Introduction:
In the feudal society that lasted for more than two thousand years, the centralized system of has always been accompanied by the rise and fall of the dynasty. From the middle period of the Warring States Period to the late period of the Qing Dynasty, the state power system, which was manifested in the form of monarchy, showed a trend of continuous strengthening as a whole. From the Warring States period, the heroes split the ground and became kings one after another, to the clearance of the six-held emperor, from the " to the order of favor and " in the Western Han Dynasty, " to respect Confucianism ", to the three provinces and six ministries system of the Sui and Tang , all reflect the rulers' attention to the central government's acceptance of the rights.
Northern Song In the early days of the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizu , Zhao Kuangyin himself ascended the throne through the " Chenqiao Mutiny " and "yellow robe", so he cared about strengthening the imperial power. Therefore, through measures such as " cup of wine to release military power " and " respect for culture and suppress military power ", he reclaimed the military power of a large number of military generals and border military governors, and brought administrative, military and financial power to the central government, greatly strengthening the centralization of the Northern Song Dynasty. The "King's Court" and "King's Quotations" system that began to prevail from the Northern Song Dynasty also played a key role in it.
. The etiquette of the monarch and minister: What is "conventional view" and "conventional resignation"?
In layman's terms, "court and view" refers to the etiquette of ministers in ancient times when they worship the emperor, or the emperor meets the ministers in the court, which can also be called "court and view". "Courtary resignation" means that the minister is about to go to another place to take office, and before leaving, he will bow and say thanks and farewell to the emperor. This seemingly insignificant question of etiquette has played an important role in strengthening centralization.
In the late Tang Dynasty , this system of remarks has gradually become an unwritten rule. When the term of office of local officials expires, they will come to Beijing to express their gratitude. When he left Beijing and took office, he would also specifically resign to see the emperor. However, with the intensification of social turmoil during the Five Dynasties of the Tang Dynasty, local separatist forces became increasingly rampant, and the way of the monarch and ministers was gradually replaced, and "official opinions" and "official resignations" were gradually forgotten by people.
After Song Taizu ascended the throne, he learned profound lessons from the failures of the previous dynasty and took the importance of the "verbal view" system to an unprecedented level. Under the background of civil servants in the Song Dynasty governing the country, this system has finally begun to play a greater role.
The old system of the Five Dynasties was adopted in the early Song Dynasty. Any officials above the seventh rank must first go to the 天天新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新新Once, Song Taizu urgently summoned a border general and consulted him for any major matter, but he waited for several days without seeing anyone. Taizu Song was impatient and ran to the Censorate to inquire. The officials of the Censorate told him that the general had not yet registered for the Censorate. After this incident, Song Taizu felt that this system was too inefficient, so he issued an edict to reform the system, stipulating that from then on, officials entering the court would first meet the emperor and then go to the Prime Minister's Office, which greatly narrowed the distance between the emperor and officials from various places and improved the efficiency of the Song Dynasty's court.
Just as the War of Unification was over, domestic political turmoil and the situation was unstable. Whether it was the central government or the local government, a group of capable officials and capable ministers were urgently needed. To this end, Song Taizu frequently summoned all officials to personally select talents. Most of the scholars who came to apply for the recruitment, regardless of their origin, were personally ordered to go to the palace for interviews, and judged whether they had real talents and knowledge through their conversations and behaviors, and what position should be assigned. After the interview, Song Taizu would tick out the person he liked on the list and then send it to , Zhongshu Province, for secondary review. As the king of a country who has been busy every day, so hard work and doing things by himself is enough to show the strong desire of Emperor Taizu of Song for talents in governing the country. Those officials who were appreciated by Emperor Taizu of Song and changed their destiny from then on will naturally be grateful to the emperor and serve him loyally.
After Song Taizu, although other emperors of the Song Dynasty could not do what Taizu had to do, they also inherited and carried forward the "court and talks" system. Song Zhenzong issued several edicts at the time of 4, emphasizing that local officials from all over the country, such as prefects, magistrates, supervisors, etc., must first recommend talented people in their jurisdiction before returning to the court to meet the saints, or report on the recent "government of good and evil" by local officials, so that the court can select capable people, abandon evil and use wise men, and then they can see them later. This task attached to senior local officials can not only play a role in optimizing the officialdom, but also a spur and alert to these powerful officials.
There were more than 300 states in the Northern Song Dynasty. The magistrates served one year as usual. Whether they took office or dismissed, they had to go to the palace to report in person. For the emperor, the task volume was actually quite large. Song Zhezong When he ascended the throne, the young emperor was young and did not change his affairs, and Empress Dowager Gao was mainly in charge of the rule. This undoubtedly caused various inconveniences for local officials to "resign" to the palace. Therefore, the central government gradually relaxed the requirements for this system, stipulating that only positive and negative prime ministers and other high-ranking central officials must be admitted regularly, while the rest of officials with lower ranks can be "free". This situation did not change until the fourth year of Shaosheng, when Song Zhezong, who grew up and became a man, and the number of officials who had to "resign" regularly was increased.
Looking at Two Song , Southern Song Xiaozong Dynasty was a period of relatively stable development of the country, and it was also the period when the "morning of court" and "morning resignation" system was implemented the most strictly. Song Xiaozong paid great attention to strengthening the imperial power, and even stipulated that all local magistrates and military officers must go to the palace to report their affairs in person when they take office. Even officials far away from Shu and Guangdong and Guangxi must travel thousands of miles to visit the palace, otherwise they will face the risk of being insured. The journey along the way is long and time-consuming, and it may take half a year to go back and forth. In order to improve this situation, the emperor issued an edict in the 13th year of Chunxi, that the prefectures in Sichuan and Guangdong and Guangxi could go nearby and report to the Department of Control and Military Affairs in charge of border defense and military affairs, and no longer have to suffer from long journeys.
. Be sincere: What did the emperor and the minister say when "consideration" and "departure"?
In the process of "refuting" in the court, the expectations of the supreme ruler are obvious. First of all, it is naturally through face-to-face conversation to bring closer relationships with local officials, further understand their abilities, and strengthen their control over them spiritually. As long as you win over this person, it is equivalent to winning over the hearts of the people in the area. Secondly, meeting the emperor will also make local officials feel awe and grateful, so that they will be more diligent and honest, and spontaneously implement the will of the ruler, which will achieve the purpose of consolidating the central government.
Of course, from the perspective of foreign officials, "consideration" and "consideration" are also rare opportunities to meet the emperor. They can go through layers of power checkpoints and report their work directly to the emperor, and can put forward some more down-to-earth suggestions, or convey the wishes of local people.
(I) The purpose of the ruler: to examine officials, understand the people's sentiments, encourage and win the hearts of the people
The emperor of the Song Dynasty summoned all officials and often issued surrender resignations, convey some encouragement or supervision precepts, and encourage officials not to neglect their duties or play with their power during their tenure. From the "Adjudgment to the Resignation of hundreds of officials" by Emperor Taizong of Song to the "Adjudgment to the Resignation of hundreds of officials" in the fifth year of Chunhua, from the "Seven Articles of Civil and Military" by Emperor Zhenzong of Song to the "Jie Shi Ming" later printed in a book by everyone, all reflect the imperial court's supervision of the examination of opposition officials.
Song Renzong , Minister Liu Ping died in the Battle of Sanchuankou. In order to provide for the Liu family, the emperor specially promoted Liu Ping's younger brother Liu Jianji and replaced Liu Ping as the prefect of Yizhou. Before taking office, Liu Jianji entered the court to resign as usual. Song Renzong personally encouraged him that the country's worries have not been lifted yet, and your brother's deep revenge has not been avenged yet, so he must be careful. For example, during the reign of Emperor Duzong of the Song Dynasty, Liu Zi recommended him as the prefect of Rongzhou. When he was resigning, Emperor Duzong repeatedly warned: Rongzhou is vast and the people are sparse, and the remote and barren are all managed by his dear ministers. For officials who are about to stay away from the capital and go to important positions, this kind of face-to-face conversation with the emperor in the hall is undoubtedly a great promotion for their diligent governance.
At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, facing the mess left by the war, the court paid great attention to the defense and people's sentiment within the border jurisdiction, and instructed the incoming border ministers to report the people's livelihood and border defense to the court in detail after half a year of taking office, so that the central government can formulate relevant countermeasures. Later, this system was used for a long time, and special bills even appeared, such as "Chunxi Reconstruction Order" and "Qingyuan Order". When Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty, the term of office of the prefect of Guangzhou Gong Maoliang expired and he returned to the capital to pay his respects to the emperor. Gong Maoliang said that the area outside the ridge is vast and sparsely populated, and large areas of land have been shelved and abandoned. This is because foreign bandits invade Guangdong, resulting in a large outflow of people. This situation is slowly getting better now. After listening to Gong Maoliang's detailed report, Emperor Gaozong of Song was very satisfied, and the court knew how to administer in the Guangdong area next, which would help the state power organs weigh and adjust the trade-offs and adjustments across the country in terms of policies.
In addition, the laws of the Song Dynasty stipulated that when foreign officials came to court and resigned, the court would distribute clothes, gold belts, saddles and horses based on their official position, and show their honor and favor with the emperor's grace. For individual special officials, the court will hold a special farewell banquet for them, and the emperor will occasionally give imperial wine to see them off. He was both granted and rewarded, so the officials naturally became more impressed and were deeply grateful to the emperor, and the situation of local rebellion was greatly reduced.
(II) The wishes of the ministers: report on work, petition for the people, make suggestions, and criticize current problems
When the prefect of Jizhou Zheng Zuosu stepped down, he reported on the people's livelihood issues that need to be solved in the state when he was paying his respects to the emperor. Jizhou once had rampant bandits, causing trouble for the people in the area to live in poverty. Later, the government sent troops to arrest and seize them. Although they wiped out all the thieves, they damaged the cableway that they had to pass through to cross the Yellow River . Rebuilding a cableway requires a large amount, and the burden on the shoulders of the people in the state is too heavy. So Zheng Zuosu asked for the people and asked the court to give a reduction in grace.
During the Southern Song Dynasty, northern defense was often in urgent need. Song Lizong hrs, border generals such as Xu Youchao and Zhang Yuanjian entered the court many times to report the interests of border defense to the emperor, and introduced the number of troops stationed on the border, the actual defense, and the collection of intelligence, which strengthened the stability and tranquility of the northern border of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Even if it is a political matter that has nothing to do with the prefecture under his jurisdiction, as long as there are good suggestions, officials can also make it when they resign, and the emperor will listen carefully. For example, in the seventh year of Zhenghe, Lou Yi, a native of Mingzhou, was appointed as the prefect of , Suizhou, and . When he was resigning, Lou Yi sincerely told Song Huizong that his hometown Mingzhou was already an important trading port on the southeast coast, but it was not fully utilized. Lou Yi suggested that the court allocate funds to build two large ships and more than 100 small ships in the local area to make full use of the convenience of lake and sea shipping and create tax revenue for the national treasury. In addition, Guangde Lake can also be reclaimed as fertile land, where the water and soil are abundant, which is very suitable for grain cultivation.
After listening to Lou Yi's suggestion, Song Huizong nodded frequently and admired this young man with his own independent thinking. He immediately transferred him to his hometown Mingzhou to be the prefect. The prefect of Suizhou changed another person and paid 60,000 taels of silver to Lou Yi out of his own pocket. Later, Lou Yi did not disappoint Song Huizong. Shortly after taking office, he reclaimed 700 fertile land, greatly improving the local people's livelihood.
. "Ancestor Family Law": The influence of the "Courtary View" and "Courtary View" system
Although the "Courtary View" and "Courtary View" system gradually became popular in the early Song Dynasty, although the degree of implementation of different periods was different, overall, it has always had a profound impact on the court structure and the relationship between the monarch and the ministers of the Song Dynasty. A common ritual may influence the career of a rank-in-law official, and may rewrite a law that enacts the world, and can also tightly gather the loyalty of civil and military officials, surrounding the nine five masters like stars arching the moon.
For officials, the system of verbalism is not a superficial formalism, but rather an interview and assessment. Its performance when entering the court may directly affect their career destiny.If an official answers an illegitimate question or is old and stupid, it will cause the emperor to be displeased and may be dismissed on the spot in serious cases. In this case, many corrupt officials who are just using the numbers have nowhere to hide and are eliminated one after another. The vacant positions can be provided to aspiring and talented people, allowing them to show their talents.
Of course, examples of promotions on the spot after resigning from the court are common. For example, the famous Censor Wang Lin , the official position originally appointed by the court was the prefect of Shuzhou. Later, when the emperor listened to his words, he felt that he was upright and dared to speak out. The current problems and disadvantages pointed out were all the key, so he issued an edict to promote him to the Censor.
The Song Dynasty's face-to-face system was deeply supported by the majority of bureaucrats and scholars, and even praised it as the "ancestor's family law" of the Song Dynasty, and often reminded the emperor to spread this system. In the eighth year of Yuanyou, Su Shi served as Dingzhou and Hebei West Road pacifier. According to convention, he should go to the palace to resign, but the emperor was lazy and was able to pass by, and issued an edict to inform Su Shi to cancel his resignation. Su Shi refused to let go and immediately reported: I heard that the world is governed or chaotic, all due to whether the people's sentiment can be understood. The old rules passed down by our ancestors should not be abolished at will. After hearing the news, the emperor was very ashamed and invited Su Shi to the palace for an interview again.
Conclusion:
"On the day when the court resigns, I personally hear the holy words of Your Majesty", the "official meeting" and "official saying" system that emerged during the Song Dynasty became an important opportunity for the local chiefs and the supreme rulers to communicate face-to-face directly. As an important part of strengthening monarchical autocracy and centralization, it has been used until the last moment of the feudal dynasty.
Reference:
, "Jingxi and Judgment - A preliminary study on the direct communication between the magistrate of the Song Dynasty and the emperor"
, "Study on the System of Sending the Court of Song Dynasty"
