Ming Dynasty ** system: How to evaluate the function of the Ming Dynasty ** system?
On the basis of inheriting and discarding the political system of the previous generation, the successive dynasties further revised and improved the supervision system and the penal system, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception. However, the special political ecology and social form of the Ming Dynasty determined that its system had characteristics that could not be compared with those of its predecessors.
As a major component of the ancient Chinese supervision system, the court plays an important role in correcting and investigating dereliction of duty, purging political discipline, and maintaining the normal operation of the state apparatus. In the context of the complex administration of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, the supervisory function of ** was more effectively established.
* The benign function of the system was to punish traitors and criminals, and to suppress influential eunuchs.
1.punish traitors and suppress powerful eunuchs.
As an important means of control, the most direct function of the system is to correct and convict traitors and evil officials, punish corrupt behavior, and prevent influential eunuchs from manipulating state power, so as to strengthen the political atmosphere of honesty and integrity, which is the main role of the system in practice. In the Ming Dynasty, a number of representative figures emerged as the political leaders at all levels to perform their duties, especially in supervision.
In the thirtieth year of Hongwu (1397), the imperial court banned special tea, but Ouyang Lun remained"Send multinational special tea**, although the officials dare not ask", and"Invade it and knock down the offender"。** Unbearable, he was dismissed and denounced, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered"Zhu Lun", effectively forming a deterrent effect. Hongwu Dynasty, under the supervision of Qincha Han Yi,"Impeachment does not escape the powerful", when Hu Weiyong, Chen Ning, Tu Jie and other three people were tried,"Insidious as loyal, treacherous as straight", relying on his father's work, he is angry inside, puts the beans at the last seat, and commits Weifu", requested"Beheaded to thank the world", Zhu Yuanzhang is called"Quick mouth patrol royal history"。
Zhou Xin, governor of the Yongle Dynasty"Dare to criticize more"。The nobles were frightened, and the eyes were"Cold iron surface"。The children of the capital are in fear all day long, and they are always hiding"is an example to the Governor. Even in the political environment of continuous party strife and uneven results in the late Ming Dynasty, there are still a considerable number of ** who adhere to morality and practice the mission of bringing order out of chaos. Jiajing Dynasty Yan Song dictatorship, ** loyalty, Yang Jisheng, the secretary of the military department, risked his life to accuse Yan Song of ten major crimes and five traitorous ministers, accusing him"The law of the evil precursor"、"Stealing the power of the imperial court"、"Conceal the merits of the monarch"、"Usurpation and adultery"、"Damage to the military merits of the imperial court"etc., and finally been"Betrayed and died"。
During the Wanli period, Wei Yunzhen accused Zhang Juzheng of monopolizing the power of the country and attacking"Listen to the rumors. Don't listen to rumors, traitors gain power"。From Tian Qi to Yang Lian, the leaders of the Eastern family such as the Six Lords and the Seventh Lords who deposed Wei Zhongxian in turn can be described as singing and dancing.
Although these recall measures did not achieve the expected results, they are still admirable in deterring traitors, lawless bureaucrats and their relatives, and curbing the bad behavior of the people.
2.Check and correct errors.
Another important function of dismissal is to supervise misconduct in various areas** in order to correct and discipline them. By removing the best who participated in political activities during the term of office, punishing dereliction of duty and dereliction of duty, it will help strengthen the sense of responsibility and improve administrative efficiency.
In the Ming Dynasty, **, as a means of control and correction by the authorities, roughly included two levels: one was the accusation of violations. In the judicial process, or due to the low judicial ability, or because of the fierce political struggle, it is inevitable that there will be unjust, false and wrongly decided cases.
In the third year of Xuande (1428), according to Gu Zuo and others"**Seventeen dead"After being accused by the Governor of the Criminal Department, Xuan Dezong severely sentenced the relevant responsible persons. This shows that ** is to correct the irregularities in the classics. The second is the crime of violating etiquette. Long before the Qing Dynasty, etiquette had become an important part of political life"Equal emphasis on etiquette and law"It is one of the statecraft in ancient China, so in the Ming Dynasty, accusing ** of violating the etiquette law also became part of the ** procedure.
The correction of violations of the etiquette law mainly involves two aspects: one is related to etiquette, such as the dismissal of the superintendent of Yushi Jichang in the ninth year of Hongwu (1376)."The ministers guarded the gate of the court, and the king and the ministers made no one up and down, and signed their names"。On the second day of this month, on the Que Wang Festival, Wen Yuanji's Qin Mansion Right Stage, Yan Mansion Governor Shi Zhufu 、..Fu made a concert, entered the left door without permission, and left the location in the ceremony, according to the rules", but Taizu was not punished for this. 2. In the seventeenth year of Hongwu (1384), Zhao Mao, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, played:"The Sichuan Jinzi Appeasement Division's congratulatory gift desk documents were not submitted within the time limit, and the case involved disrespect, and the guilt was pleased"。Taizu to"This sin is not a sign of soft distance"This request was denied on the grounds.
Although the monarch does not fully accept this method of recall, the removal of those who violate etiquette has a clear positive effect on maintaining political discipline and consolidating political order.
3. Raise morale and purify the civil service.
In addition to correcting and suppressing irregularities, dismissal can also restore discipline in the bureaucracy, investigate and deal with misconduct, and cultivate and guide good political traditions. The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the punishment of **, especially in the first half of the dynasty, ** was able to respond positively and effectively to misconduct within the bureaucracy;In the second half of the dynasty, the ** corruption, the bureaucracy became more and more corrupt, and the response was relatively weak, but the inspector ** continued to perform his duties in this regard. Even at the superficial level, dismissal is mainly reflected in two aspects:
First, *** was dismissed for corruption. As early as the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty regime, Zhu Yuanzhang used it"Punishment is followed by probation, and severe punishment is followed by treatment"to curb the corruption of the **. With the gradual development of the system, indictments have played an irreplaceable role in investigating and dealing with corruption. For example, in the first year of Jingtai (1450), the commander of the capital envoy Xie Ju suggested"It is advisable to depose Xu Gang, the magistrates, Niu Jun, and Dong Zongxian to show that greed attracts attention and should be punished with vigilance"。In the ninth year of Jiajing (1530), Chen Daoying, the secretary of Taichang Temple"reprimanded the ministers Tian Qiu and others for greed, and asked for dismissal"These records of dismissal abound in the classics of the Ming Dynasty, and dismissal was the most normalized behavior in the practice of the Ming Dynasty.
The second is the service fee. Incompetence and malfeasance will accelerate administrative inefficiency, making it difficult for the imperial court to transmit orders, so the incompetence of ** is punishable.
In the seventh year of Hongwu (1374), Niu Langyin, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites"Dereliction of duty"He was transferred to the position of first assistant. In the twelfth year of Hongzhi (1499), Wang Shou once again accused Xu Guan, the secretary of the Ministry of Works"Incompetence", demanding that he be deposed, but Xiaozong did not listen. Although the monarch reacted violently to the recall, the recall of malfeasance was a necessary institutional safeguard to prevent institutional rigidity and civil unrest, and to encourage re-mobility between groups.
In short, the establishment of the Ming Dynasty's ** system generally maintained an active political atmosphere, which played a positive and obvious role in stabilizing the order of the bureaucracy, clarifying the ** management, and then consolidating the rule of the Ming Dynasty. Especially in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, the *** system at that time operated on healthy and benign political soil"Respect the law, clean up and love the people, be in a higher position, and govern the officials to change", the Ming Dynasty's more than 200 years of Hongye supervision system also has a foundation.
The malicious function of the system.
1.There are many unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, creating unjust prisons.
* In addition to playing an active role in correcting and controlling traitorous bureaucrats and purifying the political atmosphere, there are also many hidden political dangers. In particular, the powerful ministers in power instructed the supervision officials to make false accusations against political opponents, make unwarranted accusations, and even torture them to extract confessions, waiting for an opportunity to kill people and set fires. In this alienated and contradictory political paradigm, it is not only very easy to produce all kinds of unjust prisons, but also hinders speech and makes it difficult for people to express their opinions freely. In the early years of Chenghua, Wang Hui, the secretary of Nanjing, once brilliantly summarized this situation:
The power of the traitorous ministers is especially afraid of talking, so most of the people who speak are squeezed into their arms...He will punish severely in secret, and resent in private. When the spokesperson sees this, he says"Not only is it useless for the country, but it is enough to cause trouble"。This way of speaking is not very clear.
From the above, it can be seen that when the control of ** is in the hands of powerful ministers, ** cannot play the role of **traitorous ministers and courtiers, but it is easy to become a tool of political struggle, and even kill loyal ministers and cause resistance.
In the Chenghua Dynasty, Li Bin, the secretary of the ministry, had a pure bloodline and dismissed many unqualified **, causing dissatisfaction. Yin Min, the secretary of the Ministry of True Officials, seized the opportunity"Challenge Xiao Yanzhuang, the secretary of the fake ministry, and deal with things with kindness", was falsely accused of twelve counts, and was dismissed"He has been at home for 20 years, and outsiders have persuaded him for more than 10 years, but he can't see him"。Zhu Dan's resume shows that"Three years, vainly worthy, to deal with the public. The number of people in the audience is large"。As a feudal official, he has outstanding political achievements, but he self-examines because of the responsibility of the official, which is enough to make people sigh.
* It seems to have a strong tendency to chaos, whether the speaker performs his duties out of public intentions, or is supervised and instructed by the minister, it will inevitably lead to the birth of unjust cases, even if it is an honest **, he may be dismissed, or even die in prison, forming a kind of"The majority's **"。
Summary. The role of the Ming Dynasty was twofold. It has been used to punish adultery and eliminate evil, correct malpractices in the process of governance, and maintain the political atmosphere of officialdomBut it also tended to hinder the way of speech, escalating political strife and becoming a catalyst for the Ming dynasty's unique political chaos. On the one hand, the role of ** implements a clear distinction between good and evil;On the other hand, the political pattern of different periods is closely related to political enlightenment and clarity, which can play a more benign role in the ** of capable and strong rulers;In the case of political turbidity and chaos and constant officialdom struggles, the role of its bad nature is even more obvious.