The form of government in ancient Chinese society was

I. Authoritarianism centralized system (the basic political system of China's feudal society)

1. Connotation

Authoritarianism centralized system is the basic political system of China's feudal society. It includes authoritarianism and centralized power system.

Monarchial absolutism refers to the way of decision-making, and centralization refers to a political system, and the combination of the two constitutes the basic features of China's ancient political system. Monarchical autocracy emphasizes the supremacy of the monarch's personal power and the dictation of state affairs by his or her person. Centralization of power refers to the concentration of political, economic and military power in the whole country in the central government, with localities being subject to the orders of the central government, and local governors being able to exercise their power only within permissible limits, emphasizing the rule of the central government over the localities.

The two complement each other; the latter is the premise and foundation of the former; the former is the inevitable product of the latter. Their purpose is to ensure the authority of the central government and the authority of the group of individuals from the political system. The supremacy of imperial power is the fundamental characteristic of the authoritarian centralized system.

2. Roots/Two Foundations

Theoretical foundation: Legalism. On the other hand, the feudal landlord class also needed a strong regime to protect feudal land ownership and suppress people's resistance.

Economic basis: feudal small peasant economy.

Authoritarian centralization was necessary both for the consolidation of the unity of the feudal state and for the maintenance of the feudal economic base. Because the decentralized natural economy required a strong central authority to maintain social stability and national unity in order to ensure the development of production in the small peasant economy.

In China's more than 2,000 years of feudal society, there was no qualitative change in the productive forces, and the authoritarian centralized system of power as a superstructure was consolidated

3. Development and evolution

Formation of the Warring States period, establishment of the Qin dynasty, consolidation of the Western Han dynasty, refinement of the Sui and Tang dynasties, strengthening of the Northern Song dynasty, development of the Yuan dynasty, and reinforcement of the Ming and Qing dynasties with gradual weakening.

4. Development trend

One is the continuous reform of the central administrative structure, constantly weakening the power of the phases, in order to strengthen the power of the emperor.

The second is the continuous reform of the local administrative structure, strengthen the central government to the local, especially to the border areas of the strict jurisdiction, in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and there has not been a major division of the country.

Thirdly, the control of people's minds was increasingly strengthened, as typified by the eight-legged system of the Ming Dynasty and the word prison of the Qing Dynasty.

5, two pairs of contradictions

(1) the contradiction between imperial power and the power of the phases: the imperial power is strengthened, and the phases are weakened.

(2) The contradiction between the central government and the local secession:The central power was strengthened and the local power was weakened.

6. Composition

The monarchical centralized system included the emperor system, the central official system, the military system, the system of selecting officials, the legal system and the local administrative system.

7. Evaluation

(1) Positive effects: ①Favorable to the establishment, consolidation and development of the multi-ethnic feudal state, and conducive to the maintenance of national unity and territorial integrity. ② can effectively organize human, material and financial resources for large-scale economic construction and production activities, conducive to social and economic development. (iii) Under a unified social environment, it is conducive to the great integration of nationalities and to the exchange, development and improvement of the economy and culture of various regions, which enabled the ancient people of China to create an ancient civilization that was ahead of the rest of the world. (2) Negative effects: ① Monarchical dictatorship is prone to form tyrannical rule and lead to the emergence of corruption, which becomes a factor hindering the development of history. ② In the ideological aspect of the sole family clamped down on people's thinking, appeared the sad situation of all the horses are mute. ③ During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emergence and development of the bud of capitalism was seriously hindered. To summarize, in the pre-feudal society, its positive role is the main; the late feudal society, its negative role gradually increased, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the further strengthening of the centralization of feudal authoritarianism, hampering the progress of the social productive forces, the historical harm in the process of China's progress towards a modern society is particularly serious. When evaluating this historical phenomenon, it should be dialectically analyzed and explored under specific historical conditions, not generalized, so as to make a scientific and comprehensive understanding and evaluation of the monarchical authoritarian system.

Second, the system of selecting officials

The system of selecting officials is an important measure to ensure the feudal system, and the rulers of successive generations have paid great attention to it; the selection criteria are family history, property and gradually developed to talent, and the form is becoming more and more strict, and the selection criteria are tending to become more and more fair and objective.

1, the state of Qin

Awarded titles according to military service, breaking the system of hereditary titles for slave-owning aristocrats.

2. The two Han dynasties

The Han Dynasty established a whole set of election system for electing talents, among which, the Chaju, or election, is a kind of system of selecting talents from the bottom to the top, which is the most important way of selecting officials in the two Han dynasties; the Chaju system, which is based on the "countryside election" at the early stage, emphasizes the authority of the public opinion on the morality and talent of a certain scholar, and the authority of the door of the later period. In the later period, the family and clan became the main basis for the election, and the family and landowners developed as a result.

Additionally, the Western Han emperors recruited talented men and women, who were accompanied to the capital by officials and given official positions.

3. Wei and Jin dynasties: the nine-piece system was implemented, focusing on family origins.

4, the imperial examination system

(1) historical development

Sui Wendi abolished the system of the Nine Positions, began to use the method of examination to select officials; Sui Yangdi, the beginning of the establishment of the jinshi section, the formation of the system of the imperial examination; Tang Dynasty inherited and perfected the system of the imperial examination: Zhenguan years, increase the number of subjects for the examination, to the jinshi, the Mingjing two subjects; Wu Zetian, increase the number of people to take the imperial examination, the first During the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian, the number of students was increased, and the Imperial Examination and the Palace Examination were created.

The Northern Song Dynasty system than the Tang Dynasty has developed further: the examination is divided into township, provincial test, the Palace test three levels, strict examination procedures, the candidate by the Ministry of Rites after the test must be qualified by the Palace test, the right of admission by the emperor directly, the Palace test has become a customized; the examination subjects are gradually reducing the number of subjects, the Scholar Section has become the most important subjects; the implementation of the paste name system, that is, the name of the examination paper, the place of origin sealed, to prevent fraudulent examiners; The number of admissions was greatly increased compared to the Tang Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty inherited the previous system of taking the scholarly examinations. In order to strictly control the thinking of the scholars, the examination paper only from the Confucianism of the Four Books, the Five Classics, and only permitted to use the Cheng, Zhu theory of the point of view, not allowed to play a personal opinion; answer paper style, there are strict regulations, divided into eight parts, known as the "eight-legged essay". The eight-legged system, a serious constraint on people's thinking.

In the early 20th century, due to the drastic changes in the domestic situation, the feudal imperial examination system was no longer adapted to the needs of the situation. 1905, the Qing government abolished the imperial examination system.

(2)Evaluation

Substance:The inception of the imperial examination system was a product of socio-economic development and changes in class relations.

1) Positive effects:

A. The open examination absorbed a lot of humble people into the regime, which was helpful in expanding and consolidating the political base of feudal rule, and changed the situation of the pre-feudal dynasty, which was dominated by the clans and clans;

B. The majority of the commoners and landowners were enrolled in the Imperial Examination to become officials, which injected vigor and vitality into the feudal regime;

C. The selection of officials had an objective basis of cultural and intellectual level, and the system was a good way to promote the development of the feudal system.

C. The selection of officials from now on there is an objective basis for the level of cultural knowledge, is conducive to the formation of a high-quality civil service team;

D. Reading - exams - the three links to the official, the power, position and knowledge combined to create a tradition of respect for teachers in the Chinese nation, hard work and diligence to study the atmosphere;

D. Promote the prosperity of literature, such as the Tang Dynasty poetry and fugue to take the scholar, to promote the prosperity of Tang poetry. Promote the prosperity of Tang poetry.

②Negative effects:

A. The Ming and Qing dynasties, the implementation of the eight-legged scholarship, from the content to the form of a serious constraint on the applicants, so that many intellectuals do not talk about the actual learning or binding the intellectuals;

B. The eight-legged scholarship brought about by the detachment from the actual learning style, the development of academic and cultural development of an extremely negative impact;

C. The Qing dynasty system of science and education seriously hindered the development of science and culture, and was one of the important reasons leading to the backwardness of natural science in modern China;

D. The imperial examination system was not conducive to the innovation of knowledge, and even less conducive to the cultivation of innovative talents.

E. The eight-legged imperial examination system of the Ming and Qing dynasties cultivated loyal slaves for the feudal rulers, severely shackled the growth of talents, and was an important means for the rulers to strengthen the authoritarian imperial rule.

Three, the central official system

1, historical development

After the Qin Dynasty unified the whole country, it implemented the system of three dukes and nine ministers in the central government. The three dukes were the prime minister, the imperial historian, and the lieutenant. The prime minister helped the emperor to deal with national politics; the royal historian was in charge of the ministers' memorials, issued the emperor's edicts, and supervised the affairs of the state; and the lieutenant was responsible for the management of military affairs. There were also nine ministers below the three dukes, who were in charge of various administrative affairs of the court and the state.

The three provinces and six ministries system was first created by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and the powers of the three provinces were further clarified by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The three provinces were the highest institutions of the central government. The Zhongshu Province was responsible for drafting and issuing the emperor's edicts, the Menxia Province was responsible for reviewing the decrees, and the Shangshu Province was responsible for executing the state's decrees. The chief ministers of the three provinces were all prime ministers. Under the three provinces, there were six ministries, namely, the Ministry of Revenue, Household, Rites, Military Affairs, Criminal Affairs, and Public Works, which were responsible for various administrative affairs.

Song Emperor Taizu divided the powers of the prime ministers into three, and took over the administrative power of the central government. In the prime minister under the additional counsellor for the vice-phase, split the administrative power of the prime minister; set up the Privy Councilor to manage the military, split the military power of the prime minister; set up the three departments to manage the financial revenues, etc., split the financial power of the prime minister.