六朝薦表屬於「表」的一個子類，用意在於向皇帝薦舉人才。就施用場合而言，除了自行薦舉外，薦表之撰寫動機多出於皇帝下詔舉薦。而薦舉者之身分，大抵有官品五品以上之限制。因薦表施用性質不同，受薦者之家世身分亦有區別。透過薦表起家者，大多為流離於九品中正制以外的寒素子弟；若是本身已任官職、透過薦表升遷者，則身分可能兼含世族與寒素。強調士庶分野、重視文藝才華以及對於德行虛寫化之增加，成為南朝薦表異於魏晉之處。另一方面，漢季以降人倫品鑑之風盛行，但對於品鑑之側重因時而易，從兩漢經術、魏晉清談到南朝文章取士，薦表中對於人才之敘寫，亦可略窺人倫品鑑與薦表書寫互相激盪。

Reference memorials 薦表 were one form of memorial presented to the emperor to recommend candidates for civil service positions. In addition to spontaneous recommendations, most reference memorials were presented on account of imperial decrees. The opportunity to present these memorials was limited to officials of the fifth rank and above, and among the recommended candidates, the majority were of humble birth and not qualified under the nine-rank system implemented during the Wei and Jin dynasties, thus becoming officials via reference memorials. Yet as the recommendation system emancipated candidates from the nine-rank system in the Southern dynasties, those of pedigree also became the subjects of reference memorials. These memorials also emphasized the division between literati and civilians, as well as valuing literary and artistic talent and heightening fictionalized writings on virtue such as using landscapes as allegory, which caused them to differ from those of the Wei and Jin dynasties. In another regard, character appraisal had prevailed since the Han dynasty, but whether it was the predominant factor in the selection of officials varied over time. From classical studies of the Han dynasty and “pure conversation” 清談 of the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Southern dynasties system for selecting officials based on essays, one can realize how character appraisal and reference memorial writing influenced each other by analyzing how candidates were described within these memorials.