Chapter 3 Lecture 1 Han Dynasty-1

1. Government Organizations of the Han Dynasty Strictly speaking, it was not until the Qin and Han Dynasties that there was an official unified government in Chinese history.China before Qin could only be described as a kind of feudal unity.Only in the Qin and Han Dynasties did the central government have a more decent unified government, and the localities under its jurisdiction were no longer feudal vassal states coexisting, but administrative divisions closely subordinate to the central county system.Therefore, when we talk about traditional Chinese politics, we can start directly from the Qin and Han Dynasties, and we will ignore it for the time being.The Qin Dynasty was only the beginning of the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty was roughly the continuation of the Qin Dynasty.Therefore, the Qin Dynasty will not be discussed for the time being, but only the Han Dynasty.Now let’s focus on how the government of the Han Dynasty was organized?We need to look at the organization of the government, and most importantly, the distribution of government powers.In this regard, I would like to make only two points for further explanation.The first is the division of powers between the royal family and the government, and the second is the division of powers between the central and local governments.We know that after the Qin Dynasty, China began to have a unified government, and in a unified government, there must be a leader.The political leader in Chinese history was the emperor.How did this emperor come into being?In traditional Chinese politics, the throne is hereditary - from father to son.If you measure it from the perspective of modern politics, everyone will wonder why the emperor should be hereditary?But we need to know that China's state-building system is different from that of Greece and Rome in Western history.They are small in size and small in population.For example, Greece has more than a hundred countries on a small peninsula.What they call a country is just a city.The population of each city is only tens of thousands.Their leaders are free to be elected by the citizens.As long as city residents gather in an open field, the so-called general will of the people can be expressed there.Rome started out as just a city.Later conquered and formed an empire.But its central core is still a Greek city-state.From the Qin and Han dynasties in China, the territory of the country was almost the same as it is now.Accounts are at least tens of millions.Moreover, the scale of China's founding is not to conquer the outside, but to condense in the heart.The state system of the Han Dynasty was obviously different from that of the Roman Empire.What's more, China is an agricultural country with tens of millions of villages scattered all over the country. We should blame the Chinese people at that time for implementing the so-called democratic election system in modern times. Is this possible?If we do not rely on our own judgments of the times to swallow historical judgments, we should admit that the hereditary throne is a last resort or a natural way in China's past political conditions.Moreover, there are not a few countries in the world that have emperors in history.We cannot say that China did not use a democratic electoral system in the past, but had a hereditary emperor, which is enough to prove the darkness and irrationality of traditional Chinese politics.In the feudal era, many families originally had their hereditary privileges, which were called nobles.But since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the feudal system has long been overthrown.Only the royal family is hereditary, except that the emperor can pass the throne to his son, there is no second position in the government, and the second family can still inherit it.The county magistrate cannot pass on the post of county magistrate to his son, and the county magistrate cannot pass on the post of county magistrate to his son.This is already a great progress in the political system.In feudal times, the government and the family were inseparable, but not now.It is individuals who organize the government, not individual families.But at that time, there was still a big problem: the relationship between the royal family and the government.Is the royal family the government?If the royal family and the government are separated, how will the powers of the two parties be divided?This was the first major problem encountered in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it is also a major problem that has always been encountered in the political history of China since then.Looking at the general trend of history, it can be said that the Chinese have always believed that the royal family and the government should be separated, and they are indeed evolving according to this principle.The emperor is the sole leader of the country, and the actual power is not in the royal family but in the government.The prime minister represents the government.The emperor is the head of the country, symbolizing the unity of the country; the prime minister is the leader of the government and bears all practical responsibilities in politics.The division of imperial power and ministerial power is often a big topic in Chinese political history.Over the past few decades, most people have believed that China has been governed by feudalism since the Qin and Han Dynasties, or that it was autocratic by the emperor, which is inconsistent with historical facts.

To talk about the division of imperial power and prime minister power in the Han Dynasty, let me give an example: At that time, the emperor and prime minister each had a "secretariat", and the organizations on both sides were of different sizes.The emperors of the Han Dynasty had six sages, and the shangs were in charge of the will.The six traditions are clothing, food, crown, banquet, bath and book.The five merchants only cared about the emperor's personal clothes, food and daily life.Only the Shangshu is in charge of the documents. This is really the "secretary" in the palace.The Shangshu started in the Han Dynasty, its power status was not high, and it became bigger and bigger later.At first, Shangshu was just one of the six Shangshu, which was the emperor's secretariat.What about the prime minister's secretariat?There are thirteen departments in total, the so-called Thirteen Caos at that time, and one Cao is equal to one division now.If we list the names of the Thirteen Caos, we can see the huge organization of the prime minister's secretariat at that time, and its extensive powers.One Xicao, used by the History Department of the main government.Erdongcao, the master Erqianshi chief officials were removed, and the Baojun officials were included.Erqianshi was the largest official at that time, named after the annual salary of two thousand Shigu.It can be seen that the appointment and removal of all officials in the imperial court must go through the prime minister's secretariat.Sanhu Cao, the main sacrifice to Nongsang.Si Zou Cao manages all the chapters of the government, a little like the Privy Council in the Tang Dynasty and the General Administration Department in the Ming Dynasty.The five words Cao, the main word is litigation, which belongs to the legal and civil part.Liufacao is in charge of the post office schedule, which is like the current Ministry of Communications. The schedule refers to the time limit and quantity limit for all transportation aspects.The seventh lieutenant Cao, the master and soldier Cao Zhuanyun, is in charge of transportation, just like the governor of water transportation in the Qing Dynasty.Eight Thieves Cao, in charge of thieves.Nine Judgment Cao, the main crime law.The jurisdiction of these two organs belongs to the criminal aspect of law.Ten soldiers Cao, in charge of military service.Eleven gold cao, in charge of currency, salt and iron.Twelve Cang Cao, in charge of Canggu.The Thirteenth Yellow Pavilion, the main book records all affairs, this is the general affairs director of the Prime Minister's Office Secretariat.These thirteen agencies are combined into an office directly under the prime minister's control.Based on the names of the thirteen Caos, we can imagine that the government affairs at that time were all brought together to the prime minister, not to the emperor.Because the emperor has only one general office of ministers and one study.There were only four ministers at the beginning, and there were thirteen institutions under the prime minister's mansion.The thirteen Caos of the Prime Minister's Mansion, the scope of the royal family's ministers is much larger, and the power of the Thirteen Caos is also very important, and they are like the ministers of the future generations.It can be seen that all actual powers in the Han Dynasty, according to the law, should be in the prime minister's mansion, not in the royal family, and the prime minister is the real leader of the government.The above document is an example to explain the difference between the royal family and the government.Judging from the general trend of traditional Chinese politics, the general opinion has always valued this distinction.

Now comes the organization of the central government of the Han Dynasty.At that time, there were the so-called Sangong and Jiuqing, who were the highest officials in the government.The prime minister Taiwei Yushi doctor is called Sangong, the prime minister is in charge of administration and is the head of civil officials; Taiwei is in charge of military affairs and is the head of military officials; Yushi doctor is in charge of supervision and assists the prime minister to monitor all political facilities.It is the deputy prime minister.According to the customs of the Han Dynasty, in modern language, there is an unwritten law here that one must be a royal official before he can be promoted to prime minister.Although the Taiwei is equal to the prime minister, in fact, except for the military, he does not predict other political affairs.Therefore, the chief executive at that time was actually the prime minister.According to the original meaning of philology, Cheng means vice-two.The so-called phase is also vice.Just as it is commonly known as concubine, this is the deputy of the bride and groom, and the things that the bride and groom cannot do are done by the concubine.So the prime minister is a deputy, and the prime minister is also a deputy. By definition, a prime minister is an adjutant.Who's adjutant?He should be the emperor's adjutant.In fact, the emperor can't manage everything, so the prime minister is the agent, and the emperor can be irresponsible.Why is it called the prime minister?In the feudal era, the most important thing for noble families was sacrifice.Sacrifice is the most important thing in slaughtering cattle.To symbolize this meaning, at that time, all the nobles, princes, and housekeepers were called Zai.When the Qin and Han were unified, feudalism was transformed into prefectures and counties. The ancients called it "turning a family into a country". All noble families fell, but only one family became a country.So the housekeeper of his family became the political leader of the country.Originally in the feudal era, the housekeeper was called the prime minister, and the adjutant outside was called the prime minister. Therefore, according to the historical tradition, the prime minister was originally just a relic of the private official of the nobles in the feudal era.But because of this, the prime minister in the Qin and Han Dynasties not only had to manage the state affairs, but also the emperor's housework.This is the case with the authority of Tianguan Zhongzai in Zhou Guanshu.But the current prime minister, since he wants to be in charge of all affairs of the national government, he has no time to manage the emperor's family affairs, so under the doctor of the imperial history, that is, the deputy prime minister, there is a middle minister of the imperial history, who is the deputy of the doctor of the imperial history. , this person lives in the palace.At that time, all the officials with the Chinese characters referred to those who lived in the palace.As usual, all affairs of the royal family were under the control of Yushi Zhongcheng.The Yushi Zhongcheng belongs to the Yushi doctor, and the Yushi doctor belongs to the prime minister. To be honest, everything about the royal family still has to be managed by the prime minister.On the other hand, the origin of the prime minister was originally the emperor's private minister, the emperor's housekeeper, and he should be in charge of the affairs of the palace.That is the unfinished legacy of the old feudal system.But from another perspective, it can only be said that the emperor is only a part of the city government.Therefore, court affairs are also governed by the prime minister.At that time, if the emperor had anything to do, he would tell Yushi Zhongcheng, Yushi Zhongcheng reported to Doctor Yushi, and Doctor Yushi reported it to the prime minister.If the prime minister had any business, he would follow this procedure and be transferred from the royal doctor to Zhongcheng and then to the inner court. This was the general relationship between the emperor and the government at that time.

Let's talk about the Jiuqing of the Han Dynasty, that is: Taichang, Guangluxun, Weiwei, Taipu, Tingwei, Dahonglu, Zongzheng, Dasinong, and Shaofu.Their official positions are all two thousand stones, also known as the middle two thousand stones.Because they are all two thousand stones in the central government, they are also named after the two thousand stones of the county prefect and the local administrative head.If you talk about the origin of these Jiuqing titles, it is very interesting: Taichang was called Taichang in the Qin Dynasty, and this word Chang was originally regarded as a taste.He is in charge of offering sacrifices to ancestors, ghosts and gods.According to the four o'clock offerings, the ancestors, ghosts and gods can taste new things from time to time, so it is called Taichang.In ancient times, religious meaning was still above political meaning.In the ancient residences, the ancestral hall was to the east, or the temple, and the house was to the west, that is, the dormitory.Life and death are connected together.Although the folk system was abolished in later generations, the imperial palace still followed the old track.Until the Qing Dynasty, wasn't the Taimiao close to the east of the imperial palace?In the ancient family, the most important thing was not the living but the dead, and ancestor worship was a major event.Zai is in charge of killing cattle and offering sacrifices to ancestors.Therefore, the first minister of the nine ministers of the Han court is also in charge of sacrifices.This official, by the definition of the name, should belong to the royal family, in charge of the royal temple, and a family official who is in charge of the royal family worshiping ancestors.It's not good to be regarded as a court official.Followed by Guang Luxun.This official name existed until the Qing Dynasty, but the original meaning of these three characters has long been forgotten.According to the meaning of the text, Xungai is 阍, with the same ancient pronunciation, and this is the royal concierge.Just the righteousness, Guanglu should be Dalu, and the sound of Lulu is borrowed from each other.Why is the concierge called Dalu?Therefore, most of the emperors in ancient times lived in the mountains, like Song Jiang in Liangshanbo, Zhu Gui opened a hotel at the foot of the mountain, so as to report news.Therefore, the emperor lived on the mountain, and the door was set at the foot of the mountain.The Shangshu said that Shun was in charge of Yao's Dalu, which means that Shun became Yao's prime minister.In other words, he became Yao's concierge.Therefore, Guanglu and Xun are ancient and modern languages, and they both refer to concierge words.Weiwei is a military post, the head of the guards, this is the commander of the palace guards.At that time, all military officials were called lieutenants.The imperial servant is still the emperor's coachman: "Zi Shiwei, Ran Youpu", the servant is the driver.When the emperor went out, the servant drove the chariot for him.That was the emperor's chauffeur.Tingwei is in charge of the law, and if he violates the emperor's law, he will take care of it.From this point of view, Taichang is in charge of the Royal Taimiao, Guanglu Weiwei, one is the head of the concierge, and the other is the head of the guards.It's all inside.When the emperor went out, he took his servants with him. If someone broke the law outside, it was the Ting Wei's business.Dahonghe, which lasted until the Qing Dynasty, is equal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Also like the current protocol department, it is in charge of communication.He is to pass on righteousness.In the handover of the host and the guest in ancient rituals, the image is passed from the host to the image of the host, and then from the image of the host to the image of the guest, and then conveyed to the guest himself.Hong is justice.Dalu is the conveyance officer.Zong is in charge of the emperor's family, his family members with the same surname and relatives with different surnames.The above seven ministers, according to their names, are in charge of the private affairs of the royal family, not the official affairs of the government.From these Qiqing, we can see that the politics of the Han Dynasty still has many relics left over from the ancient feudal system. However, at that time, the family was turned into a country.For example, Taichang is also in charge of education, because ancient academics are all in the temple.The same is true in the West. Until now, in them, education and religion are still inseparable.Guang Luxun was originally the chief concierge of the emperor, and now he is in charge of all the guards in the palace.At that time, the attendants in the palace were not all eunuchs, and there were very few eunuchs, most of them were ordinary people.At that time, people who wanted to run into the government to become an official had to enter the imperial palace as a first step, serve as a bodyguard, serve the emperor, let the emperor know him, and then get the opportunity to be sent out to become an official.Most of these people who served in the palace were young people. They were called Lang Guan at that time, and they were all managed by Guanglu Xun.Kong Anguo, the twelfth grandson of Confucius, also served as a Langguan.Where is the servant?Because he is in charge of vehicles and horses, he is also in charge of all the country's armed forces, such as "tanks and airplanes."Ting Wei became judicial, and Da Honglu became diplomacy.This is historical evolution.We have deduced this evolution, but it does not mean that the central government of the Han Dynasty was still a feudal government, and the Jiuqing at that time was still the private minister of the emperor.Therefore, all ministers are subordinate to the prime minister, and they are all state affairs.In addition, there are two ministers, Da Si Nong and Shao Fu, both of whom are in charge of finance and economy.The Da Si Nong is in charge of the government economy, and the Shaofu is in charge of the royal family's economy.The income of the Dasinong was paid for by the state, and the income of the Shaofu was used by the royal family for private use.The royal family cannot use the money of Da Siong.So we say that the royal family and the government were clearly divided in terms of legal principles.At that time, the national land tax income was the bulk, and it was managed by the Dasi Nong.Industrial and commercial taxes, such as salt on the seashore and mines in the mountains, used to have very little income and were managed by the Shaofu.These nine ministers are all subordinate to the prime minister.As we mentioned above, Jiuqing, according to their names and backgrounds, are all the emperor's housekeepers, and they are palace posts, and the system belongs to the prime minister. Isn't it true that the prime minister is the emperor's chief steward?But in other words, it was the head of the government at that time, the prime minister, who could control everything in the palace.For example, the Shaofu is in charge of the royal family's funds, while the Shaofu belongs to the prime minister, and the prime minister can control the Shaofu, even the royal family's economy is also controlled by the prime minister.In this way, isn't it true that the royal family is under the government instead?Originally, the prime minister in the feudal era was the emperor's housekeeper, but in the prefecture and county era, when the family was turned into a country, the prime minister managed the country, not a private individual, so he became the official head of the government.Departments of the former private household became departments of the public government.In the feudal era, the family was the country. The emperor of Zhou was one family, the state of Qi was another family, and the state of Lu was another family. There were many such aristocratic families, and the world was divided by many families.At that time, generally speaking, there were only housework and no government affairs.Now there is only one family left in China, which was the royal family at that time.This family is worn by the whole world, so housework has been transformed into government affairs.The extended family has also transformed into the government.The prime minister used to be the housekeeper of the family, but now he is the head of the government.

The above has already given an overview of the Sangong Jiuqing in the Han Dynasty.This was the organizational situation of the central government at that time. The local government in the Han Dynasty was divided into two levels: the prefecture and the county.Historically, local governments in China have been based on counties, which have not changed until now.In Han Dynasty, counties were above counties, and the number of counties and counties would of course change from time to time.Generally speaking, there were more than one hundred counties in the Han Dynasty, and each county governed ten to twenty counties.Probably the number of counties in the Han Dynasty was always between 1,100 and 1,400.When it comes to local administration in Chinese history, the Han Dynasty has always been admired. The so-called Han Dynasty officials will always be praised by future generations. This point deserves our attention.Compared with modern times, the highest level of local administrative regions today is the province.A province is as big as a country, or even bigger than a country.There are sixty or seventy to one or two hundred counties under the jurisdiction of a province, which is really too many.But as far as the division of administrative regions is concerned, the Han system is commendable.In the Han Dynasty, the prefect was called the prefect, and his status was equal to that of Jiuqing, and he was also two thousand stones.However, Jiuqing is called the middle two thousand stones, and the prefect of the county is the local two thousand stones.The prefect of the county can be transferred to the central government to be the Jiuqing, and if he advances to the next level, he can be the Sangong. After the Jiuqing is released, he can also be the prefect of the county.In the Han Dynasty, there were few official ranks, and the promotion and transfer were extremely flexible. This is another great difference between the Han system and the later ones.Jiuqing's release as prefect is not a downgrade.The local two thousand stones are used to make the middle two thousand stones, which is not an upgrade, and it is still similar in name.At that time, there were more than 100 counties in the country, and the prefect's position was similar to that of Jiuqing. Therefore, although the central government was in a unified situation, although the local administrative regions were divided into relatively small areas, they did not feel that the central government was superior.

Speaking of the relationship between the central and local governments.Each county has to report to the central government every year, and the books are all kinds of statistical tables, that is, the administrative achievements of the locality.All financial, economic, educational, criminal, civil, thieves, and famines have a book every year, classified by item, and reported to the central government in September and October. This is called the upper plan.The special commissioner of the Central Committee who came to the place to investigate was called the governor.The whole country is divided into thirteen investigation areas, and each area is assigned a governor. On average, the investigation area of ​​each governor will not exceed nine counties.There are also restrictions on his investigation items. The government stipulates that inspections should be based on six items, and beyond the six items, there will be no more investigations.The actual local administrative responsibility is the responsibility of the prefect.The government sent a governor to investigate, but only as an eyes and ears.Therefore, the prefect's official salary was two thousand shi, while the governor was originally only a small official with a salary of six hundred shi.According to the project investigation stipulated by the government, even a small official can be competent.And only its official is small.So dare to speak, dare to speak, without any shyness.These governors belonged to Yushi Cheng.There are also fifteen censors in the palace, who specialize in impeaching the central government and everything in the palace.The opinions of the governor and the censor were reported to the deputy prime minister, doctor censor, and the deputy prime minister reported to the prime minister.What the deputy prime minister assists the prime minister is the responsibility of supervision.