Introduction to the official system of the Tang Dynasty

Quick test on the central management system of the Tang Dynasty

Comparing the settings of central management institutions in ancient China, the organizational form of political power in the Tang Dynasty was relatively reasonable , it inherited and developed the three provinces and six ministries system of the previous generation, which can restrict each other and have a clear division of labor. It is precisely because it has certain positive and reasonable functions of the feudal bureaucracy that it ensures the clearness of government affairs and the welcome to the people to a certain extent. Come to the prosperous and prosperous Tang Dynasty. It created the most prosperous period of Chinese feudal society and was at the forefront of the development of all human society at that time.

The first and third divisions (Taishi, Taifu, Taibao) or the three Dukes (Taiwei, Situ, Sikong)

The three divisions were relatively mature during the Western Zhou Dynasty and were originally from clans. The elders are responsible for guiding, assisting, and guardianship of the king. Bao, to protect one's body; Fu, to instill virtue and righteousness; Teacher, to teach one's lessons. "The ruler is the foundation of governance" ("Book of Rites of Great Dai. Three Books of Rites"), which plays a comprehensive guiding role when the monarch is young or immature. If the non-moral meritorious service is noble, then it will not occupy its position, and it is better to lack it than to overdo it. By the Tang Dynasty, it had transformed into three official positions, which were empty positions with high status but did not actually exercise power, and honorary positions that were not among the subordinates.

The two and three provinces are concurrently prime ministers (Zhongshu, Menxia, ??Shangshu)

The central administrative agency also has other provinces, temples, prisons and other departments, but these three are the most important. Among them, the Zhongshu Province is the agency entrusted with the functions of formulating and issuing various government orders under the supreme directive; the Menxia Province is the review organ for imperial decrees and various superior documents; and the Shangshu Province is the highest executive agency, executing various government orders.

The division of functions and position settings in the three provinces mainly include:

1. Zhongshu Province: the chief official is Zhongshu Ling, and the deputy chief is Zhongshu Shilang. Under the jurisdiction of:

Zhongshu Sheren, Yousanqi Changshi, Youjianyidafu, Youbuque, Youshiyi, Living Rooms, Jixian Hall and History Museum (institution)

2. Menxiasheng: The chief officer is the servant under the door, and the deputy chief is the servant under the door. Under the jurisdiction of:

Gi Shizhong, Zuo Sanqi Changshi, Zuo Jianyi Dafu, Zuo Buque, Zuo Shiyi, Qi Julang, Chengmen Lang, Fu Baolang, Hongwen Guan (organization, in charge of books, etiquette , system evolution, etc.)

3. Shangshu Province: the principal officer is Shangshu Ling, and the deputy chiefs are Zuo and Youpu She. Each of the six ministries has a minister and a minister as chief and deputy chiefs. It has six ministries and twenty-four departments:

1) The Ministry of Personnel - in charge of the selection, appointment and dismissal, promotion, examination, etc. of officials. The subordinate officials include chief officer, Lingshi, Shulingshi, Shulingshi, Jiakulingshi, pavilion chief, Zhanggu, etc.

2) Household Department - in charge of household registration, economy, finance, etc. The subordinate officials include chief officer, ordering history, book ordering history, Jishi, and Zhanggu.

3) Ministry of Rites - in charge of etiquette, sacrifices, imperial examinations, schools, education, etc. . . . . .

Note: The above three parts are under the control of Zuo Si.

4) Ministry of War - responsible for military attache selection and military administration. . . . . . .

5) Ministry of Justice - in charge of judicial administration and trials. . . . . .

6) Ministry of Industry - responsible for various project construction and logistics-related work. . .

Note: The above three parts are under the control of Zuo Si.

The third and sixth ministries are government agencies, and there is also an administrative agency - Jiu Temple, which originated from the Jiu Qing in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The status is below the six departments. The chief and deputy chiefs are Qing and Shaoqing. The specific divisions are as follows:

1) Taichang Temple

2) Guanglu Temple

3) Weiwei Temple

4) Zongzheng Temple

5) Taipu Temple

6) Dali Temple (the highest central judicial authority)

7) Honglu Temple

8) Sinong Temple

9) Taifu Temple

In addition, there are also directly affiliated institutions that are separated and independent from it - the Five Supervisors: Guozijian, Shaofu Supervisor, Ordnance Supervisor, The general will be the prisoner and the capital water supervisor.

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4. The internal attendant organizations

There are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Academy of Academicians, and the Internal Secret Envoy. Among them, the Bachelor's College was founded by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.

At first, recruiting talented and learned people was called "waiting for imperial edicts", and then selected talented people from the court officials to live in the Hanlin, called "hanlin worship". Later, it was renamed "bachelor", who specialized in controlling internal affairs. Later, there was another name for "Inner Prime Minister", especially titles such as "Zhi Zhi Gao" and "Hanlin Bachelor Cheng Zhi". |

5. Rank system that is different from positions

Staff who do not hold actual management positions have their own ranks. In many cases, positions and ranks are not consistent. The ranks and names of civil servants are as follows:

1. First rank: Taiwei, Situ, Sikong

2. First rank: Kaifu Yitong Sansi

3. The second rank: Special Advance

4. The second rank: Doctor Guanglu

5. The third rank: Doctor Guanglu of Jinzi

6. Third grade: Yinqing Guanglu doctor

7. From the fourth level: Zhengyi doctor

8. From the fourth level: Tongyi doctor

9. From the fourth level: Tai Zhong Da Fu

10. From the four sides: Zhong Da Fu

. . . . . .

30. From the ninth rank: Shogun

In addition, there are also titles of different treatment awarded to members of the royal family, military exploits, etc.

6. Supervision, admonishment system and its structural settings

The Yushitai in the Tang Dynasty was a completely independent supervision structure. The Imperial Palace is divided into three courtyards:

1) The Imperial Palace serves as the Imperial Palace, responsible for correcting and impeaching all officials of the imperial court.

2) Serving the censor in the palace and conducting various ceremonies in the palace. "Those who are in the main class and are listed outside the pavilion gate, and those who are not in the class and do not speak calmly".

3) The scope of supervision by the Procuratorate and the Censor is very wide. Patrol various places. Although the supervisory censor is only an eighth-rank minor official, he holds the constitution in his hand and has great courage. "When the censor is sent as an envoy, he cannot shake the mountains and shake up the prefectures and counties. It is not his job"!

In addition, in addition to the three public servants who also have such rights and responsibilities, the casual knights, regular attendants, admonishment officials, repairers, and relic collectors are also specialized admonishment officials. Wei Zheng, who was famous for his "violent appearance and forced admonishment", served as an admonishment official. And formed the "system of admonishment officers accompanying the prime minister to the cabinet to discuss matters".

Discussing the official system and its origins in the Tang Dynasty

Each dynasty has a royal family and a government. The royal family is represented by the emperor, while the prime minister is the top leader of the government. Both prime minister and prime minister mean deputy, so the prime minister is also an adjutant. In the pre-Qin era, he was actually the adjutant of nobles such as kings or princes. Inside, the housekeeper is called the boss, and outside, the director is called the prime minister. After Qin unified the world, all the nobles fell, and only one noble family remained, the royal family. Therefore, the prime minister in their family had to manage both the country and the emperor's family affairs. This is the origin of the Prime Minister.

The prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty adopted a committee system, which was different from the leadership system of the Han Dynasty. The government has three yamen: Zhongshu, Menxia, ??and Shangshu. The functions of these three departments plus the Yushitai are equivalent to the powers of the prime minister in the Han Dynasty. This shows the decentralization of power among the prime ministers in the Tang Dynasty.

1. Zhongshu Sheng----issue orders. These orders were called "imperial edicts" in the Tang Dynasty. Although they were issued in the name of the emperor, they were not drawn up by the emperor but by Zhongshu Sheng. The procedure is as follows: Zhongshu Sheren drafts multiple copies of the imperial edict, called "Wuhua Judgement", and then Zhongshu Ling (Zhongshu Provincial Governor) or Zhongshu Shilang (Zhongshu Provincial Adjutant) selects one and slightly polishes it. , became a formal edict, and then the emperor drew a word "edict" to become the emperor's order, and finally was issued to the provinces.

2. The province under the door----review. The emperor's order issued by Zhongshu Province must now be reviewed. If the review fails, the document will be returned to the Zhongshu Province with an annotation (an official with the right to reject it), which is called "Tu Gui", which means that the Zhongshu Province is required to redraft it. If the review is passed, it still needs to be signed by the Shizhong (the governor of the Menxia Province) or the Shilang (the adjutant of the Menxia Province) before the edict will officially take effect, and then it will be sent to the Shangshu Province for execution. It was considered illegal in the Tang Dynasty if the emperor issued an order directly without a Zhongshu or a family seal.

3. Shangshu Province----Execution. The governor of Shangshu Province is called Shangshu Ling. Li Shimin once held this position before he became emperor. Therefore, none of the subsequent courtiers dared to serve as Shangshu Ling again, and the vacancy often remained vacant. The real power of Shangshu Province lies with his adjutants, who are called left and right servants.

The left servant is in charge of the three departments of officials, households, and rituals, and the right servant is in charge of the three departments of military, punishment, and work. The functions of the six departments can be found in Brother zxc789's "A Quiz on the Central Management System of the Tang Dynasty." Each subordinate has four divisions, totaling twenty-four divisions.

Zhengshitang----Since an edict must go through the two provinces Zhongshu and Menxia before it becomes official, for the sake of convenience, when discussing major events, a joint meeting was held by the governors of Zhongshu and Menxia. The place is called "Zhengshi Hall". If a person is both a left and right servant, he is called "Tong Zhongshu Menxia Ping Zhang Shi", and he also has the right to enter the political hall to discuss matters (because the chief of the Shangshu Province is fictitious). But after Kaiyuan, Pushe could no longer enter the political hall to discuss affairs, and the Shangshu Province became a pure executive organ. Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, the chief minister under Zhongshu and the sect was the real prime minister.

Let me introduce Yushitai again. It is divided into left and right censors. The left censor supervises central government officials, mainly officials from the six ministries of Shangshu Province, while Zhongshu and Menxia provinces are not included in the supervision; the right censor inspects local officials. The country is divided into ten channels, each of which One is called "observer". This "observation envoy" was originally a central supervisory officer who inspected various areas. Later, he became a permanent central official stationed in the local area, and invisibly became the highest local official. If his mission is to patrol the border and stop at important border defense areas, and the central government gives him all the power to deal with local affairs, he becomes a "Jiedushi". Jiedushi was a kind of full-power seal at that time. With it, everything could be controlled, so it was called "Jiedushi". Because of its great power, it gradually evolved into a "vassal town".

In the Tang Dynasty, there were nine grades of officials. The first and second grade officials were designated as elders, who were not actually responsible for political affairs, that is, they had titles such as "three ministers". The top leaders of the "three provinces, six departments and one unit" mentioned above are all third-rank officials.

Official positions other than "three provinces, six ministries and one department" are mostly idle positions. Let’s talk about “Nine Temples” here. It comes from Jiuqing in the Qin and Han Dynasties. The status is below the six departments. The chief and deputy chiefs are Qing and Shaoqing.

1. Taichang Temple----"Chang", originally means "taste", which means offering food to ancestors so that they can taste new things all the time. Therefore, Taichang Temple manages the emperor's sacrificial affairs;

2. Guanglu Temple - its origin is Guanglu Xun of the Han Dynasty. "Xun" is connected with "阍", which is the entrance to the royal family, so Guanglu Temple is in charge of the palace gate security;

3. Weiwei Temple - originally a royal guard in the Han Dynasty, but in the Tang Dynasty it only took care of the emperor's tents, etc.;

4. Zongzheng Temple - in charge of the emperor's clan affairs ;

5. Taipu Temple----Pu means driver, so Taipu Temple is in charge of the emperor's horses;

6. Dali Temple---- Originated from the imperial court of the Han Dynasty, it is the central judicial organ;

7. Honglu Temple - "lu" means paging. It originated from the great Honglu in the Han Dynasty. It was in charge of the emperor's dealings with people and was equivalent to the emperor's personal privacy. Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

8. Sinong Temple - originated from the Great Sinong of the Han Dynasty, an institution in charge of the government's economy. All income from the world's land tax is nominally managed by the Sinong Temple and goes into the national treasury;

9. Shaofu Temple - it is also an institution in charge of the economy, but it is responsible for taxes on Shanze Salt Mine and other taxes. This part of the revenue is included in the emperor's private treasury