The unspoken rules of ancient officialdom The place where power and intrigue are played
The civil service is about promotions and relationships.
Lin Zexu was recommended to him by Zuo Zongtang before his death. The person he recommended to Lin Zexu was Tao Shu. Tao Shu and Zuo Zongtang are relatives.
Such a branch was the official authority of China at that time, there was no progress for no reason, there was no regression for no reason, everything had its logic, but this logic was often not known.
Kip Stone Zuo Zongtang.
The authorities are watching the area.
When we were in college, there were civil society clubs on campus, and of course, clubs in the same district were more sincere. The same goes for official institutions.
For example, in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, under the leadership of Shen Yiyi and Fang Congzhe, the Zhejiang Party was established, as well as the Kun Party, the Chu Party, and the Qi Party.
Geography is also mentioned by the famous Donglin Party, whose main members are from the Jiangnan Shi clan.
When Liu Bang and Zhu Yuanzhang fought the world, the core backbone were all old people. The emperor has to rely on fellow villagers to fight the world, and to be an official in the palace, doesn't he also need some fellow villagers to keep the throne?
Marriage in common. Marriage is one of the best ways to maintain status, and when a country is in trouble, the threat must be mitigated through peace. From emperors and generals to literati and scholars, no one has ever used this method to maintain their status.
During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Western Jin Dynasty general Xijian wrote to Wang Guan, saying that he had a daughter who wanted to marry into the Wang family.
At this time, Wang Guan was still very powerful, but he could not dominate the government, so he needed Xianzhi's support, but he also quickly asked Xianzhi to randomly choose Wang Guan's son-in-law, and finally Xianzhi chose Wang Xizhi. Xijian's family Xijian married Wang Xizhi's son, Wang Xianzhi.
After Xi'an's death, Wang Xian's family fell into the middle of the road, and Wang Xianzhi divorced Xidao again. It was a political marriage, and marriage and divorce were motivated by political necessity.
Wang Xian's calligraphy.
In the absence of imperial examinations, the main way to become an official was by appointment, that is, the examination system, the most common of which was"Filial piety", i.e. recommended by the son's son**. This kind of recommendation is actually a kind of game in the private part of the extended family. You recommend my sons and daughters, I recommend his family, and his family recommends yours, simply forming a closed loop of officialdom monopoly.
We know that during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Gongsun Zhan, Tao Qian, Yang Xiu, Xun Yu, Hua Tuo and others all put filial piety first.
This practice apparently only worked for a powerful man like Cao Cao, who became a lieutenant in northern Luoyang at the age of 20. Cao Cao's father was in the Taiwei Mansion at the time, and was certainly qualified for Cao Cao to hold this position.
Most of the people who were chosen were not talented, so Cao Cao later issued various orders to find talents, and explained that even those who steal their husbands and steal gold can be named as long as they are talented. This practice was actually meritocracy, and was the main reason why Cao Cao was able to quickly become powerful and unify the north.
Cao Cao. After the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination gradually became an important way to select talents, but not everyone could pass the imperial examination.
First, businessmen could not take the imperial examinations. The reason why the poet Li Bai could not participate in the imperial examination was because he was a businessman, and he had been looking for relationships and wearing iron shoes all his life, but he did not find a suitable position, and finally because Princess Yuzhen and He Zhizhang recommended him to Tang Xuanzong, he was appointed.
Can a peasant take the imperial examination? Of course not. Not to mention ordinary peasants, even the judges of a region cannot participate in the imperial examinations.
Don't think that reading a family can change the fate of a family, that's just a legend. The Qing Dynasty stipulated that poor families could not participate in the imperial examinations. What is Hanmen? Three generations are not shi, or three generations are not showing, lifting people and other families. This also fundamentally abolished the notion that the poor could change their fate through labor.
The examination room where the imperial examination is held.
In addition, there is a queue.
Su Shi's experience is the best proof of this. The dispute between Wang Anshi and Sima Guang is mainly about how to better govern the country, and the starting point is not wrong. Su Shi did the same and made the right judgment on the governance of the country according to his own views.
However, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were both influential figures, and they were connected to a large number of ** and a large number of students, so there were many intertwined interests between them, which eventually escalated into a fierce battle between the two interest groups.
Su Shi is a Sima Guang faction, of course not; Su Shi is Wang Anshi's faction, not really. Su Shi is just an ordinary civil servant involved in political affairs. However, he was caught in the maelstrom of change and was dismissed twice, the problem is that he got back on his feet. Su Shi stands so upright and doesn't like to stand in the queue of civil servants, which shows that his career will be tortuous and difficult.
You know, Su Ji was a world-renowned scholar at that time, which gave him great protection. In partisan conflicts, the fate of ordinary ** is even more tragic.
Where there is power, there is strife, where there is fierce strife, there is partisan strife, and in ancient societies, all dynasties were no exception.
It is very dangerous to take sides with either side, because it is difficult for either side to occupy the center of power for a long time. In power struggles, it is often one's own side that has the upper hand.
For example, from Wu Zetian to Tang Xuanzong, unrest was very common, including those who forced Wu Zetian to abdicate"Dragon Rebellion", who killed Empress Wei and Princess Anle"The Tanglong Rebellion", drove away Princess Taiping"The Xiantian Rebellion"。In just seven years, three coups have monopolized supreme power. People who stand in the wrong line naturally have to accompany the funeral, such as the famous Shangguan Wan'er.
Shangguan Wan'er's epitaph.
What happens to police officers who don't follow the rules?
During the Qianlong period, in order to pay for Qianlong's large expenses, He Shen set up a system of negotiating money, and ** crimes can be exempted from paying negotiating money. Cabinet Minister Yoon Jong-tu was very dissatisfied with this system, and wrote against it, and finally abolished it.
Yin Zhuangtu immediately pointed out in the letter that the governor had a bad reputation, was untrustworthy, became a common practice, and had a bad environment.
Qianlong was known for his great achievements and was eager to criticize the authorities, but this did not mean that Qianlong did not know how to manage the country well.
Qianlong is not happy, you said there is corruption, go and see.
Qianlong has ordered Yin Zhuangtu to inspect the provinces, and He Shen has informed the local ** of the itinerary, and the local ** has made all preparations.
Yin Zhuangtu first saw in Taiyuan that the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the warehouse was full of grain and grass, and there was no shortage. Yin Zhuangtu found nothing, so he reported it:"The warehouse is tidy, there is no shortage, and the enslavement has been handed over, can I go back to Beijing on this day to wait for the crime? "
Qianlong was willing to do this, so he continued to control Shandong and Zhili, Zhengding, Baoding and other places, which was naturally a scene of living and working in peace and contentment. And he ordered Yin Zhuangtu to go south, all the way to Huai, Yang, Chang, Zhen and other places, they are all part of the country, people live and work in peace and contentment, old and young enjoy the scene.
In the end, Yinxi didn't get anything, and many people begged Qianlong to kill Yinxi. He Shen went out and said:"I can't kill him, let him go, to show the emperor's magnanimity.
As you can see, the entire bureaucracy is trying its best to suppress those who are not in their positions and do not seek political power.
Portrait of Qianlong.