Advantages and disadvantages of the two-Beijing system: Analysis of the special system of the Ming Dynasty
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Introduction: Generally speaking, a dynasty has only one capital, but why did the Ming Dynasty set up two capitals, and even set up a two-capital system dedicated to the management of these two capitals?
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang proposed the two-Beijing system, and the country set up two capitals, Nanjing and Beijing echoed each other, forming a pattern of six dynasties. Nanjing's geographical advantages and economic prosperity are also lurking.
In order to achieve the stability of the country and defend against foreign enemies, Zhu Yuanzhang realized the importance of setting up a capital city on the northern frontier. However, due to the long distance between Nanjing and the northern frontier, which was not conducive to military deployment, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to re-select a city as the new capital after the world was peaceful, and at the same time set Nanjing as the second capital.
During his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang has always been committed to the implementation of the two-Beijing system in the north and south, which fully demonstrates his deep understanding of national construction and careful management.
In order to find a suitable location in the new capital, Zhu Yuanzhang sent the crown prince Zhu Biao to Xi'an for an investigation. Unfortunately, Zhu Biao's untimely death delayed the establishment of the new capital.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty was faced with a thorny problem, that is, the contradictory situation of "northern soldiers and southern wealth" caused by the southward shift of the economic center of gravity. In response to this contradiction, the Ming Dynasty implemented the two-capital system.
According to the Ming Dynasty's regulations, the emperor could become the "Taishang Emperor" at the age of 60 and continue to stay in Beijing to guide the next crown prince to ensure that he had enough experience in governing and at the same time to ensure the normal operation of the northern and southern capitals.
The system of reincarnation in the north and south of the two capitals, which was reincarnated once every 20 years, not only ensured the balance between the bear soldiers in the north and the wealth in the south, but also ensured the effective management of the state, which was a wise move for the Ming Dynasty to solve the problem of contradictions.
After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di's accession to the throne and the relocation of the capital to Beijing, "the Son of Heaven guarding the country" became a new national policy, reflecting the importance that the Ming Dynasty attached to frontier security. In the prosperous era, the eunuchs should enjoy themselves, but at the same time, some people regret the distance between the two places.
Although the ministers and the common people at that time generally opposed Zhu Di's plan to move the capital, his decision at the political level was wise. Historically, the center of domination was too far away from the frontier enemy, and the mentality of "stealing peace" and "the emperor is far away" often led to a sharp increase in external threats.
Zhu Di was not afraid of criticism and resolutely moved the capital of the Ming Dynasty to Beijing, which could not only contain the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in the north, but also help control the overall situation of the country.
Zhu Di knew that a stable rule was crucial to the stability of the dynasty, and the management of the capital, as the center of the country, could not be neglected. Therefore, he set up six departments in Nanjing: officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, and workers, and maintained common development and mutual learning with Beijing, the capital of Liudu.
The Ming Dynasty's two-capital system could not only effectively control the northern frontier, but also strengthen the management of the southern region, which was an effective way to strengthen the centralization of power.
After Zhu Di, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing, although Nanjing became the capital and its political function weakened, it was still the political heart of the south and played a pivotal role. It was during the Zhu Di period that the Ming Dynasty established the two-capital system, and in the Ming Yingzong period, he recognized the necessity of setting the capital of Beijing, and finally established the two-capital system.
As a result, both Beijing and Nanjing were once the world's largest capitals, but they have different roles and statuses in history.
After careful consideration, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty finally decided to make Beijing the new capital of the Ming Empire, while the original capital Nanjing was determined to be the "remaining capital". The edict clearly recorded: "Beijing is the capital, and civil and military officials are not called to be there." ”
Staying in Nanjing, the capital still retains important institutions such as the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, the Hanlin Academy, and the Guozijian, and the ** level of Nanjing is the same as that of Beijing, so Nanjing is set to stay in the capital.
After Nanjing was the capital, the political ability of the ** who stayed there was greatly restricted, the partisan struggle was increasingly intensified, and most of the frustrated ** gathered in Beijing.
All of a sudden, a large number of opposition factions gathered in Nanjing, and the two parties occupied one side and intrigued with each other. This large-scale partisan struggle has caused a huge drain on their spirit and daily work.
Although there was still the emperor's suppression in the Beijing area, the whole of Nanjing** devoted itself to the partisan struggle without external constraints. In the long run, the Ming court lost many available talents, and the ministers were only concerned with partisan struggles, with a narrow vision, and were unable to formulate correct governing principles and policies.
Eventually, the rule of the Ming Dynasty began to crumble.
From the perspective of the jurisdictional area, the administrative organs of the capital of Nanjing were limited to the Nanjing area and the Nanjing Zhili area, which was not much different from the political divisions, the command departments and the judicial departments at all levels at that time.
When Nanjing** exercises its powers within its jurisdiction, it usually needs to be approved by the Beijing** authority. In addition, the decree submitted to the emperor by the administrative agency of Nanjing still needs to be reviewed by the relevant departments in Beijing, and can only be transferred to the emperor after being confirmed to be correct, and the emperor will issue an edict, and finally the relevant institutions in Nanjing will be appointed by the administrative agency in Beijing to execute.
This passage reveals the positioning of Nanjing's administrative system at that time - a pure executive body. Beijing, as the new Kyoto, held the actual decision-making power of the Ming Dynasty, and the distribution of power between Nanjing and Nanjing was clear, and there was no conflict between the two sides.
So, did the Liangjing system during the Ming Dynasty have more advantages than disadvantages, or did it do more harm than good? We know that at the heart of the feudal dynasty was the landlord class, who only sought their own interests.
The landlord class and the plebeian class were naturally opposed, but the imperial power and the landlord class were interdependent. This is also the reason why successive feudal dynasties implemented the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce.
Commercial development had an impact on the landlord class and led to the instability of imperial power. Imperial power was based on the landlord class, and the emperor was the largest landlord. The deprivation of the interests of the ** shook the landlord class on which the imperial court depended, and the imperial power was in jeopardy.
At this time, the peasants and ordinary people everywhere may revolt en masse, and the government is also facing the danger of falling apart. Emperor Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty was not a cowardly man, he followed the example of his ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang and resorted to murderous methods in an attempt to curb the decline of the dynasty, but he failed to solve the fundamental problems of the Ming Dynasty and could not save the fate of the Ming Dynasty.
In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the Liangjing system pushed up the cost of rule, resulting in a much lower fiscal revenue than before, only half of that of the Song Dynasty, or even less than that of the Yuan and Qing dynasties. In addition, there has been a sharp increase in the number of displaced people, who have lost their land due to natural and man-made disasters, become displaced and have become adrift.
In the eyes of the government, displaced people are like time bombs, and they are an important unstable factor affecting social development. In ancient society, agricultural production was the basic driving force, and the people depended on the land to live.
A large number of civilians left their homes, forming a large army of displaced people.
In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the greed and corruption of local officials and the land annexation of landlords caused a large number of peasants to lose their land and make their lives difficult. In this case,"Natural and man-made disasters"The situation is even more serious.
Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, China's social and economic development has emerged"The south is heavy and the north is light"The economy of the surrounding areas of Beijing was relatively backward, and the imperial court had to maintain the livelihood of the people in Beijing by allocating resources from the south.
In ancient times, due to the underdevelopment of the transportation industry, the cost of transporting grain from the south to thousands of miles away was extremely high, which brought a heavy burden to the people. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the oppression of the rulers and local ** made the people lose their fighting spirit, the phenomenon of land annexation was serious, the bureaucracy was extremely corrupt, and the people's morale was weakened.
However, in order to maintain the unity of the dynasty and maintain the balance of development between the north and the south, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty insisted on implementing the transfer of the south to the north at a huge cost.
The Liangjing system, which was implemented from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty, was an inevitable choice of history, a system produced by the rulers in order to meet the needs of socio-economic and cultural development, and at the same time to defend against foreign invasion and formulate the optimal military strategy.
The demise of the Ming Dynasty was not accidental, as the contradictions and problems of its internal system, as well as the uneven economic development between the north and the south, and the gap between the people's living standards all accelerated its decline.
Historical documents such as "The Unification of the Ming Dynasty", "The Two Beijing System in the Early Ming Dynasty", "The Ming Hui Yao", and "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" reveal the deep reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.