚面對皇帝的自稱形式發生變化。漢代官僚對皇帝普遍稱臣而不稱姓， 自稱「臣某」， 唯「大夫以下有同姓官別者」稱姓。唐承隋制，不分內官、外官，普遍對皇帝稱臣，這是唐代君臣關係的基本原則。但唐代發生稱姓與否的分化，二品以上在公文上不稱姓，五品以上奏事不稱姓，六品以下，無論公文或奏事皆稱姓。唐代官人自稱形式的分化，根源於隋唐之際皇帝臨朝主政，與每日登朝議政的五品以上官僚互動頻繁。於是在不分內外、普遍稱臣的原則下，依據官僚制運作的需要，以五品為界，重構官僚制的身分秩序，官人自稱形式的變化正是這個身分儀制的一環。隋唐之際皇帝臨朝主政、成為日常國政運作的主體，君臣互動進入前所未有的新階段。古代皇權性質呈現由「皇帝之私」向「國制之公」演變的趨勢，在維繫「國—家」性質不變的普遍稱臣之前提下，隋唐國制以皇帝臨朝主政為主軸，調整君臣互動儀制，唐代官人自稱形式的變化，正是根源於當時「國制之公」的平臺上。

From the Han to the Tang Dynasty, emperors call their selves “Chen Mou”rather than the real name when offering sacrifice to Heaven and worshiping theancestors. However, the way bureaucrats call their selves when reporting toemperors changes from time to time. The Han Dynasty bureaucrats face emperorcalling their selves “Chen Mou” instead of family name. In the Sui Dynasty andfollowing Tang, all officials call their selves with their family names, presentingthe basic principle in which the Tang Dynasty rulers and ministers interact. Thedifferentiation taking place in Tang derives from the close interaction betweenemperor and band-5-above ministers who enter royal court for reporting anddiscussing every day. The re-construction of allegiance form is created to satisfythe actual need in Sui-Tang.
Sui-Tang emperors make calls in royal court and this practice becomes thecore of everyday central government politics. The ruler-minister interaction entersinto an unprecedented phase. This development symbolizes the trend of imperialpower nature evolution: from “privacy of emperor” to “publicity of regime.”