Chapter 17 Chapter Five Song Liao Jin Xia Yuan Official System

The central institutions of the Song Dynasty can be divided into five systems: administration, military, finance, judicial supervision, and institutions serving the royal family. From the perspective of the administrative system, the highest official is still the prime minister, which has two characteristics, one is that the official name has changed a lot, and the other is that the power is less than that of the previous generation.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, following the system of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Zhongshu was set up under the door.The Zhongshumen is located in the palace, also known as the Zhengshitang, where the principal and deputy prime ministers govern affairs.The prime minister is said to be in the same office as Zhongshumen, and the deputy prime minister is said to be a member of the political affairs, with one to three people each.There are five offices under it, such as Kongmu, officials, households, military etiquette, and punishment. Officials such as inspecting and rectifying the official affairs of the five offices and mentioning the official affairs of the five offices are set up to deal with specific affairs.Shenzong Yuanfeng five years (1082 A.D.) reformed the official system, abolished Zhongshu Menxia, ​​and restored the system of three provinces and six departments in the early Tang Dynasty. The servants under the door, the servants of Zhongshu, and the left and right ministers of Shangshu are the deputy prime ministers.During Huizong's time, Zuo Pushe was changed to Dazai, and he was still serving as the servant of the sect, and he was called Prime Minister;During Qinzong's time, the Yuanfeng system was restored.In the third year of Emperor Gaozong's Jianyan (1129 A.D.), the left and right servants and Tongzhong Shumenxia Pingzhangshi were the prime ministers, and Shen Zhizhengshi was the deputy prime minister.In the eighth year of Emperor Xiaozong's Qiandao (1172 A.D.), the left and right servants and Pingzhang under Tong Zhongshu were changed to the left and right prime ministers, and Shen Zhizhengshi was still the deputy prime minister.The power of prime minister in the Northern Song Dynasty was smaller than that of the previous dynasties, and far inferior to that of the Han and Tang. This is because in the early Northern Song Dynasty, the power system of two government and three divisions jointly governing the country was implemented. The military and government were in charge of the Privy Council, and the finance was in charge of the third division.At the same time, Shenzhi Zhengshi was designated as the deputy post of the prime minister, which also formed a strong restraint on the prime minister.Although Yuanfeng restructured and eliminated the third department, the situation that the two government "opponently controlled the big government" did not change completely.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the three provinces, six ministries and twenty-four divisions were all in vain. "History of the Song Dynasty Official Records" records: Zhongshuling, Shizhong, and Shangshuling are not given to the government, servants, and ministers are not given provincial posts, admonitions are silent, and daily life is not recorded. Zhengyan (that is, picking up relics and making up for queries in the Tang Dynasty) is not a special purpose, nor is it admonishing.As for Pushe, Shangshu, Cheng, Lang, and Yuanwai, those who live in their official positions do not know their positions very often.

These official titles have lost their original meaning, and no longer represent specific positions. They are only used as the basis for official rank and salary. Examination · Official Examination Six"), and the real power shifted to some newly established institutions.For example, the Privy Council in charge of military administration, the three divisions in charge of finance, the Academy of Sciences in charge of regulations, edicts, pardons, edicts, and books, the Yintai Division, the Tongjin Division, and the Issuance Division in charge of the world's memorials, case files, and issuing orders. Middle and lower-level civil and military officials appointed, evaluated, and dismissed the East Court of Adjudicators, Liu Neiquan (abbreviated as Quansi), West Court of Adjudicators, and Sanban Court, and the Taichang Liyuan in charge of etiquette.After the restructuring of Yuanfeng, except for a few institutions, most of these institutions were gradually abolished, thus restoring the functions of the twenty-four divisions of six departments in three provinces.The power of the original Zhongshu sect belongs to the three provinces. The Zhongshu province takes the order, the sect province repeats it, and the Shangshu province implements it.The three provinces became the highest government agencies.In addition to the Ministry of War, the six ministries have also been enriched, especially the Ministry of Officials, which not only manages middle and low-level civil servants, but also military officials, and its powers have been expanded compared with the Tang Dynasty.During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province were merged into Zhongshu Menxia Province, which was actually two provinces with Shangshu Province, but they are still called three provinces by custom.The three provinces do not have separate chiefs, and the prime ministers and deputy ministers govern or divide the affairs of the three provinces.The number of officials in the six ministries was reduced, and each ministry was presided over by a minister or a minister.Twenty-four divisions have also been merged.

In the Song Dynasty, there were nine temple supervisors, Taichang, Zongzheng, Weiwei, Taipu, Dali, Honghe, Sinong, and Taifu, and six supervisors of Guozi, Shaofu, Jiangzuo, Sitian, and Junqi.Among the nine temples and six prisons in the early Northern Song Dynasty, except for Dali Temple, Guozijian, Sitianjian, Dushuijian, and Military Weapons Supervision, the situation was similar to that of the three provinces and six departments.After the restructuring of Yuanfeng, the Sitian Supervisor was abolished, and the Taishi Bureau was set up separately. The nine temples and five supervisors began to specialize in their own duties and set up official positions, just like the Tang system.However, the duties of each temple are not the same. "Dust Book · Humorous" records: Taifu Temple is called "Busy Qing" because of its many affairs; It is said that Guanglu Temple is known as "Fuqing" because it handles wine, delicacy and delicacies; Honglu Temple handles tributes from neighboring countries, but the Song Dynasty is weak and there are few tributes, so it is called "Sleeping Qing".In the Southern Song Dynasty, the temple supervisors were merged in some provinces, such as Honglu Temple and Guanglu Temple were merged into the Ministry of Rites, Weiwei Temple and Taipu Temple were merged into the Ministry of War, and Shaofujian and Dushuijian were merged into the Ministry of Industry.

From the perspective of the military system, the Central Committee of the Northern Song Dynasty can be called the Privy Council—the Sanya system.The Privy Council is the highest administrative body in charge of the country's military affairs, and it is also known as the Second Government together with Zhongshu Menxia.The responsibilities of the Privy Council are: "To be in charge of military and state affairs, military defense, frontier preparations, military orders, and secret orders to govern the country. All matters related to the guards' ranks, the recruitment of internal and external bans, examinations, relocation, garrison, rewards and punishments All of them are in charge." ("Song History · Official Records II") The chief of the Privy Council is an envoy of the Privy Council or knows the affairs of the Privy Council, and the second official is a member of the Privy Council or a deputy envoy of the Privy Council. thing.The status of the privy envoy is equivalent to that of Tong Zhongshu, and the deputy envoy is equivalent to participating in political affairs.The Privy Council chief and deputy officials are also called "consuls" together with those who participate in political affairs.The prime minister and the consul are collectively called "Zai Zhi".Under the Privy Council, there are soldiers, officials, households, and ceremonial houses, and the capitals and deputy capitals are responsible for all kinds of specific affairs.The difference between the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty and the Privy Council of the Tang Dynasty was that most of the chief officers were literati, not eunuchs, and there were very few military generals in this position, only Cao Bin, Wang Deyong, and Di Qing.The Privy Council has the power to deploy troops, but it does not directly command the army.Sanya is in charge of the forbidden army.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the system of the Later Zhou Dynasty was followed, and the Dianqian Division and the Guard Division were set up.However, the inspectors in front of the palace, the deputy inspectors, and the commanders of the guards, the commanders of the deputy capital, and the marquis of Du Yu were gradually no longer appointed.Later, the Guard Division was divided into the Guard Horse Army Division and the Guard Infantry Division, which together with the Dianqian Division were called Sanya.The chiefs of the three yamen are all called the commander of the capital, and the deputy commanders of the capital are the commander of the capital and the marquis of Duyu.It belongs to military officers such as commanders.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the chiefs of the Sanya had those who commanded the troops to go to the expedition, but later there were none.The Privy Council and the Sanya controlled each other. On weekdays, the Privy Council held the right to deploy troops, while the Sanya held the right to manage and train the troops. When commanding the troops, they dispatched other generals. None of the three could hold their own troops, thus preventing the mutiny in the Song Dynasty.

From the perspective of the financial system, the main institutions of national financial management are the Third Department (the Ministry of Households) and the internal treasury.The three departments refer to Yantie, Duzhi, and Hubu. In the Tang Dynasty, they were separated (occasionally established together), and the five dynasties were united. In the early Song Dynasty, they followed the old system of the Five Dynasties. They were the institutions in charge of the country's finances. .The three divisions, Yantie, Duzhi, and Hubu each have envoys, deputy envoys, and judges.The third division envoy is called Jixiang, and his status is slightly lower than that of Shenzhizhengshi.When Yuanfeng restructured, the three divisions were abolished and assigned to the Ministry of Household Affairs of Shangshu Province.The third envoy was replaced by the Minister of the Ministry of Households.However, the national financial power is by no means fully managed by the household department of Shangshu Province. Therefore, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, there were general financial officials and economic system envoys.The economic envoy is mainly in charge of the finance of the southeast.If the Sansi or the Ministry of Households is a national financial institution indirectly controlled by the emperor, then the internal treasury is a financial institution under the direct control of the emperor.The internal treasury began with Taizu’s Jianfeng pile treasury, and was expanded to the inner treasury during Taizong’s time. Since then, the scale of the inner treasury has continued to expand, with large income and wide expenditure.Most of the supervisors of the internal treasury are internal ministers or specially appointed courtiers, and neither the prime minister nor the three divisions (household departments) are allowed to intervene.

From the perspective of the judicial system, in the early Northern Song Dynasty, there were the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, Yushitai, and Judgment Court.Dali Temple is a judicial institution, which is responsible for judging the cases reported in various places in detail.The Ministry of Punishment is in charge of criminal law and prison litigation.However, in the early Northern Song Dynasty, most of the powers of the Ministry of Punishment were usurped, either by other officials, or by Yushitai.Yushitai has a straightening officer and a probing officer, who are responsible for judicial affairs.The Court of Judgment was set up in the palace, and there was one Zhiyuan official and six detailed counselors, who "handled the detailed case [yan Yan] in Dali and played it" ("Song History · Officials II").In the early Northern Song Dynasty, when a case was judged by Dali Temple, it was reported to the Criminal Court for reexamination, and the Zhiyuan Shi and the detailed deliberative officer wrote written opinions, reported it to Zhongshu, and asked the emperor for adjudication.In fact, the Judiciary usurped the review power of the Ministry of Punishments and became the highest judicial institution under the direct control of the emperor.In the third year of Song Shenzong Xining (1070 A.D.), the Judicial Court was merged into the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple were restored as the highest judicial institutions.After the restructuring of Yuanfeng, the Ministry of Punishment set up official positions such as Shangshu, Shilang, Langguan, Yuanwailang, Duguan Langzhong, Bibu Langzhong, and Simen Langzhong; Registrar and other official positions.The characteristic of Dali Temple in the Song Dynasty was that it was divided into two temples, the left and the right.Interrogation and judgment are performed by officials of different agencies, which can monitor each other and ensure the quality of justice.

The highest supervisory agency is still Yushitai.The highest official in name is Doctor Yushi, but it is only added as an official and awarded to other officials. The real chief is Yushi Zhongcheng.The subordinate institutions are the same as those of the Tang Dynasty, including Taiwan, Dian, and Chayuan.Different from the Tang Dynasty, in the early Song Dynasty, most of the supervisory positions were held by other officials, and the censor was often a Jilu official, and few actually served.Yuanfeng restructured and began to correct his duties.In addition, the supervisory censors in the Song Dynasty did not have the responsibility to supervise the localities, but mainly supervised the six books of the Shangshu.There are admonition officials who have similar functions to Yushitai.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, following the system of the Tang Dynasty, there were left and right admonishing officials, supplementing the palace, and picking up relics.During the time of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, supplementing ques and picking up relics were changed to remonstrance and righteousness.Although these official positions are called admonishing officials, they do not serve without edicts.In the early years of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (1023 A.D.), the Court of Remonstrance was formally established.Yuanfeng reformed the system, abolished the Admonishment Academy, and appointed left and right admonishment officials, Sijian, and Zhengyan as admonishers, and was divided into Menxia and Zhongshu provinces.In the third year of Emperor Gaozong's Jianyan period (1129 A.D.), Jianyuan was restored.Before the Song Dynasty, the responsibilities of Taiwan (Censor) and Admonisher (Admonisher) were clearly defined in each dynasty, and the Song Dynasty opened the end of the integration of Taiwan and Admonishment.The admonition officer not only serves as an admonition officer, but also often corrects and impeaches ministers; in addition to being the main supervisor, the Yushitai Yushi also has the responsibility of admonishing and admonishing.Although the two have their own emphases, their powers are often mixed, so they are called "Taiwan Jian".

The Song inherited the Tang system, and there was also an Imperial Academy.The Hanlin Academy in the Tang Dynasty was not an official state institution, but it was officially a state institution in the Song Dynasty.There are several Hanlin bachelors in the academy.Among the bachelors, those with the most senior qualifications are called Chengzhi.Those admitted to the hospital without a bachelor's degree are called Zhiyuan.If there is a shortage of bachelors, other officials will temporarily take the place of bachelors.Those who bear the name of Hanlin but do not belong to the academy include Hanlin Shidu Bachelor and Hanlin Shijiao Bachelor, who take the job of teaching the history of books at the emperor's side.In the Song Dynasty, Hanlin scholars received excellent treatment, and their status was second only to the principal and deputy prime ministers, privy envoys, and three envoys, and they were admired by all officials.There are two reasons. One is that the ministry is important and the emperor favors it.The academy is located in the imperial palace, and is responsible for drafting various important documents such as edicts and amnesties. At the same time, it prepares the emperor's advisors, and can often influence the emperor with his own will.The second is that most of the heads of the military and government governments are Hanlin scholars, and they are positions that ordinary officials look forward to.In addition, the Song Dynasty also newly established the Diange Bachelor.Bachelors and bachelors of a certain hall (such as Guanwen Hall) are generally highly prestigious, and most of them are honorary titles of ministers in power.There are also book collections such as Longtu Pavilion and Tianzhang Pavilion, each of which has a bachelor's degree, a direct bachelor's degree, a waiting system, and a straight cabinet.The duty of these officials is to manage secret books and serve as servants of literature.However, when court officials go out, they often add the title of Bachelor of XX Pavilion to show their favor.Bao Zheng, a famous politician and upright official in the Northern Song Dynasty, often used Longtuge Zhishi, which is this kind of official title.

The eunuch institutions serving the emperor include the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Entering the Ministry of Internal Affairs, set up the capital, the capital, the deputy capital, and the guard, etc., to take charge of the internal affairs of the palace, and to be closest to the emperor and empress.In the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are Duzhi, Deputy Duzhi, and Escorts, etc., who are in charge of chores such as sanitation and sweeping of the palace. The crown prince's official office is called the East Palace official, and the setting is the same as that of the Tang Dynasty. They are all concurrently held by other officials. The crown prince will be abolished after he takes the throne.

In the Song Dynasty, local governments were divided into three levels: roads, states (government, army, prison), and counties.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the whole country was divided into ten divisions along the Tang system.Song Taizong to Dao three years (AD 997), the road was changed to roads, and there were fifteen roads; in the early years of Renzong, it was analyzed into eighteen roads; in the eighth year of Shenzong Yuanfeng (AD 1085), it was increased to twenty-three roads; Huizong At that time, it was increased to twenty-four roads; only seventeen roads remained in the Southern Song Dynasty.The roads of the Song Dynasty were different from the prefectures of the Han Dynasty, and also different from the roads of the Tang Dynasty. They had the dual nature of local supervisory districts and administrative districts.The main institutions of the road are the appeasement department, the transshipment department, the promotion and prison department, and the promotion and Changping department. The Department of Pacifying Envoys was originally a temporary institution and gradually became a permanent institution later on.Not all roads were set up in the Northern Song Dynasty, but they were generally set up in the Southern Song Dynasty.The chief is a conciliator, usually served concurrently by the most important governor of the state.He is in charge of military affairs along the way, and also manages civil affairs.In the early Southern Song Dynasty, the appeasement envoy was the chief officer of the road, and he could "act cheaply" during wartime.After Emperor Ningzong, the military administration was assigned to the Capital Control Department, and the civil administration was assigned to other departments, and the appeasement envoys had positions but no powers.The appeasement envoy is commonly known as "Shuai Chen", and the official office is commonly known as "Shuai Si". The Transfer Envoy was originally a temporary organization, but it was changed to a formal organization during Song Taizong's time.The commander is a transit envoy.The full name of the transshipment envoy is "transshipment envoy of certain roads and waterways".If he concurrently serves on two or more routes and has a higher official position, he is called a transfer envoy.The deputy chief has a transfer deputy envoy and a transfer judge.In charge of one or several routes of finance and water transportation.The transfer envoy is commonly known as "Cao Chen", and the official office is commonly known as "Cao Si". Let me mention the prison department, which was first set up during the time of Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty, and will be stopped later.It was re-established during Song Zhenzong's time, and it became a custom.The chief is to mention (a certain road) the official affairs of the prison, also known as the point of punishment.The deputy chief is to mention some official matters of punishment and prison, or the military minister to mention punishment.In charge of justice all the way.Mention of criminal and prison affairs is referred to as "mention", and the official office is commonly known as "Xiansi". The promotion of Changping Division was established during the time of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty.The chief is to promote Changping envoy.In charge of all the way to Changping, righteous warehouses, exemption from service, market transactions, workshops, river crossings, water conservancy and other matters.The promotion of Changping Envoy is referred to as "Ti Cang" for short, and the official office is commonly known as "Cang Si". Cao Si, Xian Si, and Cang Si also all have the responsibility of supervising state and county officials, so they are collectively referred to as "Supervision Si".The supervisor and the comfort envoy are collectively called "Shuai Chen Supervisor", or "Shuai Cao Xiancang".Shuai Cao Xiancang was sent by the central government to supervise and command military, political, financial, and criminal affairs, and he had a lot of power and responsibility.With the establishment of these institutions stabilized, their nature also changed, gradually transforming from a simple supervisory agency to a first-level administrative agency, so the road is actually a form of transition from the supervisory area to the administrative area. Later, the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty came into being. It is also related to the road of the Song Dynasty. The government, state, army, and prison under the road are all at the same level.Generally, they are called prefectures, leading several counties or more than a dozen counties; the capital, accompanying capital, and the prefectures where the emperor lived or held office before he ascended the throne are called prefectures; places where military centers are called army; areas where salt and iron mining and smelting are called supervisors (also have subordinates) The military and supervisors in Fuzhou are equivalent to counties).Kaifeng Mansion is called Tokyo, and sometimes a governor is set up, most of whom are crown princes or princes.If there is no one to serve as Yin, then set up "Quanzhi Kaifeng Mansion Affairs", and officials above the waiting list will be appointed.Bao Zheng once knew the affairs of the Kaifeng government. He was an upright and upright official. He was praised as an upright official in history.The government is set up to know the affairs of the prefecture, the state is set up to know the affairs of the state, the army is set up to know the military, and the supervisor is set up to know the supervisors. "Knowledge" means to preside over the affairs of the prefecture (fu, army, supervisor) in charge of the administration, wealth, military affairs, etc. of a state (fu, army, supervisor).The full name of Zhizhou is "Quan Zhijun State Affairs", usually appointed by the central government as a civil servant.There is also a general judge. At the beginning of the establishment, he was neither the deputy secretary of state affairs nor an official. He was in charge of the affairs of a state (government, army, prison) and had the responsibility of supervising the chief official. The joint signing of Zhizhou affairs can take effect, thus forming a check on the power of Zhizhou affairs.Later, with the stability of the central government's control over the localities, Tong San gradually evolved into the deputy governor of the state.The subordinate officials of the state include the recorder, the secretary of the household, the manager, and the judiciary. Cao joins the army and is in charge of general affairs, household registration, taxation, prison litigation, and justice. The lowest level of local administration is the county.The counties are divided into red (within the capital), Ji (outside the capital), Wang (more than 4000 households), tight (more than 3000 households), upper (more than 2000 households), middle (more than 1000 households), middle and lower (less than 1000 households), Lower (less than 500 households) eighth class.The county has an order, such as the official of the Beijing Dynasty who leads the county affairs, it is called the county magistrate.The county magistrate or county magistrate is responsible for the civil affairs, finance, prison litigation, etc. of a county. If there is a garrison in the county, it will also serve as a prison or prison for soldiers and horses.The subordinate officials have the master book and the lieutenant.The master book is in charge of official property and books, and the lieutenant is under the master book, in charge of training archers and maintaining law and order.The order, master book, and lieutenant are often not all set.During the Shenzong period, a prime minister was set up as the deputy second of the county magistrate in counties with more than 20,000 households, but it was abolished in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the Tang system was followed, and the official ranks were nine ranks and thirty ranks.Yuanfeng reformed the system and reorganized the official ranks, setting the nine ranks from the eighteenth rank.In the political life of the Song Dynasty, official rank was not very important, it was only a standard for the color of official uniforms. The ranks are divided into official ranks and official ranks.The scattered official ranks in the early Northern Song Dynasty also followed the Tang system, which was an additional official title for officials.Wen Sanguan has a total of twenty-nine ranks from Kaifu Yitong Sansi to Jiang Shilang.There are thirty-one ranks of Wu Sanguan, ranging from Hussar General to Deputy Lieutenant.Sanguan rank has nothing to do with actual position and salary, and has little effect, so it was abolished when Yuanfeng restructured.In the future, Sanguan refers to officials who are idle and do nothing.This official rank is related to the stabilization of the dispatch system in the early Northern Song Dynasty.Such as Zuo, Youpushe, Liubu Shangshu, Shilang, Dafu, Langzhong, Yuanwailang, Qing, Shaoqing, etc. These were originally officials in the Tang Dynasty, but they were called official ranks in the early Northern Song Dynasty.Official names with words such as sentence, knowledge, right, direct, trial, promotion, mention, signature, and charge in the dispatch, such as Shenzhizhengshi, Zhixian, Zhimige, and mentioning criminal and prison official affairs, can be used as official names. is a true minister.There are also words such as appeasement envoys, although they do not carry the above words, but they are also sent ministers.This official rank has nothing to do with the official position, it is the standard of official salary.In the early Northern Song Dynasty, civil servants were divided into forty-two ranks, and military officials were divided into twenty-seven ranks.Yuanfeng reformed the system, Song Shenzong changed the official rank of the Beijing official to the official name of the official, and the newly established official rank of the official of the Jing Dynasty (also known as the official rank of Jilu) adopted the original name of the scattered official rank, since the opening of Fu Yitong Sansi To Cheng Wulang, there are twenty-five steps in total.Since then, the new official rank has become the standard for determining the salary and status of officials in the Beijing Dynasty. The 12th rank of honorary officer is the same as the Tang system.Song Huizong dismissed civil servants and honorary officials, and restored them in the Southern Song Dynasty. There were more titles in the Song Dynasty than in the Tang Dynasty, and they were divided into twelve levels: King, Heir King, County King, State Duke, County Duke, Founding Duke, Founding County Duke, Founding County Duke, Founding Marquis, Founding Uncle, Founding Son, and Founding Male.Anyone with a title has a food town, which is based on households.But Shiyi is an imaginary number, and Shishifeng is a real number.Those who have a solid food seal will be charged 25 Wen per day for a household with a solid seal, and will receive their monthly salary from the government. Official salaries in the Song Dynasty were mostly calculated in money, Lusu was calculated in grain, and Spring and Autumn clothing was calculated in pieces of silk.However, sometimes what should be distributed in kind can also be converted into money.In addition to salary, there are additional subsidies in various names.Senior officials also have the title of Shiyi, and local officials have positions and lands.Generally speaking, the material treatment of officials in the Song Dynasty is considered the best in all dynasties.In this regard, Zhao Yi from the Qing Dynasty commented: "It (Song) treats scholar-bureaucrats very generously. Only the best gifts are given to them, so those who become officials no longer worry about their wealth, and each encourages his own governance." But on the other hand, Zhao Yi also pointed out: "Giving too much money made the Song Dynasty's finances difficult. "This Song system cannot be a law" ("Twenty-two History Notes Song Zhilu Zhihou").