The Tang Dynasty has begun to select and appoint officials through the imperial examinations. Many systems such as politics, culture, and social management are examples of ancient times. Many countries are learning, so how could an ugly phenomenon like "slanted official title" oc

What is "slanted seal"?

is an official appointed without formal procedures. does not care about ability or qualifications, you can become an official by spending money and relying on relationships.

Dang Dynasty has begun to select and appoint officials through the imperial examinations. political, cultural, social management and other systems can be regarded as examples of ancient times. Many countries are learning, so how could an ugly phenomenon like "slanted official title" occur?

The political system of the Tang Dynasty was centered on the three provinces and six ministries system. Among them, there are strict systems and procedures for the appointment of officials, which generally must pass the inspection and review of the officials by the central authority , Secretariat , and the central deliberation agency Menxia Province.

Moreover, the emperor, prime minister, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War all have the right to appoint officials, and they are not exclusive to each other. There are also institutions such as the censor and officials to supervise and supervise.

But even if the system is so prosperous and standardized, there will inevitably be loopholes and dark sides.

As Lu Lingfeng said in the finale of "The Strange Things of the Tang Dynasty": the more colorful the surface is, the deeper and more unpredictable its shadow becomes.

So, why do special officials like "slanted officials" exist?

Tang Zhongzong . During the reign of Emperor Ruizong, the emperor was weak and the imperial power was weak.

So princesses, relatives, nobles, ministers, etc. took advantage of the situation to gain power and acted well. Among them are selling official positions and titles, clearly quotations, and using bribes to make money and form cliques.

They bypassed the Secretariat and Menxia Province and directly ordered to in the name of the emperor.

The two provincial governors did not dare to inquire, and could only convey the appointment documents to the relevant departments. Officials of the Ministry of Personnel who are responsible for the selection and assessment of officials dare not speak out, and can only follow the order.

Some officials also curry favor with these powerful people and are in a mess.

So, some people who have not gone through formal procedures were granted the appointment.

The formal practice of the Tang Dynasty to appoint officials was:

• After a series of selection processes, and after deliberation, sets the candidates.
• Finally, the Ministry of Personnel issued a "reporter" (i.e., identity certificate) and the Secretariat issued a "decree plate" (i.e., appointment letter) which was a sealed with a yellow paper and red pen as a certificate of appointment and appointment by officials.

And these officials who have not followed the formal procedures have naturally special features in the appointment process:

1. Its appointment letter is delivered from the side door to Zhongshu provinces for processing. That is, it is not about following the process upright, it is about "taking the back door".
2. Its appointment letter is not a seal on the front but a diagonal seal; the word "王" written on it is not written with a red pen but with an ink pen. This also facilitates internal archive distinction.

So, the government and the people called this type of official "Mochi Seiqi Seiqi Official", abbreviated as "Shaped Official". Of course this is the title of contempt.

This phenomenon is getting more and more serious, and official positions have spread from low-level local officials to middle and senior officials of the court, such as the governor of Huzhou, Lining in "Records of the Tang Dynasty". There are even important official positions in power center institutions such as the Shangshu and the Censor.

Even some civilians, butchers, vendors, diners, slaves, etc., can still become officials as long as they spend a lot of money and find a way.

Tang Dynasty Censor Zhang Yu in " Chaoye Qianzai " records: "In Jinglong, two hundred people were granted officials in a slanted manner."

Jinglong is the year name of Li Xian of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty, totaling four years. In the middle of the Jinglong period, there were 200 "silent officials".

"Zizhi Tongjian · Tang Ji Twenty-five" records:

Anle, Princess Changning and the queen sister Chengguo, Shangguan Jieyu, Jieyu mother Peiguo's wife Zheng, Shanggong Chai, Helou, witch Diwuyinger, and Longxi lady Zhao all acted according to their power and asked for help. Although they slaughtered Zanghu, they used 300,000 yuan in money, and ordered them to be eliminated, and they were granted a title to the Secretary of the Communist Party of China. At that time, they called it "sliding official"; if they were 30,000 yuan, they were used as monks and nuns.

Its official, the deputy chief, the test, the photographer, the prosecutor, the judge, and the magistrate. Xijing and Dongdu each have two ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, and are the four ranks, and the selected people are tens of thousands of years old.

This refers to the bad phenomenon of "slanting officials" during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and Empress Wei's reign, and the number of "slanting officials" can reach tens of thousands of people every year.

shows how powerful and powerful people participated in the "slanting official seal" are so wide and how prosperous the atmosphere is.

The surge in the number of "slanted officials" has caused the number of officials to expand, and redundant officials have flooded the court, and even the yamen have not even enough seats.

Many students who have studied hard and passed the imperial examination are looking forward to becoming an official; some diligent and dedicated officials are eager to get promoted and get paid. However, the Tang Dynasty had limited official positions and they could only endure the long queues.

Originally, some officials who were in charge of official positions relied on their ancestors and their families to occupy some official positions. But this is the rule of all dynasties and can be tolerated.

However, those "slanted officials" do not have enough ability and qualifications. can reach the top in one step and be arrogant by spending money. This ugly phenomenon of

, corrupts the court, corrupts the court, leads to chaos in the court, and also corrupts social atmosphere.

In modern terms, bad money drives out good money , which affects the fairness, justice and healthy development of society.

, which aroused many people's disgust and anger.

Of course, some upright officials can't stand it, express dissatisfaction, come forward to give advice, and boycott openly.

For example, in "Records of the Strife of the Tang Dynasty", the princess was transferred to Su Wuming as the chief of Luozhou without formal procedures, which means "slanted official title".

After Su Wuming took office, he was directly despised and sarcastic by his colleagues and even his subordinates. Su Wuming, who had always been noble and arrogant, was also ashamed of this. At first, he insisted that he was unwilling to take up his post and wear official uniforms.

Moreover, there were pros and opposition factions who were "slanted to be appointed officials" in the court, and the two forces fought for a long time.

After Tang Ruizong ascended the throne, the Minister of Personnel Song Jing and the Censor Bi Gou submitted a memorial suggestion: all thousands of "slanted officials" should be deposed, and it is stipulated that officials should not be appointed in this illegal manner thereafter.

Ruizong felt it made sense, so he agreed.

But soon, Song Jing continued to offend Prince Taiping and was demoted to a local official.

Princess Taiping, the imperial censor Cui Li, the prince Zhongyun Xue Zhaosu and others told Ruizong: "Shaped Officials" were appointed by the late emperor, and now they are all dismissed, which will bring great public anger.

Moreover, Peng Qing, who was in charge of the art of exorcising ghosts and divination in the palace, was bribed by some "slanted officials" and also reported: I met the deceased Emperor Xiaohe (the posthumous title after the death of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang). He was angry and said, "Why are you all dismissed from the officials I have given to others?"

In panic, the swaying Ruizong ordered: These "slanted officials" can be used as the number of officials, and all officials should be restored as much as possible. .

So, the "Shaped Official" made a comeback.

During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, Li Chaoyin became the Minister of Personnel, responsible for selecting talents. He was upright and honest, and his government was clean and strict, which prevented the appointment of many "slanted officials", and thus offended many people and had been in the officialdom for a long time.

Of course, his own strength could not stop the spread of "slanted official seal".

The fundamental reason lies in the limitations of the "family world" idea under the feudal system.

In fact, "Xilian Official" was found before the Tang Dynasty, but the names were different.

After the Tang Dynasty, the phenomenon of "slanting official seal" continued to exist, and just changed its "vast" and changed it to another name.