Chapter 6 Chinese traditional politics

one Scholars of Western political history often say that their politics have shifted from theocracy to kingship, and from kingship to civil power.They also said that there is a difference between constitutionalism and autocracy in politics, either autocratic monarchy or constitutional monarchy, otherwise it is democratic constitutionalism.Chinese scholars in modern times regard plagiarism as their supreme ability to sell to the West, so they also say that Chinese politics has shifted from theocracy to monarchy.Because China does not have a parliament and a constitution, China is naturally an autocratic monarchy, and there is no such thing as civil rights.But I don’t know that China’s own political theory does not focus on sovereignty, so there is no such debate as whether sovereignty lies in God or in the monarch.If China's political history is divided into the age of theocracy and the age of monarchy, it will only be vague and far-fetched, and it will not be in line with the truth of historical objective facts.As for thinking that China's past politics was just an autocratic monarchy, without mentioning civil rights, it is also hard-loading Western ready-made terms into China.It's not about seeking truth from facts, but really asking for an understanding of Chinese history.It should be known that in modern times in the West, there were two kinds of politics, fascism, communism and totalitarianism, which completely escaped the three categories of absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and constitutional democracy that they had previously summarized.It can be seen that these three categories can only be summarized according to their previous history.Although traditional Chinese politics must fall within these three categories, wouldn't it appear in a different way?We have to summarize our own history into our own appropriate names to divide our political traditions into stages of its evolution. This is the scientific spirit of respecting objectivity and seeking truth from facts.It is too casual and too lazy if you only know that it is based on Western established theories, and you will be able to deduce it. It is by no means the attitude that scholars should adopt.

"Shangshu" said earlier: "The sky sees itself and the people see it, and the sky listens to the people themselves." Such words are more than once seen.Until the Spring and Autumn Period, Ji Liang of Suiguo said: "The people are the lord of the gods, and the sage king first becomes the people and then devotes himself to the gods." The history of Guoguo said: "When the country is about to prosper, listen to the people. When the country is about to perish, listen to the people." God. God is wise and upright, and he acts according to people." Zhu Wengong said: "The king who is born with the people is the one who benefits him." Jin Shikuang said: "The king who is born with the people makes Si Mu, Don't lose your nature, Heaven loves the people very much. How can you let a person domineeringly over the people, so as to abandon the nature of heaven and earth because of his prostitution?" These words lasted for two hundred and forty years in the Spring and Autumn Period, and there are many similar ones.This is by no means a theory representing the age of theocracy, nor is it a theory representing monarchy, but it cannot be said to be advocating civil rights.This tells us that China's political theory does not focus on the issue of sovereignty at all.

Confucius put it more clearly.Ji Kangzi asked about politics, and Confucius said to him: "A politician is upright. If you are handsome, who dares not be upright." He also said: "If a dog does not desire, he will not steal it even if he rewards him." He also said: "The virtue of a gentleman is the wind. The virtue of a villain is grass. Grass, the wind of honor, must die.” What is raised here is not the question of who should own the political sovereignty, but the question of who should bear the political responsibility.All injustices in society, according to the theory of political responsibility, are all caused by the injustices of the administrators, so the administrators should be fully responsible for them.Confucius also said: "The monarch, the ministers, the father and the son, the son and the son." The monarch must behave like a monarch and fulfill his responsibilities, so that the ministers can behave like a minister and fulfill their responsibilities.Whether a minister is not a minister is because the king is not the king.Far from the "Shangshu", it has been said that "all parties are guilty, and the crime lies in the joint bow." This is a theory of monarchy, not a theory of monarchy.

This meaning was further developed by Mencius.Mencius said: "There is no one who is benevolent, no one who is righteous, no one who is righteous, and no one who is upright." It can be seen that in society, all injustice and injustice should be taken care of by administrators.Therefore, Mencius once asked King Xuan of Qi personally, if a scholar cannot rule a scholar, he should be dismissed, "If there is no rule within the four realms, what should I do?" That is to say, if you don't fulfill your duties as a monarch, you will not be a monarch.So what if you don't become a king?Mencius said: "The king regards his ministers as brothers and feet, and the ministers regard the emperor as his heart. The emperor regards his ministers as dogs and horses, and the ministers regard the emperor as the people of the country. The emperor regards his ministers as grasshoppers, and the ministers regard him as a bandit." " How can Kou Yu obey him?" According to human nature, one cannot force a man to obey him Kou Yu.If a minister refuses to submit to the emperor, sometimes the responsibility lies with the emperor, not the minister.Moreover, the ministers have the responsibility of the ministers, "If the king has a major fault, he will remonstrate, and if he does not listen repeatedly, he will be relocated."These are all political theories of responsibility, which can also be called the theory of duty.In traditional Chinese political theory, one's duties and responsibilities are identified in the official position.The emperor or the monarch is only the highest political official position, so there is one emperor, one for the public, one for the prince, one for the son, and one for the male, and there are five grades in total.There is one king, one Qing, one doctor, one senior, one middle and one corporal, a total of six grades.The son of heaven and the monarch also have their due duties and responsibilities in politics.If the Son of Heaven and the Emperor are not fulfilling their duties and are incompetent, the ministers can change his position, and even the people of the whole country can punish him.This is the key point of traditional Chinese political theory, and we must understand this before we can look at traditional Chinese politics.

two The so-called traditional Chinese politics, this article only starts after the establishment of the unified government of the Qin and Han Dynasties.The earlier ones are ignored for the time being.In the domestic academic circles in the past few decades, almost no one has said that the politics after Qin Dynasty is an autocratic monarchy, but the author will not hesitate to defend this issue repeatedly.The traditional Chinese politics discussed in this article only plays on this point.First of all, it should be noted that in the traditional politics of China after the Qin Dynasty, it is obvious that there is often a division between the title of monarch and the title of minister, in other words, the division of power between monarch and minister.It can also be said to be the division between the royal family and the government.In the Han Dynasty, Neichao refers to the royal family's language, and Outer Dynasty refers to the government's language.National fiscal revenue, those belonging to the big farmers belong to the government, and those belonging to the small government belong to the royal family. This division has been roughly maintained throughout the dynasties.The prime minister is the leader of the government. The status and powers of the prime minister in traditional Chinese politics deserve our special attention.

First of all, in terms of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor's secretariat "Shangshu", at first, was only called the six Shangshu along with Shangyi, Shangguan, Shangyu, Shangxi, and Shangshi, and Shangshu had only four members.But the prime minister's secretariat has thirteen departments, which were called Thirteen Caos in ancient times.The officials of Xicao Guanxiang Mansion belong to the department, which is the affairs of the officials of later generations.Dongcao Guan Erqianshi's chief was removed and appointed as a military official. This is a matter of the military department of the official department of later generations.Hu Caoguan sacrifices to Nongsang, which belongs to the Ministry of Rites of later generations.Playing all the memorials of Cao Guan is like the Privy Envoy in Tang Dynasty and the General Secretary in Ming Dynasty.Ci Cao Guan Ci Litigation, this is the matter of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs of later generations.Facao was in charge of postal delivery, and since then it has been commissioned by the ministry. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a postal ministry.Wei Cao was in charge of transportation, and since then he has done the work for the Ministry. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a governor of water transportation.Thieves Cao manages thieves, and Cao manages the crimes of the law, and he will act on behalf of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs.Ci Cao is in charge of civil affairs, and thief Cao Jue is in charge of criminal matters.Bing Cao manages military affairs, and the future generations of the Ministry of War.Jin Cao was in charge of the currency, salt and iron, and later generations of the Ministry of Household Affairs.Cangcao is the master of Canggu, and later generations of the Ministry of Household Affairs. In the Qing Dynasty, there was the Governor of Cangchang.Huang Ge is in charge of the general affairs of Thirteen Caos, which is the secretary-general and general office of the Prime Minister's Office.Due to its huge organization, it can be seen that all administration in the country is in the prime minister's office.The six volumes and twenty-four divisions of the later generations of Shangshu have already been included in the thirteen Caos.The authority of each Cao is almost like that of a minister of later generations.But their salary is very low, only a hundred stones, less than a small county magistrate.This is because the county magistrate is officially appointed by the government, while the public Cao is privately established by the prime minister.According to legal theory, the functions and powers of Gongcao are all the powers and powers of the prime minister.Gongcao is not an official official of the government. This kind of position status is equivalent to the so-called accompanying ministers in the feudal era, but their prestige at that time was extremely high.The Jiuqing Erqianshi, who retired from the top, is equivalent to the positions of ministers and provincial chairmen in modern times, and the grassroots Confucianism, similar to the so-called social sages today, can be freely appointed by the prime minister.Many of them are also willing to take the position of Cao Cao in the prime minister's mansion.This is almost unimaginable in future generations.Because of this, in the concept of officials at that time, there was no distinction between high and low as in later generations.And the weight of power can be imagined from this.

It is said that the Chancellor's Mansion in the Han Dynasty did not set up gates as usual, that is, thresholds, doorbells and drums, which means that the Prime Minister's Mansion is open to the society.According to legend, there was a certain prime minister, who used to use a head of the head, named Yilu, and his descendants had been accustomed to it. When people came to the prime minister's mansion, they only called Yilu, so they had to be introduced. See "Tong Dian" for details.This can be regarded as a good story in traditional Chinese politics, written in history books.Modern scholars only know how to scold traditional Chinese politics as being a dark and oppressive imperial autocracy, and absolutely ignore such records.

Until the Tang Dynasty, the duties and powers of the prime minister were clearly divided.The highest government decree in the country, issued by the emperor in name, is called the edict by Tang people.In terms of jurisprudence, some edicts are all drawn up by the prime minister.In the Han Dynasty, the prime minister was a head system, and in the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister was a committee system.The highest deliberative body is called Zhengshitang.All government decrees that must be promulgated in the name of the emperor's edict must be decided in advance by the Zhengshitang, sent to the palace to make a unified edict, and then issued by the Zhengshitang with the seal of Zhongshumenxia.Without the seal of the Zhengshitang, it is not considered an edict and has no legal status in law.

In the second year of Song Taizu Qiande, the three prime ministers resigned at the same time, and the emperor wanted to issue an edict to appoint Zhao Pu as the new prime minister.The prime minister is an emperor.According to the old system of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor could not issue an edict without the countersignature of the prime minister, so Song Taizu summoned a group of ministers to discuss how to deal with this issue.Some people claim that the Tang Dynasty also had similar difficulties in the days after the Ganlu Incident. At that time, Shangshu Pushe, who is now the Executive Yuan, followed the edict.But some people objected, because the governor of the Minister of Ministers only had the power to execute political affairs, but not the power to issue orders. They believed that this was a story during a time of turmoil, and it should not be used as an example in a world of peace.As a result, the governor of Kaifeng at that time had the official title of Tongping Zhangshi, that is, the person who attended the meeting of the Zhengshitang wrote the edict.It can be seen that at least in the Tang Dynasty and the early Song Dynasty, the emperor could not issue edicts and issue orders casually.If it is necessary to say that traditional Chinese politics is an autocratic monarchy, there should be a further explanation of these historical facts.

However, compared with the Tang Dynasty, the power of prime ministers in the Song Dynasty was indeed lowered.In the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister first drafted the imperial edict in the political affairs hall, and sent it to the emperor in writing for his seal. The emperor only had the right to consent.In the Song Dynasty, the prime minister issued an opinion, first submitted the emperor's will in person, and then stepped back to formally draft it. Therefore, the emperor gained a greater say in the promulgation of imperial edicts beforehand.But this is not to say that the emperor of the Song Dynasty could be dictatorial.At that time, the emperor wanted to establish a concubine, but the prime minister Li Hang burned the imperial edict.The emperor did not follow the proposal from the prime minister, Zhazi, but issued an order from within, which was returned by the prime minister, Du Yan.There were more than a few of these stories in the Song Dynasty.It was not until Cai Jing became the prime minister that he began to "pursue the imperial pen", which means that the prime minister only signed for the emperor and no longer made his own ideas.This is a typical power minister and treacherous prime minister in Chinese history, but he just doesn't fulfill his duties as a prime minister.From the outside, he gave up the right to be the prime minister himself.From the inside, he shifted all responsibility to the emperor.But we still cannot say that the prime minister had no legal power at that time.Because of the emperor's order, Cai Jing still had to affix the prime minister's seal before it could be issued.

But we can't say from this that the prime minister can make all the orders of the government.In the Tang Dynasty, when it came to major military and state affairs, as a rule, the Zhongshu Sheren, the officials of the Zhongshu Province, first drafted their opinions, which was called Wuhua Judgment.Then the Zhongshuling, that is, the prime minister, will review and make a ruling. After sending it to the emperor's painting edict, it must be sent to Menxia Province, and its subordinate palace will give the matter a review. If Menxia Province disagrees, it has to be returned for a new draft.Therefore, the edict must be recognized by Zhongshu and the two provinces under the door, and then the edict is considered legal.Therefore, the edicts of the Tang Dynasty were all decided by the joint meeting of Zhongshu and Menxia provinces.The general situation in the Song Dynasty was similar.When Wang Anshi was prime minister, he wanted to promote a new official. The person in charge of drafting the order disagreed, so he returned the prime minister's handbook, which was called the prefix at that time, and asked to resign.The prime minister agreed to his resignation, and the second and third persons in charge still returned the prime minister's note.Wang Anshi insisted on his own opinion, and continued to dismiss these responsible drafters. Seven or eight times, no one was willing to formally draft for the prime minister, and finally found an agent temporarily to complete the procedure.It's not that Wang Anshi couldn't write the draft himself, it's the legal authority of traditional Chinese politics.At that time, people were against Anshi, and Wang Anshi's new policy failed mostly because of his dictatorial stance. In traditional Chinese politics, the emperor cannot be dictatorial, nor can the prime minister be dictatorial.However, modern Chinese scholars prefer to say that China's traditional politics is autocracy or dictatorship.At the same time, these people who insist on it are never willing to study traditional Chinese politics, the system and deeds clearly recorded in Chinese history.They may also say that not allowing any one person to be autocratic is the most brilliant autocracy.Not allowing any one person to be dictatorship is the most profound dictatorship.In short, they need to add the word "autocracy" to Chinese traditional politics, just as it is necessary to add the word "feudal" to Chinese society. This is just the prejudice and stubbornness of modern Chinese people, and it must not be said that this is the truth of China's past history. . The reason why the political system of the Song Dynasty is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty is that the country was founded at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, and China is experiencing a long period of warlord rule. There are few real scholars, and no one understands and pays attention to traditional history and culture.After 70 or 80 years, social academic culture has revived, and all political facilities have become hard to change.But the politics of the Song Dynasty still had a certain scale after all.There is no political darkness in Chinese history better than the Yuan Dynasty.If China really had a dark period of political dictatorship, the Yuan Dynasty seems to be worthy of it. Ming Taizu's revolution, expulsion of Hu Yuan, and revival of the scale of Han and Tang became the common political ideal at that time.But Ming Taizu was a rough person after all, and his historical and cultural accomplishments were not deep. He first objected to respecting Mencius as a saint.In the history of traditional Chinese politics, he made an unprecedented reversal of the verdict, that is, he officially ordered the abolition of the prime minister and replaced him with a cabinet scholar.According to the law, the cabinet is only the emperor's private office, not the government's official political affairs hall.The cabinet bachelor is only the emperor's inner court secretary, not the official prime minister of the outer dynasty.So the emperor became the real leader in the government in terms of jurisprudence.All supreme orders are issued by the emperor.But this does not mean that the emperor alone is dictatorial.The emperor's order, due to the shackles of traditional political habits, still had to go through the cabinet first.According to legal theory, the status of a cabinet scholar is by no means a real prime minister, but in terms of the actual situation at that time, the cabinet scholar has gradually transformed into the traditional position of a prime minister.However, if someone actually performs the power of the prime minister as a university scholar, it is beyond the authority in terms of political and legal principles in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Juzheng suffered from this. In the minds of the people at that time, Zhang Juzheng was only regarded as a powerful minister, not a great minister, because he actually held the power of the leader by virtue of his status as the secretary of the political leader emperor at that time, that is, a bachelor.From the jurisprudential point of view of traditional Chinese politics, Wang Anshi was close to dictatorship, while Zhang Juzheng was close to exercising power, which caused the majority of opposition at the same time and later generations.The political career of the two of them finally failed.Modern Chinese, on the one hand, advocated imitating the spirit of the Western rule of law, and on the other hand, worshiped the so-called reform cause that resembled the West. Therefore, they highly praised Wang Anshi and Zhang Juzheng as China's top politicians, and condemned all those who opposed them at that time. Conservative and stubborn for darkness.But if you can really read history carefully, how can this be a fair theory? To say that the real autocratic politics in Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty is the second, but the Manchus are smarter than the Mongols, they know how to accept many benefits of traditional Chinese politics, and can transform traditional Chinese politics into the dictatorship they want system.The cabinet bachelor was idle, and the emperor's office was moved to the so-called South Study Military Aircraft Office inside the palace.If the academician can't enter the South Study Room, he can't foresee the important military affairs.The emperor's important orders were issued directly from the Nanshufang Military Aircraft Office.And it can be sent directly to the central government and the executive heads of various local agencies.This was impossible and illegal in the Ming Dynasty.The emperor of the Ming Dynasty ordered that the six ministers must be issued separately, which is equivalent to the ministers of the various departments of the Executive Yuan today, but the emperor of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be the head of the Executive Yuan himself.In the Ming Dynasty, there were special consultants and consultants under each Shangshu. In the six books, they had the right to refute the emperor's order. As long as they disagreed, they could return the emperor's edict intact.This is following the old system of Tang and Song Dynasty.In the Qing Dynasty, this right to refute was abolished.Moreover, the emperor's orders in the Qing Dynasty did not necessarily have to go through the Shangshu.Regarding military affairs, it can be sent directly to the commander in front without going through the Ministry of War.Regarding finance, it can be sent directly to the chief executive of a certain place without going through the Ministry of Accounts.Moreover, the emperor's order can be sent secretly. This is called the imperial edict, sealed, and sent to the post by the Ministry of War.This is another unprecedented creation. Before the Ming Dynasty, it was illegal and impossible for the emperor's official order not to be published.The emperor's secret letters are by no means official official documents of the government, and they must never acquire the status of political jurisprudence.But it was achieved in the Qing Dynasty.Therefore, we can say that the politics of the Qing Dynasty was really an autocratic monarchy.However, traditional Chinese political concepts and habits still existed in the huge political organization at that time, and generated such great power that even the Manchu Qing regime could not completely overthrow the previous traditions.Therefore, there are still many aspects of Manchu politics that cannot be promoted and exercised by the emperor's autocracy. three Undoubtedly, in traditional Chinese politics, even if the tribal regimes in the narrow sense of Mongolia and Manchuria are excluded, the emperor is always the highest politically.Moreover, the emperor is for life, no more than all officials below the prime minister, and the longest period of ten or twenty years in a certain position.And the throne is hereditary.In Chinese society since the Qin Dynasty, there has been no aristocratic class with hereditary privileges, so there are only emperors and royal families. In comparison, they are even more superior and noble.Moreover, traditional Chinese politics has a lot of reasonable stability. Therefore, a royal family often inherits for more than two or three hundred years with the stability of the government. The specific gravity inside.The emperor can't be all virtuous, and he will be virtuous, and if he maintains a high position for a long time, it will inevitably add a lot of bad influence in politics.But this is a matter of personnel, not of the political system.We cannot judge the entire political system based solely on these personnel, and obliterate all the ideals behind the entire political system and the intentions of all regulatory legal principles.In ancient and modern China and abroad, human history has not discovered a political system that is absolutely beneficial and harmless, and there is no system that can be implemented for hundreds of years without failure.Not only has it been so in the past, it will be so in the future.If we only focus on collecting all kinds of evils of the emperors and royal families in Chinese history, and deliberately use them to criticize traditional Chinese politics, this is still prejudice. In traditional Chinese politics, the main thing is to select the virtuous and capable, so why not come up with a system of public election of the emperor?This is also limited by its external objective conditions.Under aristocratic politics, the throne is easy to be elected by the public, and the emperor of a small country with few people in a city is also easy to be elected by the public.Since the Qin Dynasty, China has been a unified country, and there are no privileged aristocrats in the society. There are hundreds of county administrative units scattered, and most of the residents are in the countryside. Public election of the emperor cannot be implemented.There is a long-term hereditary head of state that the whole country wears for a long time, and the country tends to be more stable.I only hope that he will not do evil, harm the two powers, and allow the existence of a hereditary royal family. This cannot be said to be entirely due to the pressure of the emperor, nor can it be said to be entirely due to the servility of the people.This may have a brighter view, a more reasonable statement. But the ancient Chinese did not know that the hereditary royal family may have disadvantages, and the royal tradition will eventually be easier. The Chinese have always seldom believed in the idea that there is a unified line of life that is close to theocracy.Yuan said in "Shangshu": "The fate of heaven is not constant."The royal family of the Western Zhou Dynasty was born at 30 and its year was 800. Even if this story was forged by people in the Spring and Autumn Period, it can prove that people in the Spring and Autumn Period did not believe in the eternal royal tradition.It can be seen that the traditional Chinese royal hereditary is an expedient measure.Only the first emperor of Qin began to talk about the first generation, the second generation and even the eternal life. This was his momentary excitement, but it has been criticized by the people of later generations.Because at that time, China created a unified government for the first time, and the previous feudal era of national divisions was broken. At that time, it was believed that the world was one, and there would be no more military revolutions, the world would be eternally peaceful, and the royal tradition would never cease.That is, in modern times, the communists who claimed to be the most advanced did not think that when society developed to the communist stage and the regime developed to the dictatorship of the proletariat, it would last as long as the world and there would never be a new form?Even those who believe in democratic politics, don't they think that politics will always be political party elections without changes?Taking the present as an example from the past, why criticize the ancients so much? But Qin Shihuang's dream disappeared in an instant, and scholars in the Western Han Dynasty did not believe in a unified royal family for all generations.In the minds of the Chinese people, there are only two ways to change the royal family, one is the abdication of Yao and Shun, and the other is the revolution of Tang and Wu.Zen abdication is active, hello, let you do it.Revolution is passive, you are not good, let me do it.Instead of revolution, it is better to give way.The theory of the Zen kingdom that permeated the circle of scholars in the Warring States period was revived in the Han Dynasty.Especially after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a generation of intellectuals repeatedly urged the Han imperial family to let the virtuous as soon as possible, and even Gai Kuanrao and Sui Hong continued to be killed because of this, but the theory continued to expand and continue to spread.Even Liu Xiang, a great Confucian of the Han Dynasty, said: "From ancient times, there is no country that will never perish." When it came to his son Liu Xin, he publicly sponsored Wang Mang to accept the Han Emperor's abdication.Unfortunately, the new regime was short-lived. Han Guangwu claimed to restore the old things, and the ideal of abdication encountered great setbacks.But as soon as the Eastern Han royal family became corrupt.The theory of abdication is on the rise again.What is even more unfortunate is that Cao Pi, Sima Yan, Liu Yu, and Yang Jian used their pretense to spoil the word "abdication".The source of the idea of ​​Zen has been muddied.In the Tang Dynasty, after the fall of the Sui Dynasty, Li Yuan and his son rose up and used troops to wipe out the heroes. This can be said to be a new event of the same nature as the Tang and Wu revolutions.But Li Yuan and his son still dare not formally mention the word revolution, and refuse to say honestly, you are not good, let me do it.However, they still have to pretend to be the villainous pattern of abdication since the Wei and Jin Dynasties.Later intellectuals all said that the Tang Dynasty was able to make the world right, but it was a pity that this extra act of pretending to abdicate left a stain on the founding of the Tang Dynasty.These are all recorded in historical books and anthologies. How can it be said that Chinese scholar-bureaucrats have always been traditional slaves, slaves of the emperor, and feudal minds? However, the new system of emperors in China, from the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, no matter whether it is abdication or revolution, will always fall into the hands of power ministers or soldiers, and few people can be uprooted from the lower classes of society to become emperors.In fact, before it was Han Gaozu, and later it was Ming Taizu.Liang Rengong, a recent Confucian, once said that the lack of real revolution in Chinese history can also be explained by various external objective conditions.The first is that traditional Chinese politics is relatively rational, and the faults are mostly in personnel matters, and have nothing to do with the entire system.Come a bad prime minister, you can hope to change a good one.If there is a bad emperor, you can hope that a good prime minister will fill the gap, or you can hope that a good emperor will follow.Changes in personnel leave people with a lot of hope, so why completely overthrow the entire system?Moreover, China's traditional politics allows intellectuals across the country to take part in annual examinations and elections.Those who are ambitious about politics always want to join the government to reform themselves, and they don't want to stand outside the government and make revolution.As a result, society lost its revolutionary leadership.Moreover, the distribution of traditional political powers in China is particularly fine-grained. Each department and unit has a kind of independence and balance.Hence the hope of turning itself around within politics. China is also a large agricultural country, and the harvests in the countryside vary from place to place. This area cannot survive, and other areas can live and work in peace.The weather changes, and it is rare for a long-term drought to last for more than three to five years.Peasants can live a little, preferring to be peaceful and patient, and have no interest in wreaking havoc on a national scale.Due to various conditions, it was extremely difficult in Chinese history to cause a nationwide long-term revolution.This is just like the fact that it is difficult to develop a popular election system in Chinese history, and it is also limited by its own objective conditions. It cannot be said that it is caused by authoritarian pressure.The society is less prone to revolution at the bottom, and the government is also less prone to autocracy at the top.If this is a shortcoming of Chinese politics, then this shortcoming lies in the fact that the scale of the Chinese state is too large.But after all, we cannot blame the ancient Chinese for establishing such a large-scale country! How could Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty become the emperor in one leap as a commoner?The first is that the people in the east generally opposed the Qin regime at that time. The second is that since the Warring States period, the society has undergone great changes, the aristocracy has collapsed, and the civilian power has risen. Han Gaozu succeeded by virtue of the convergence of these two trends.How did Ming Taizu be able to ascend to the throne of emperor as a commoner?This is because at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the whole country generally opposed the Mongols, and there were very few Han influences in the Mongolian government. Therefore, the new regime of the Han people naturally only jumped from the bottom of society.The rest of the dynastic changes were mostly within the government, relying on social rebellion to change spontaneously.Most of these rebellions were opportunities created by power traitors and the army, otherwise foreign forces were introduced.The Yellow Turban led to Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao, and Wuhu Luanhua took root from it.Huang Chao led Zhu Quanzhong and Li Keyong, and the long-term darkness of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms began.Li Chuang and Zhang Xianzhong introduced 240 years of tribal autocracy in Manchuria.Hong and Yang took the kingdom of heaven as their call, took Jesus as their brother in heaven, and Hong Xiuquan as their brother in heaven, so they burned the Confucian temple, disturbed for more than ten years, and separated half of China, but finally failed. Mr. Sun Yat-sen began to revolutionize the Manchu Qing government in accordance with the traditional national spirit. The profound meaning of the Three People's Principles and the Five Powers Constitution he advocated was rarely understood by Chinese people, and they still regarded it as the same as the Western democratic revolution.On the one hand, it is full, and on the other hand, it overthrows China's 2,000-year-old autocratic and dark politics.The former matter was successful, but the latter matter was in vain.It is not easy to completely overthrow one's own traditions, and it is not easy to thoroughly learn other people's new tricks, so Mr. Zhongshan had to say that the revolution has not yet succeeded. First there were Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang warlords, and then Mao Zedong and the Communist Party gained power after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.Today's CCP is still continuing its revolution, and it still deliberately wants to cut off the traditional history of traditional Chinese society and completely overthrow it.The future of Mr. Sun Yat-sen's ideal of nationalism is still elusive. Because of the uncompromising attitude toward the entire society and culture, it is natural to feel that one's own strength is weak, so one compromises with external forces and inner dark forces.This proves that it is always dangerous for a country to imitate foreign countries without understanding its own national conditions and the source of historical traditions.Even if one intends to imitate other people's home construction work, there may be dangers, let alone imitate other people's home destruction work. Four The above roughly pointed out the outline of the pros and cons of government organization and distribution of powers in traditional Chinese politics. Next, I will present a more important program, the election and examination system in traditional Chinese politics, to give a brief description.Traditional Chinese political concepts and political theories have always focused on the duties and responsibilities of the government rather than the rights of the government.This layer has been mentioned above.However, it requires the government to fulfill its duties and be competent, and the theory of selecting talents and abilities naturally arises together.In the Warring States Period, the nobles gained power and the aristocratic regime was transferred peacefully.The unified government of the Qin Dynasty emerged, and most of the people below the prime minister were civilians.When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty first won the world, he ordered to recruit talents.It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty that this trend became formally legalized. Outstanding young people from all over the country were educated by national universities.In less than a hundred years, the government of the Western Han Dynasty was already completely a scholar-official government. The so-called scholars' government means that the entire government is composed of intellectuals from all over the country, that is, scholars.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this system was even stricter. According to the household registration statistics of each administrative region in the country, every 200,000 people could elect one person to the government every year.In order to prevent fraudulent elections, entrustment by powerful families, favoritism and fraud, the government will conduct additional examinations after elections in various places.In this way, through the on-the-spot observation of education and administrative services, and the four procedures of elections and examinations, they are formally entered into the government.A legal regulation like this cannot but be said to open up the political power and select talents.The Nine Ranks Zhongzheng System in the Wei and Jin Dynasties was due to local turmoil, traffic congestion, the limited ability of the central government to exercise its powers, and the difficulty of implementing national elections. The central government designated various regions to serve the central government officials. The interview The public opinion of the fellow villagers lists the talents in each region, forms a list, and sends it to the government as a basis for recruitment.Its intention is still similar to that of the local police in the Han Dynasty, but due to practical difficulties, this new regulation and system had to be evolved.However, this system was constantly opposed at that time. Once the Sui and Tang unified governments were rebuilt, the public examination system took its place.According to the Tang Dynasty's custom, school students had one origin, and the Ministry of Rites (equivalent to today's Ministry of Education) examinations also had one origin.Those who have obtained these two backgrounds must pass the examination of the Ministry of Officials (equivalent to the Ministry of the Interior today) before they can be officially admitted to the official position. However, the examination of the Ministry of Rites is a kind of open election, which is more valued by the society than those who are born in schools based on their seniority , so it was considered a politically correct way out, and finally gradually concentrated on one of the items of the imperial examination system.Although this system has undergone various changes in examination techniques, it has been used in general until the late Qing Dynasty in terms of legal system. This is indeed the most noteworthy system in traditional Chinese politics.From the beginning of the Han Dynasty, local inspections and public examinations have always been regarded as the only correct way for the people to participate in politics.Because of this system, the government and society are closely linked and integrated.The government is formed by the people, and there is no need for another agency representing public opinion to supervise the behavior of the government.Modern Western governments are opposed by the masses, and representatives of the masses supervise the government. This can only be said to be an indirect civil right.If representatives of the people organize their own government and integrate the government with the people, it can only be called a direct civil right.And this kind of folk representative does not come from a special status or class in society, like the ancient aristocratic regime and military regime, like the modern regime of the rich, that is, the regime of capitalist society, and the regime of the poor, that is, the regime of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The regime is actually a neutral regime, that is, the regime of scholars throughout the country, including nobles, soldiers, rich and poor, but only based on virtue and learning.This regime was born in China very early, why?Because Western political concepts focus on sovereignty, their political focus has always been inseparable from power and wealth.However, traditional Chinese political concepts focus on the functions of politics, so they are always inseparable from knowledge and learning. The only thing that can be criticized about this system is that the power of investigation and examination belongs to the government, not to the society.However, if it is determined that the government is an institution in society, and not another hostile body beyond society, then there is really no reason to question this level.Moreover, it is not the emperor or the prime minister who holds the real power of examination and examination, but the local governor and the Ministry of Rites, which is now the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Officials, which is now the Ministry of Internal Affairs.Moreover, it is not the chief executive of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials, but the lower-ranking officials of the two ministries are in charge.Generally, those who are equivalent to the status of deputy ministers and directors in modern times are in charge of their duties.Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, Wei Guanzhi said: "The minister of the Ministry of Rites is more important than the prime minister." Because the prime minister is selected from the examination held by the minister of the Ministry of Rites.In any case, we have to admit that this system is an important feature of traditional Chinese politics. It is related to the investigation and examination system, which is the civil service system.When entering an official career, one must go through probation and examinations, and after entering the official career, promotion and demotion are all based on their actual service performance.This civil censorship power is not exercised by the emperor or the prime minister, but by the officials.It is not controlled by the chief executive of the Ministry of Officials, but by his subordinates.This kind of laws and regulations on homework and performance began as far back as the Han Dynasty, and when it developed to the Tang Dynasty, it was the most perfect.General comments in history still criticize the electoral examination system of the Tang Dynasty, but praise the merit examination system of the Tang Dynasty.Official positions in the Tang Dynasty were divided into nine ranks, and the ranks below the fourth rank were all determined by the kaogong doctor, which is equivalent to the official school below the current chief.Those above the third rank will be assessed by special officials temporarily appointed by the government.But there are also Li Boer, a merit examiner, who actually evaluates the grades of the prime minister and doctor Yushi.Although this exceeded the legal provisions, it was a good story at the time and was not considered a violation of the law.Until the Ming Dynasty, the promotion and appointment of all civil and military officials in the government were still in the hands of the officials and soldiers.The Ministry of Officials holds the right to appoint civil servants, so it was said at the time that the Ministry of Officials was more powerful than the prime minister.Zhang Juzheng's cabinet first wanted to seize the power of civil service, that is, the right to select officials, from the Ministry of Officials, but this power still belonged to the Ministry of Officials soon.It can be seen that according to the traditional Chinese legal system, even the prime minister should not have all the power in one person, so what is the emperor. Fives According to the above, traditional Chinese politics focuses on the functions of the government.Therefore, to set up an official, there must be an official position, and to have a position means that there is a responsibility of being competent or incompetent.Who, then, manages and monitors this responsibility?In traditional Chinese politics, there are ad hoc censors and admonishers.The censor was originally responsible for supervising the competence of officials under the government instead of the emperor and the prime minister, while the admonisher was responsible for supervising the emperor.According to historical evolution, in the feudal era, the prime minister was only a housekeeper in terms of name, so he was called prime minister; or an adjutant, so he was called prime minister.但一到秦汉以后郡县时代，大一统政府产生，皇帝化家为国，于是管家的变成管理全国行政，封建家庭中的私职变成了大一统政府里的公职。宰相原先只是一个皇帝的总管家，亦可说是皇帝的代理人，但又可说是一个副皇帝。宰相在汉代也称丞相，丞字同样是一种副官之称。副皇帝代表皇帝来管理国事，同时也代表皇帝来负其不称职的责任。 这一转变，意义却甚深甚大，但在中国史上，此种大变化，也只是一种潜移默运，和缓地变了，并没有急剧明显的革命斗争为之判然划分。这最是中国史之难读处，同时又是对中国史之必先了解处。 御史大夫在汉代是一个副宰相。副宰相又有两个副官，一是负责代宰相管理监察政府，不论中央与地方的下属官吏。另一副官则代宰相负责管理监察皇帝及皇室。一个叫御史丞，一个叫御史中丞，中丞是处内廷的。换言之，御史丞监察外朝，即政府。御史中丞监察内朝，即皇室。由此观之，皇帝也该受监察，监察皇帝的也该是宰相。但宰相不便直接监察皇帝，而且宰相总揽全国行政大权于一身，已是不胜其重，才把监察之职分给副宰相，即御史大夫。而御史大夫要监察全国上下，仍嫌职责太重，才把监察之职再分给两丞。一负监察中央及地方政府之责，一负监察皇帝并及皇帝之家及宫廷之责。若把皇帝作为第一级官，宰相是第二级，御史大夫是第三级，则御史中丞最高已属第四级。但第四级官有权监察第一级，这一点又是中国传统政治里一种最寓精义的编配。 当知大职负大任，小职负小任。皇帝的大任，专在任用宰相，能用得到好宰相，皇帝责任已尽。宰相权任太重，发号施令，决定万机，这是更重大的，才把监察之责交与副宰相御史大夫。副宰相只综握监察大权，至于专责监察皇帝与皇室，那又比较职小而任轻，易于担当了，才把此职责交与御史中丞。我们若明白这一层意义，则由第四级官来监察第一级官，自是毫不足怪。同样的道理，在汉代六百石俸的州刺史，可以监察二千石俸的郡太守。因郡太守负责一郡行政，自属职高任重，州刺史只负责察看郡太守做差了事没有，自属职小任轻，这些全该从中国传统政治偏重职能的理论来观察。你若只说中国传统政治只是君权专制，只是高压黑暗，你虽可欺骗现代不读书的中国人，但若使古人复起，他到底要喊冤枉。 上述制度逐步演变，到唐代遂有台谏分职。台官指的是御史台，专负纠察百官之责。谏官则专对天子谏净过失而设。论其职位，谏官还是宰相之属官，而御史台则成一独立机关，不再是宰相的直辖部属了。任用宰相，权在皇帝。任用谏官，则权在宰相。谏官之职在谏皇帝，不谏宰相，也不得弹劾朝廷百官。弹劾朝廷百官是御史台的职分。照唐代习惯，宰相见皇帝讨论政事，常随带谏官同去。遇皇帝有不是处，谏官即可直言规正。如此则宰相与皇帝双方有一缓冲，可免直接冲突。而谏官职分，本来又是要他来谏诤的，所以他尽直言也不会得罪。即使得罪了，宰相可以把他免职降黜，一面顾全了皇帝面子，一面不致牵动到宰相之自身。至于那谏官呢？他也不怕罢免，横竖一小官，罢免值不得什么，而他可博得直言敢谏之誉，对他将来政治地位，反而有益。这些全是中国传统政治里面运用技术的苦心处。惜乎现代人只把旧传统一口骂尽，再也无心来体味。 宋代这方面，又远不如唐代。那时规定台官谏官均不得由宰相推荐，于是谏官也不属于宰相，他们的职分，变成不是与皇帝为难，而转移锋芒来和宰相为难了。于是宰相无法纠绳皇帝，除非是和皇帝直接冲突。而宰相身旁，却多了一个掣肘的机关。因御史只限于弹劾违法和不尽职，而谏官则职在评论是非，两职显有分别。在唐代是谏官帮助宰相，在皇帝前面评论皇帝之是非。在宋代是谏官在宰相旁边，来评论宰相的是非了。照理，政府各部分职务上的是非得失，各部分负责人都有发言权，谏官则专用来对皇帝谏诤的，那是宰相的一分职。本来用意，该是用相权来限制君权的，而现在则转成君权用来限制相权了。这一制度之转变，显见是出于皇帝之私心。而且谏官职分本来在评论是非，评论错了也不算违职，也不算犯法，如是则政府中横生了一部分一专持异见不负实责的分子，形成了谏官与政府之对立，即谏官与宰相之对立。但相权究竟即是君权之化身，后来宋神宗信用了宰相王安石，竭力想推行新法，而一辈谏官，横起反对，连神宗也无奈之何。这是皇帝自食其果了。再到后来，因谏官习气太横，太多是非，激起政治上反动，大家不理会他们的胡闹，终于台宫谏官，在政府里全不发生作用了，这又是谏宫之自食其果。可见一种政治，果是太不合理，它自己会失败，行不通。若说中国自秦以来传统政治，老是专制黑暗，居然得维持了两千年，那显然是不通人类历史公例的一种无知妄说了。 到明代，又索性把谏官废了，只留给事中，而给事中的职权也独立了。它的职权还是在审核皇帝诏旨，若给事中认为不合，可以把皇帝诏旨退还。在唐代，给事中本是宰相属员，不过帮助宰相把所拟诏旨，再加一番审核，审核有不是处，那道诏旨可以重拟。拟诏是宰相之权，审核依然是宰相之权，把一个权分两番手续来行使，这是审慎，不是冲突。但在明代则不然，一切政令从六部尚书发下，都须经给事中审核。给事中是分科的，吏部有吏部的给事中，兵部有兵部的给事中，户部有户部的给事中，这都是专门分职的。在职位上，他们是下级官，在名义上，他们只是参加意见。给事中的驳议，在当时名叫科参，是分类参加意见之义。但因他们是独立机关，只负发表意见之责，不负实际上行政利害成败之责。于是实际负责的长官，反而不得不接受他们的意见。万一不听科参意见，而闯出乱子，岂不是更长科参气焰，更增自己罪戾吗？于是不负责任的下级官，反而阴握了暗中的决定权，那不能不说是明代政制一失败。但明太祖废了宰相，也幸得有此一职，遂使皇帝和内阁大学士的诏令，也有行不下的阻碍，还是得失参半。 到清代，连给事中的职权也废止了，于是真成为皇帝专制，皇帝的命令，真可无阻碍地一直行下。在清代叫做台谏合一。在这时，政府里只有弹劾百官违法与不尽职的，再没有对政事发表意见，评论是非得失的，那岂不是政制上一大大的失败吗？就便利皇帝专制言，那也可算是胜利，非失败，但到头则落得一个大失败。满清一代的皇帝专制，终于是完全失败了。 six 现在把中国传统政治，扼要再加以一番综括的叙述。 （一）中国传统政治，论其主要用意，可说全从政治的职分上着眼，因此第一注重的是选贤与能，第二注重的是设官分职。 （二）因中国是一个大国，求便于统一，故不得不保留一举国共戴的政治领袖即皇帝。又因无法运用民意来公选，因此皇位不得不世袭。 （三）要避免世袭皇帝之弊害，最好是采用虚君制，由一个副皇帝即宰相来代替皇帝负实际的职务及责任。明清两代则由皇帝来亲任宰相之职，只不负不称职之责。 （四）政府与皇室划分，此直至清代皆然。 （五）政府与社会融合，即由社会选拔贤才来组织政府。 （六）宰相负一切政治上最高而综合的职任。 （七）选拔人才的责任，自汉至唐之辟举，交付与各级行政首长自行择用其属员。考试权交付与礼部与吏部，宋代以后则专在礼部。 （八）考课成绩升黜官吏权则交与吏部。 （九）监察弹劾权交付与特设的独立机关。唐代有御史台，下至明代有都察院。 （十）对于皇帝之谏诤责任及最高命令之覆审与驳正权，交付与给事中与谏官。此两官职，唐代隶属于宰相，宋以后至明渐成独立机关，清代则废止不复设。 （十一）职权既定，分层负责，下级官各有独立地位，几乎政府中许多重要职权都分配在下级，而由上级官综其成，宰相则总百官之成。 现在再值得一提的，则为汉代九卿到唐代尚书六部之演变。近代中国学者，常认自秦以后的中国传统政治，总是专制黑暗，好像老没有什么变动似的。实则人类历史，绝不能有经历数百年千年不变的事情，政治制度也不能例外。中国传统政治，纵使尽合理，尽进步，也不能保持千年而不变。现在只顾痛骂中国传统政治两千年守旧不变，其实转像是过奖了。汉代中央政府的组织，皇帝以下有三公，宰相御史大夫与太尉，太尉是全国武官长。三公以下有九卿。九卿全属宰相，有时亦分属三公。照理应该都是政府的政务官，但顾名思义，实际上只能说汉代九卿只是皇帝的家务官。太常是管宗庙的，常是尝字声借，指祭祀言。光禄勋是大门房，勋把阍字声借，管门户与侍卫的。卫尉是武装侍卫。太仆是车夫头，管舆马与出行的。廷尉是司法官，但在这一行列中，只能说是皇家之私法庭。大鸿胪是管交际宾客的。宗正是管皇帝家族和亲戚的。大司农是大账房，少府是小账房。如是则不说他们是皇室的家务官是什么呢？然而全国一切行政，却又分配到他们职掌，如学校教育归太常，工程建筑归少府之类，可见那时的政府，究竟不脱封建气味。皇帝化家为国，宰相是皇帝管家，因而兼管到全国政务。九卿是皇帝家务官，因而也兼管到全国政务之各部门。我们只看汉代九卿职名，便知那时政府初由皇室中渐渐蜕化的痕迹。 但到唐代便不同了，九卿变成了九寺，寺是衙门名称，全成为闲职，全国政务尽隶尚书省，省亦衙门之名称。分六部：一吏部、二户部、三礼部、四兵部、五刑部、六工部。照名义论，那些全是政府的政务官，再不与皇室私务相关了。这不能不说是中国传统政治里一绝大的演变。这一演变，正足说明中国传统政治在努力把政府与皇室划分的一个大趋势。这一趋势，正可说明中国传统政治并非建立在王权专制上的一大见证。 唐代的尚书省，绝似近代西方的内阁与行政院，这是管理全国行政部门的最高机关。唐代尚书六部的规模，直到清代末年，大体上没有变。唐代制度，在下有科举制，为政府公开选拔人才，在上有尚书省，综合管理全国行政事务。这两制度，奠定了中国传统政治后一千年的稳固基础。在唐玄宗时，又曾写定了一部《唐六典》，这是中国传统政治里留下的一部最大最有价值的行政法典，整个中央政府以及尚书六部一切行政，大体都包括在这书里，亦大体为后代所遵守。从世界历史论，这也是一部最古最伟大最有价值的行政法典了。那时全国一切政务，都集中到尚书省，上面的命令，也全由尚书省分发执行。尚书省在唐代是合署办公的，全省一首长即尚书令，两次长为左右仆射，各分领三部，左仆射领吏、户、礼、右仆射领兵、刑、工。尚书省建筑，成一三合形。左廊十二司，吏、户、礼各四司。右廊十二司，兵、刑、工各四司。正中向南是总办公厅即都堂。上午各部长官在总办公厅集合办公，下午各归本部本司。但尚书省只管行政，没有最高出令权。最高出令权在中书省，审核在门下省。三省同为政府最高中枢，除非尚书省长官或次长获得出席政事堂兼衔，在当时不算是宰相。 直到宋代，尚书省规模还是极庞大。据宋人笔记，那时尚书省六曹二十四司，有一百六十个办公桌，办公吏员计有一千零四十三人。某年五六两月，文书统计达十二万三千五百余件。神宗时建造尚书新省，凡三千一百余间。都省在前，总五百四十二间。其后分列六曹，每曹四百二十间，厨房也占一百间。唐代的尚书省，则有四千楹。到明代，尚书分部办公，直辖皇帝权下，不再有首长与总办公处。明太祖亲自独裁，在某月八天之内，便批阅了中外奏劄一千一百六十件，计三千二百九十一事。中国传统政府里的政务丛脞，即此可想。 但中国传统政治毕竟总有一规模，一法制。即就传递文书一事说，唐代中央在长安，明代在北京。那时到全国各地交通，全靠驿站。紧要文书限几天到，次要限几天。全国驿站都由兵部管，几百年相传，没有说一件公文可以失时误限的。否则若使各种公文，都可失时误限，试问这样一个大国家，又用何法来处理？近代中国学者，只知道说中国传统政治是由皇帝一人专制黑暗。试问他皇帝一人，如何来专制这样一个广土众民的大国？即在政治技术上，也值得我们细心研究。不能尽骂中国人从来是奴性，不遇到西洋人，老不懂革命，便尽由那皇帝一人来放肆专制了。 seven 但我并不曾说中国传统政治有利而无弊。目下人类知识，也尚未能发展出一个永远有利而无弊的政府。或恐人类知识，会永不能发展出一个有利而无弊的政府来。科举制度固是唐以下传统政治一最重要的奠基石，但在考试技术上，不知经过了多少次争论与改变，而终于到明中叶以后，仍不免有八股文出现。这可说在最近几百年内的学术与人才方面，投下了最大的毒菌，此事人人能说，不烦再论。 君权相权不断摩擦，东汉与北宋，相权被其属下群臣所抑，流祸已甚深。及明、清两代废去宰相，更与传统精神相违背。这亦己在上文提到。现在且撇开不谈人事上那些愚昧与波折，让我们进一步来讨论中国传统政治本质上的几个缺点吧。 第一，是它太注重于职权分配之细密化。好处在人人有职，每一职有它的独立性与相互间的平衡性，因此造成政治上之长期稳定。而其缺点，则使政事不能活泼推进，易于停顿而麻痹化。 第二，是太看重法制之凝固性与同一性，此层与前弊相引而起。全国在同一制度之规定下，往往长期维持到一百两百年。此固不能不说是政治上一种的成功，但遇应兴应革，总不能大刀阔斧，彻底改进，而仅求修补弥缝，逐渐趋于敷衍文饰虚伪而腐化，终于到达不可收拾之境界。 职分与法制，本就偏重在限制束缚人，中国传统政治一切制度之最要宗旨，即在反抗此等病害。而在其长治久安之下，终不免仍在此等病害中敷衍度过，乃终至于一衰不起，无可救药。重法过于重人，重职过于重权，重安定过于重动进，重限制过于重放任，此在一大一统政府之庞大机构，来适应农业国家之平稳步骤上，正常容易陷于此等病害而不自觉悟，乃终至陷于大病，不可自拔。 至于西方政治，乃从工商都市中心与各自分别的小地面上建立发展，根本与中国不同。因此他们的政治传统，特别重在掌政者重人较过于重法，重权较过于重职。于是较利于动进，而较不利于安定。两者之间，本是各就所适，而亦各有利弊。西方在十七八世纪，忽然接触到东方，一时对中国政治大生钦羡，刻意推尊效法，康熙在当时居然成为西方政治理想中的模范皇帝。但他们终于能在合适于他们自己历史的线索中寻出头绪，自成条贯