In ancient Chinese feudal society, the role of the county level in the local administrative system played a pivotal role, among which the two positions of "county magistrate" and "county order" were particularly eye-catching. Many people often confuse these two names, but in fact, they have their own connotations and differences in different historical periods and in the changes of the bureaucratic system.
First of all, we need to make it clear that the title "county order" originated in the Qin and Han dynasties and was the official name of the county-level administrator. As the head of a county, the county order is fully responsible for the administrative, judicial, military and other affairs of the county, and is directly responsible to the ** imperial court. The role of county ordinances is crucial because they are at the grassroots level, they are a key link in the implementation of national decrees, and they are also an important force in maintaining social stability and economic development.
However, with the development of history, especially after the Tang and Song dynasties, the official position system has changed. The term "Zhixian" began to appear on the stage of history. "Zhixian""Know"The word has the meaning of presiding over and in charge, that is, "** or concurrently managing county affairs", which was not a fixed position at first, but was temporarily assigned to a county by superiors such as general judges and staff members to deal with government affairs, which is equivalent to the current temporary training or subordination. After the middle of the Song Dynasty, "Zhixian" gradually became the title of a fixed county-level administrator, whose authority was equivalent to that of the county order, and even at some point, the status of the county magistrate may be higher than that of the county order, because the person who held the county magistrate often had a certain background in the imperial examination and had the opportunity to be promoted to a higher level of office through the performance evaluation.
In addition, there is an important difference in that the "county order" is usually the legal chief executive of a county, while the "county magistrate" exercises the same functions as the county order in practice, but in theory, they sometimes retain the rank and treatment of the original position, especially in the context of the separation of officials, posts and dispatches in the Song Dynasty.
To sum up, both the county magistrate and the county magistrate were the core figures of the county-level government in ancient China, and they shouldered the important task of maintaining local security, promoting economic development, and ensuring people's livelihood and well-being. The county order mainly represents the formal county-level chief executive system that has been inherited since the Qin and Han dynasties, while the county magistrate more reflects the flexible adjustment and actual operation characteristics brought about by the official reform after the Tang and Song dynasties. Although the two are different, they together constitute an important cornerstone of the grassroots administrative system in ancient China, and have accumulated valuable experience and wisdom for thousands of years of social governance in China. Turn the page in 2023