Characteristics of the ancient Chinese political system

I. The political system of the Shang and Zhou periods

1. The political system of the Shang: Central: phases, ministers (involved in the decision-making of the king of the Shang); divination, Zhu, history (responsible for ritual divination and record of dynastic events); division (in charge of the military power). Local: Hou and Bo.

2. The feudal system of the Western Zhou:

(1) Purpose: In order to strengthen the territorial rule, the King of Zhou "screened the Zhou with clans".

(2) Measures: The king of Zhou assigned his in-laws to various places to "grant land" and "grant people", and built a wide range of sub-states. The feudal states were responsible for tribute, military and labor obligations. The feudal states were Lu, Qi, Yan, Wei, Song and Jin. The hierarchy of "king of Zhou - vassals - ministers, ministers - soldiers" was formed. (3) Role: The Zhou king gained the status of "Lord of the World***", and the feudal system consolidated the rule and enlarged the ruling area.

3. The patriarchal system of the Western Zhou: a tool for maintaining the feudal system. The patriarchal system was an ancient Chinese system for maintaining the hereditary rule of the nobility, which combined blood ties with political relations.

(1) Purpose: to stabilize the ruling order and resolve internal conflicts within the nobility.

(2) Contents: first-born son inheritance system, "Shiqing Shilu" system, patriarchal patriarchal system, etc., large and small clans. Function: maintain the family hierarchical relationship and political affiliation; guarantee the privileges of the nobles; prevent internal disputes within the family, strengthen the king's power, and "state" and "family" were closely integrated. The "state" and "family" were closely intertwined.

(3) features of the patriarchal system: ① the most important feature is the first-born son inheritance system; the combination of blood ties and political relations (patriarchal system and feudalism are mutually exclusive, the patriarchal system in the political system is the embodiment of the feudal system), the "family" and the "state" are closely integrated; ② the "family" and "state" are closely integrated; ② the "family" and "state" are closely integrated; the "family" and "state" are closely integrated. The "family" and "state" were closely integrated; ② guaranteed that the nobles at all levels enjoyed the privilege of "world emolument", and the hierarchy was very strict.

(4) Function: It was conducive to the stability and unity within the ruling group, and strengthened the power of the king.

4. Zhou Rites: The Western Zhou maintained the patriarchal system and the feudal system of rites and music. There was a strict hierarchical etiquette, not to "overstep the bounds". (Ding and bell)

5. Characteristics of the early Chinese political system: patriarchy and feudalism have strong blood relations and a strong authoritarian color.

II. Formation of the centralized system of power in the Qin Dynasty

1. Establishment of Qin: King Winzheng of Qin, from 230 B.C.E. to 221 B.C.E., successively destroyed six states, namely, Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan and Qi, and established the Qin Dynasty.

2. The First Emperor and the Three Ministers and Nine Ministers

(1) The origin of the First Emperor: After the unification of the Qin Dynasty, King Yingzheng thought that his "virtue was higher than the Three Emperors, and his achievements were greater than those of the Five Emperors" and put the name "First Emperor" on the list. After the unification of the Qin Empire, Ying Zheng considered himself to be "more virtuous than the three emperors and more meritorious than the five emperors", and took the title "Emperor" as his own name. He proclaimed himself the "First Emperor", believing that he would be counted as one of the first emperors of the world, and that he would be passed on to the next generation, the second and the third, and to the end of the world.

The emperor system: Imperial power was supreme; all powers of the state, i.e., judicial, legislative, executive, and military, were vested in the hands of the emperor; and a system of succession to the throne was established under the "family rule". --The authoritarian system of centralized power, in which imperial power was highly centralized, was established.

(2) Three Ministers and Nine Ministers (a more complete centralized official system): Three Ministers refers to the Prime Minister (assisting the emperor in handling national government affairs), the Imperial Historian (in charge of laws and regulations, charts and records, and responsible for the supervision of the hundred officials), and the Lieutenant (assisting the emperor in the management of military affairs); Nine Ministers refers to the central government under the three Ministers of the many important official positions. The three ministers and nine ministers were under the direct management of the emperor; they assisted in the handling of military, political and financial affairs; they were not subordinate to each other and held each other in check; it was convenient for the emperor to centralize his power.

3. Abolition of feudalism and the establishment of counties (the full implementation of the county system)

(1) The establishment of the county system: the Qin Dynasty, the local establishment of counties (is the highest level of local administrative institutions under the central government. The number of counties increased from 36 at the beginning to more than 40) The county system was established in the Qin Dynasty. The chiefs of the counties were mainly responsible for governing the people and managing finance, justice, prison and military service). , township institutions; prefects were appointed by the emperor; the system of selecting and examining officials began to be set up.

(2) Measures taken by Qin to consolidate its unification: striking Xiong Nu in the north, immigrating to Hetao, and building the Great Wall of China; pacifying the Yue in the south. Building postal routes; unification of the script; ("one track for all vehicles, one text for all books") unification of weights and measures, currency and vehicle tracks; formulation of the Law of Qin.

(3) Stages of the pre-Qin political system:

The Western Zhou emphasized the construction of the state's institutions, and the "Zhou ritual" system, including the patriarchal system, the feudal system, the well-field system, and the official system, was established. This was an era of the decline of divine power, the strengthening of royal power, and the rise of humanism. The Warring States period saw the destruction of aristocratic hierarchies and the creation of a new set of institutions. The centralized monarchical system, the bureaucratic system, and the county system emerged and had a profound impact on subsequent history.

The Qin Dynasty established a centralized system of government centered on the emperor, and the county system spread throughout the country. The Western Han Dynasty inherited the political and legal systems of the Qin Dynasty; and the implementation of the "parallel system of counties and states" at the local level strengthened the supervision of local officials, and the establishment of the state secretaries under Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty marked the beginning of a more rigorous supervision system.

4. The role and influence of centralization:

Positive:

①The traditional feudal system of the nobility was completely broken, and the foundation of the ancient Chinese system of unification of dynasties was laid. It had a significant impact on Chinese politics and society for more than 2,000 years thereafter.

②It was conducive to the development of feudal economy and culture, and played an important role in the initial laying down of the motherland's boundaries, the consolidation of national unity, and the formation of the Chinese nation, which was mainly composed of the Huaxia ethnic group.

Negative:

①The Qin Dynasty relied on the authoritarian authority of the emperor and intensified the oppression of the people, which made the people's situation worse and worse, and the class conflicts rapidly intensified. The Qin Dynasty collapsed after a decade or so.

② To a certain extent, it affected the free development of China's politics, economy and culture.

Supplementary: 1, Qin Shi Huang established the emperor system: ① the high degree of centralization of power: the Qin dynasty established a strong centralized system of power, the concentration of power, the Qin dynasty became the basic features of the political system. ② The supremacy of imperial power: First, the emperor was in charge of all state power, the supremacy of imperial power. Secondly, the establishment of the "family world" of the emperor's succession system.

2. Measures taken by Qin to consolidate its unity: the establishment of the emperor system; the implementation of the system of three principal officials and nine ministers in the central government, and the county system in the local government; the development of a system of selecting and examining officials; the unification of writing, currency, weights and measures; the enactment of harsh laws; the construction of the Great Wall for the purpose of defending against the Xiongnu; the construction of the Chidao (road) from the capital city to various parts of the country; the opening of the Spiritual Nullahs; and the large-scale immigration.

3, the establishment of authoritarian centralized power system

Reasons (inevitability): ① economic roots: feudal economic decentralization, the need for strong state power to ensure the unity of the country; ② political roots: the landowning classes need to use a strong regime to protect their economic interests and suppress the people's resistance; ③ ideological roots: the Legalist ideology;

Establishment: the Qin Dynasty, this centralized to the local ruling institutions, official positions, the centralized system, the centralized system, the centralized system and the local ruling institutions, the centralized system of the Qin Dynasty. The central to local ruling institutions of the Qin Dynasty, with a clear division of duties among the officials, both to cooperate with each other and to keep each other in check, and with the supreme power of the ruling institutions in the hands of the emperor alone, ultimately ensured the autocratic rule of the landlord class over the masses of the laboring people. The establishment of this set of ruling institutions from the central to the local level marked the establishment of the feudal authoritarian centralized power system.

III. The evolution of the political system in the period from Han to Yuan (centered on how to strengthen the imperial power and centralized local power)

1. Han Wu Di's period of the internal and external dynasty system and the system of assassins (the central and local dual-pronged)

1) internal and external dynasty system: learn from the early Han Dynasty, "the chaos of the seven kingdoms," the vassal potential to disrupt the country of the lessons; to strengthen the imperial power to weaken the power of the phases, strengthen the power of the phases, and strengthen the power of the central and local authorities, and to strengthen the power of the central and local authorities. The system of internal and external dynasties: Learning from the lessons of the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" in the early Han Dynasty, and for the purpose of strengthening the imperial power, weakening the power of the phases, strengthening the trunk and weak branches, and consolidating the unification. The Emperor's close associates formed the inner court (i.e., the central court: Shangshutai), which became the decision-making body of the court; the three principal officials and nine ministers became the outer court, and the central court became the central decision-making body directly controlled by the Emperor.

②Assassin system: to strengthen central control over local kingdoms, prevent local rebellions and consolidate unity. The establishment of 13 counties, sent a humble and powerful assassins to monitor the vassal kings and local officials. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "Prefects" were called "Prefects of the Prefecture", who were in charge of military and political affairs and became the highest prefects of the prefectures. Drawing on the practice of the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu's "Pui En Order" succeeded in weakening the power of the local kingdoms and reinforcing the central government's direct jurisdiction over the localities.

3) Pros and cons: centralization of power was strengthened, unification was consolidated and developed, and socio-economic development was promoted; however, the emperor's power was too centralized, which led to the later dictatorship of foreign relatives and eunuchs. (Eastern Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty)

2. Sui and Tang Dynasty, the three provinces and six departments system

①Provincial authority: decision-making institutions: the Central Book Province; audit institutions: the Ministry of the province; administrative institutions: the Shangshu Province; under the six ministries: mandarins, households, rituals, military, criminal justice, the Ministry of Public Works

②Role: the three provinces are not only mutual control, but also complement each other, a clear division of labor to improve the efficiency of the work; divided the phases, to avoid the power of the ministers of power alone. The power to avoid the powerful ministers to monopolize power, is conducive to strengthening the power of the emperor.

3. Measures to strengthen centralized power in the early Song Dynasty and its characteristics - strong trunks and weak branches

①Measures: A. Central: the establishment of the Ministry of the Central Committee (Councillors) to divide the power of the prime ministers, the establishment of the Privy Council to take charge of the military and political affairs, and known as the "two governments". B. Local: the collection of elite soldiers, the forbidden army set up "three Yamen" (strong and weak branches, guarding the inside and outside the false; the right to transfer troops and the right to unify the troops separate.); reduce the real power of the generals and ministers; the local government and the military. The government also reduced the real power of generals and ministers; local authorities set up generals, sent civil officials to know the state, and sent ambassadors to manage finances.

②Effect: to achieve the purpose of strengthening the trunk and weak branches, strengthen the centralization of power; to avoid the split situation of the clans and towns. But caused the "redundant officials, redundant soldiers, redundant costs" of the accumulation of poverty and weakness. (In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, financial difficulties and popular uprisings occurred. Liao and Xia attacked the border, and the court was in a state of emergency.)

4. Provincial System of Yuan Dynasty

Central: ①Yuan abolished the three provinces and set up a provincial system (i.e. Zhongshu Province) as the supreme administrative organization to improve administrative efficiency. ② Privy Council as the highest military institution; ③ set up Xuanzhengyuan, overseeing religious affairs and jurisdiction over Tibet.

Local: set up province system (such as Yunnan, Liaoyang, Lingbei, etc.), the highest governor of the province is Pingzhang Zhengcheng; province system consolidated the central government's jurisdiction over the local area, promoted the development of the frontier, consolidated the situation of the great unity, and laid down the administrative division of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which had far-reaching influence.

The development trend of the centralized system in ancient China: the supremacy of the emperor as the core; the successive dynasties actively adjusted the power of the monarch and the phisical power, and the relationship between the central government and the local government. Generally speaking: the power of the monarch was constantly strengthened, the power of the phases was constantly dispersed and weakened, the local power was constantly weakened, and the power of the central government was constantly strengthened; at the same time, in order to strengthen the authoritarian rule, successive dynasties constantly adjusted and changed the system of supervision and the system of selecting officials.

From the beginning to the end: it was full of conflicts between the emperor and the prime minister, and between the center and the localities.

This high degree of centralization resulted in the absolute dependence of local officials on the central government and the monarch, making it inevitable that they would not be able to do their jobs. The localities did not have corresponding autonomy, and it was difficult to implement effective administration. (Care should be taken to combine this with the earlier effect of centralization during the Qin Dynasty.)

IV. The strengthening of the monarchical authoritarian system in the Ming and Qing dynasties

1. The abolition of the prime minister system - Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty, the establishment of the Cabinet: learning from the Yuan Dynasty, the dictatorship of the rich and powerful, the lessons of the frequent civil strife, through the case of Hu Weiyong abolished the prime minister, the right to split the six departments, the Ming Emperor set up the Palace of Justice. six departments, Ming Taizu set up the temple cabinet university scholar (only preparation of advisers and mediation, and does not participate in decision-making); Ming Chengzu set up the cabinet; the cabinet is to provide advisers to the emperor's chamberlain agency, is the product of the strengthening of monarchical autocracy. Establishment of factory guards and secret service organizations. Autocratic imperial power developed to its peak.

2. The Cabinet of the Ming Dynasty and the Office of Military Affairs of the Qing Dynasty

①Ming Chengzu set up the Cabinet of Ministers to take part in military and state affairs, and to "draw up and approve the red".

②Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty to deal with military affairs set up the Office of Military Affairs: dealing with domestic and foreign affairs, the development of the military plan, trial cases. Fast action, high administrative efficiency. The establishment of the Office of military aircraft, marking the centralization of authoritarianism to the peak of the development.

3, the Ming and Qing monarchical dictatorship on Chinese society:

Monarchical dictatorship, decision-making is characterized by personal arbitrariness and discretion, prone to tyranny; officials only to be subordinate to the top, to encourage the officialdom to follow the old style; resulting in the expansion of the bureaucracy; resulting in the loss of the natural rights of the individual, the lack of a social basis for the establishment of modern democratic **** and systems, hindering social progress.

V. The establishment and evolution of the monarchist absolutist centralized power system:

The Qin Dynasty established an absolutist centralized power system, which was consolidated during the Western Han Dynasty, perfected during the Sui and Tang dynasties, strengthened during the Northern Song Dynasty, developed during the Yuan Dynasty, and unprecedentedly strengthened imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Recognition: the development trend: ① is the continuous adjustment and reform of the centralized administrative structure, weakening the power of the prime minister, in order to strengthen the imperial power. Ming Taizu abolished the prime minister, so that the central administrative power is divided into six departments, basically resolved the contradiction between the imperial power and the power of the phase. ② It was to continuously adjust and reform the local administrative structure to strengthen the central government's strict jurisdiction over the localities, especially over the border areas. Song Taizu strengthened centralization basically eliminated the conditions for the formation of local forces, the central and local contradictions eased, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, there was no more major division of the country. ③It is the increasing control of people's thoughts, the eight-stock system of the Ming Dynasty and the word prison of the Qing Dynasty are typical of the performance.

Positive effects: ① is conducive to the establishment, consolidation and development of the multi-ethnic feudal state, is conducive to maintaining 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. ③ Under a unified social environment, it was 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.

Negative effects: ①The dictatorship of the monarch was prone to form tyrannical rule and lead to the emergence of corruption, which became a factor hindering the development of history. ② In the ideological aspect of the sole family, clamped down on the 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 period, its positive effect was the main one. In the late feudal society, its negative role gradually increased, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the further strengthening of feudal authoritarianism centralized power, binding the further development of social productive forces, its harm is particularly serious. When evaluating this historical phenomenon, it should be analyzed under specific historical conditions and not generalized. For example, even in the Ming and Qing dynasties, this system still played a positive role in maintaining the consolidation of the unified multi-ethnic state and countering foreign aggression.