The way of life in ancient feudal society (plus points for good answers)

For more than two thousand years, the autocratic power of feudal monarchs in China has been continuously strengthened or weakened.

According to the general view, this power was constantly strengthened, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. However, if you explore it carefully, you will find that historical facts are not necessarily the case.

( 1)

In order to discuss this problem, first distinguish between two different situations:

One is that the monarch exercises power according to the specific political system prevailing at that time, which has been gradually fixed by countless politicians and thinkers in the long-term rule.

Another situation is that the monarch enjoys supreme power. In practice, he can not only surpass any political system left by monarchs and ministers in the past, but also abandon any political system formulated by himself and ministers at any time. In other words, his power is not bound by any system or law. He can "do whatever he wants" [1].

In the latter case, it can be said that it has been more than two thousand years since the establishment of the feudal monarchy. Give it a try:

During the reign of Qin Shihuang, it was already: "Everything in the world depends on it" and "all prime ministers depend on it" (Historical Records of Qin Shihuang, Volume 6). Although this statement is somewhat exaggerated, there are many things in the world, big and small. No matter how energetic Qin Shihuang is, he can't make it, but it shows that the emperor has this power. As for whether he usually exercises or not, to what extent, that is another matter. In other words, as long as he wants to exercise, he can do whatever he wants without the "prime minister or minister" around him. As early as the Warring States Period, Shen Buhai, Han Fei, etc. It is emphasized that the monarch must never assign power to his lieutenants, and must exercise his power to the maximum extent, and practice "arbitrariness" and preach that "those who can be arbitrary can be the master of the world" [2]. After Qin Shihuang, Li Si concluded that the monarch must be "immune to everything"; "Ming jun is arbitrary, so the power is absent. Then you can ... walk alone and be unscrupulous, but dare not go against it "[3]. These show that the system reflected by Qin Shihuang's "arbitrariness" did not appear by accident, but had an ideological and theoretical basis.

If we think that the rule of the Qin Dynasty is short-lived, then let's look at the imperial system of the Han Dynasty:

"Han Shu" Volume 60 "Biography of Du Zhou": When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was Ting Wei, he was "good at treating the company. People who want to squeeze in the world are trapped; I want to explain what I want, and I have to ask for a long time, but I can see its grievances. " Some people blame him for "not following the three-foot method, but treating people's minds as prisons." Zhou Yue said, "That's three feet! What the former lords did was to write for the law; What a master does is sparse. At that time, what was the law? " This material fully reflects a fundamental fact: "what people mean" is overwhelming, and you mainly do what you like. In the past, all systems and laws must be decided whether to continue to take effect according to whether the incumbent monarch recognizes them. Han Shujuan 66 Liu Quli Biography: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the Prime Minister. The criminal prince rebelled and was defeated. "In the evening, Tian Renbu closed the door and sat down to let the prince draw a conclusion. The prime minister wanted to cut off the benevolent, and the imperial doctor said that the prime minister said,' If you are straight, you will receive two thousand stones. "Why did you cut off its head?" Prime Minister Shi Ren said. When I heard this, I was furious. Baiguan asked the ancient doctor:' If the minister is straight, the prime minister will cut it, and it will be legal. "Why are doctors good at stopping it?" The victorious emperor was afraid and committed suicide. "In fact, from the beginning of Emperor Gaozu, there was a system that required officials to be guilty first [4]. At that time, the criminal prince had been defeated and the overall situation was set. It is correct to think that it is inappropriate to cut off Ren Tian. However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was extremely angry because his son had created his own rebellion. No matter what system there was in the past, he decided that the prime minister would be straightforward and in line with the law, so he had to commit suicide after the violent victory. This is an example of what Du Zhou said, "What was done at that time was not the law of ancient times". Look at the life of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. Apart from being restrained by the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager when he was young, he was completely arbitrary and did whatever he wanted, and the Prime Minister did whatever he wanted. Isn't this the continuation of the Qin dynasty's system of "dominating the world and doing whatever it takes"?

So did the Eastern Han Dynasty. The history of Han Guangwu's "general power program" and "political responsibility"; Ming Di "monopolizes power, but does not borrow it" [5]. Some people even say that the Prime Minister (Sangong) has become an "alternate member" [6]. This is not much different from what Reese said: "The monarch is arbitrary, so he is not a minister."

I would like to ask: what did the autocratic power of the emperors in Qin and Han dynasties strengthen the monarch and system of later generations?

Of course, due to social progress and economic development, transportation links across the country are getting closer and closer. Later emperors, who loved to be in power, stretched out their hands for a long time, handling more ruling affairs and expanding their scope [7]. In order to ensure "arbitrariness", the means of controlling vassals were further tightened and diversified (for example, Ming Di's palace staff was a minister, etc.). On the surface, it seems that power has been strengthened. In fact, this is only the development and change of this feudal autocratic power under different historical conditions, whether to exercise more, less, skillfully or less. As for this kind of power itself, it has been supreme and not subject to any system and law since the formation of feudal autocracy, and it has not changed. In other words, power has not been strengthened and it is impossible to strengthen it.

In the latter case, if we want to discuss whether the feudal monarchy has been continuously strengthened, we can only consider it in the former case.

As we all know, in order to ensure the effective exercise of the autocratic power of feudal monarchs and better protect the interests of the whole landlord class, the specific political system has been developing and changing for more than two thousand years. These systems are mainly prime minister systems, which are observed by some emperors and abolished by some emperors. When they get rid of it, they behave as "doing whatever they want" and monopolize power, resulting in the situation I mentioned above. But as far as the vast majority of general monarchs in past dynasties are concerned, they still abide by it far more than get rid of it. If we take this basic fact into account, we should admit that the general trend of the development of feudal autocratic power over the past two thousand years has not been strengthened, but weakened.

(2)

The first basis for putting forward the above viewpoint is that with the progress of society, the improvement of civilization and the repeated lessons of the rise and fall of dynasties in history, the politicians and thinkers of the landlord class have to support the absolute monarchy as a whole (because there is no new production relations and class power, only this system can unify the will and actions of the major class ruling groups in the country), and the disadvantages and harm brought by its combination with the hereditary system of the throne [8] are becoming increasingly clear. Therefore, in principle, almost all monarchs are required to trust the prime minister and ministers, be open-minded about coachable, restrain their "selfishness" and abide by various specific political systems, especially the prime minister system, which is solidified by long-term ruling experience. In fact, they just want to limit (actually weaken) the emperor's arbitrary power and prevent its disadvantages and harm as much as possible.

We know that the emperor is not self-styled, but relies on the landlord class through officials [9]; The political system is not determined by individual will. In the final analysis, it depends on whether it can meet the interests of the whole landlord class, whether it is a flash in the pan or a long-term use. Nowadays, political thoughts and public opinions that reflect the interests of the whole landlord class increasingly demand that the autocratic power of the monarch be restricted through a specific political system. Even if a few British lords and violent lords are exceptions, it is impossible for the vast majority of monarchs to abide by a specific political system without being affected by such thoughts and public opinions. The development and changes of these systems, from the general trend, can not be without limiting and weakening the monarchy.

Let's take a look at the political thoughts of the past dynasties on this issue.

As early as the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius had put forward an idea: "Shun and Yu have the world, but they are not serious" (The Analects of Confucius). During the Warring States Period, Mencius also quoted this sentence and put it into play (Teng Wengong I). Confucianists of later generations understand that this means that the monarch's task is to appoint sages, enable sages, and let ministers do it without having to personally participate in the handling of specific political affairs. Explain the "and" of "not how" as participation [10]. This understanding is probably correct. Because Xunzi also preached the same idea. He said, "People who control the country ... strengthen honor and disgrace by taking pictures." . If you get a saint and make him "listen to everything", he will be at leisure. This is called "strive for it (referring to saints) and rest", "hang up your clothes and the world will decide." For example, "Yi Yin made the soup, Lu Shang made the composition king, Zhao Gong made the military commander and Zhou Gongdan made the king", and Guan Zhong made it [1 1]. This political thought of Confucianism was put forward in view of the basic situation that Shang Xian was able to choose after the political reforms in the Warring States period, although he could not choose the hereditary throne, but his phase was not hereditary (the reform abandoned the system of Shi Qing's Record) [12]. After the Han Dynasty, Confucianism gradually occupied a dominant position in the ideological field [13], while after the Qin and Han Dynasties, many hereditary emperors acted arbitrarily and ran amok, which brought increasingly serious harm to the rule of the whole landlord class. The above-mentioned political thoughts have become a great ideological weapon to restrict the monarchy in later generations, reflecting the will and desire of more and more politicians and thinkers.

It should be pointed out that "the people follow the monarch and the monarch follows the sky" (the Jade Cup in the Spring and Autumn Period) was popular in the Han Dynasty, and one of its attempts was to use "heaven" and "disaster" to limit the monarch's abuse of power [14]. This is also an important ideological weapon, which reflects that feudal politicians and thinkers racked their brains to limit the monarchy. However, with the development of social production and the progress of astronomy, this ideological weapon is increasingly relegated to a secondary position [15]. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, under different circumstances, the Confucian political thoughts mentioned above, as well as political gains and losses and experiences and lessons in history, were constantly used to publicize the restriction on monarchical power.

The History of the Three Kingdoms (Volume 24) Biography of Gao Rou: Wei Wendi ascended the throne, monopolizing power, and Sangong (the prime minister) "ruled the country with hope". Gao Rou said, "When heaven and earth are ready at four o'clock, the Fuehrer will help promote governance. Cheng Tang is Aheng (Yi Yin)' s assistant, and his civil and military strength depends on Dan and hope. In the early Han Dynasty, Xiao and Cao Zhi took Yuan Xun as their generation. This shows that Wang Sheng, the director, is above others. Today, ministers assisted by the public are the pillars of the country, and the people have a vision. If they don't understand politics, they will stop and stand on top. It is true that the court does not worship the righteousness of the minister, and the merits of the minister can be replaced. ..... From now on, if there is any doubt in the DPRK and there is something important in the prison, it is advisable to visit the three fairs by consulting. ..... Ordinary sounds from the sky have long-term benefits, Hongyi Dahua ". This is to ask the prime minister to make suggestions and check on major political affairs, so as to prevent the possible disadvantages and harm caused by Emperor Wen's arbitrariness, so as to "generalize and generalize". There is no denying that Wendy has to be strict. The position of Confucianism in the Jin Dynasty was further respected, and this thought was more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Book Group Management Essentials (Volume XXIX) quoted Zang's Official Records of the Book of Jin, saying that the Western Jin Dynasty "used every opportunity to govern, and should employ servants, and should not change their lives several times", praised "Yao Shun's efforts to seek talents, avoid using them, and govern by doing nothing ...", and opposed the emperor's "pro-detail, bowing to his own judgment" and suggested. Gu Pei's absence time is beyond inspection, but his intention to limit the monarchy with the Prime Minister is very obvious.

It is worth noting that even some British nobles saw the danger of the emperor's arbitrariness. Fan Zuyu's "Tang Jian" recorded in Volume III: Emperor Taizong criticized Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty for "deciding everything without ministers. The world is big, and there are many opportunities in a day. Although I work hard, I can't understand them one by one. Ministers know what they think, but it depends on what they accept. Although it violated, it did not dare to fight, so two dead. " "Zhenguan dignitaries" recorded him again and said, "I don't think so. The world is vast, there are many people in the four seas, and there are many things, so we must be flexible. They are entrusted to discuss with the Prime Minister, and things can be settled, let them play, do everything in one day, and think of anyone at will. " Ibid., Volume II also records that Emperor Taizong said to the Prime Minister: "Since ancient times, emperors have been affectionate, and they have been too fond of rewarding reactive power and too angry to kill innocent people, which has caused chaos in the world. I must take this as my heart tonight, and I am eager to wait for the best advice from the public ... ". These words show that the reason why Emperor Taizong welcomed "extreme remonstrance" and did not dare to "act arbitrarily" was not to focus on the sufferings of the people, but to sum up historical lessons. In order to avoid the collapse of their own rule, it is based on the interests of the entire landlord class. But after all, he saw this problem and became a model for implementing the above cowardly political thought. His words and deeds had a great influence on later monarchs, and also promoted the activities of restricting monarchical power.

It is said that with the development and prosperity of feudal economy and the further strengthening of national transportation links, since the Northern Song Dynasty, the central government's control over local governments has become more and more strict. In order to change the frequent change of five dynasties, Song Taizu took many measures to take over the political power by replacing soldiers with wine, so that it is generally believed that the ancient monarchy system in China has been further developed [16]. However, did the Confucian political thought in the Song Dynasty change accordingly? No, they still oppose the emperor's "arbitrary behavior" and advocate the credit of the prime minister. For example, when Emperor Taizong criticized Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty for seizing power in Tang Jian, Fan Zuyu commented: "A nameless monarch cannot know people, so he is suspicious. If he wants to be a hundred officials by himself, he must have wisdom, but he can't do it. " Therefore, his soldiers and crabs, big or small, all belong to the king, and they have political gains and losses. If we don't let them suffer, the sages can't carry out their ambitions, while those who hold Lu can protect their status, so the world can't be cured. He also took Shun, the "holy king", as an example: "When Shun was in power, he leveled the soil and planted hundreds of valleys, regardless of the earth valleys. Qi Fu five religions, Hao Tao Ming five punishments, teaching, punishment, Shun also died. ..... Rites and pleasures are incompatible with each other. ..... Yu (Yamazawa), Gong, Shun also don't know. Yu is a relative, with a total of 100 officials. He is assigned to the post under Ji. " "You can't escape, ... I can't work, ..." It should be pointed out that this "Tang Jian" is still a work that Song Zhezong read for him and draws lessons from history, which is "of great significance in the contemporary era" [17]. What does all this mean? It shows that although in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Song Taizu, who was once very capable, acted arbitrarily and played a great role due to unstable rule, not everyone had this ability to inherit the throne when the rule was stable. At that time, the ideological and public opinion circles still highly praised the political model of monarch resigning and ministers working, because this model was most suitable for the general situation of the vast majority of China masters, not to mention the words and deeds of Emperor Taizong, and even if the British masters acted arbitrarily, it would not bring benefits to feudal rule.

Not only Fan Zuyu in the Northern Song Dynasty, but also Zhu, a scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty, who was famous for his opinion of respecting the monarch, also opposed the emperor's "arbitrariness". In his book Four Stories of Chen's Life after the Banquet (Volume 14 of Zhu Wen's Official Documents), he said: "From top to bottom, you are the main one. As for the hundreds of deacons, each has his own business and does not infringe on each other. Gaijun took his life as his own duty, but he was a minister (prime minister) who needed it. He gave it to him (for nothing) and gave it to him (for books), so that he could discuss it thoroughly, and then he was promoted to Wang Ting, giving orders and doing it in public. Based on the dignity of the court, the court ordered a detailed trial ... this ancient and modern common sense is also the family law of our ancestors. Today, your Majesty (Song Ningzong) failed to ascend the throne for ten days, but he retreated and slaughtered it, moved it to Taiwan to remonstrate it, ... and the minister did not agree with him, but gave it again and again. It is really out of your majesty's arbitrariness, and it is not for the sake of curing the body, so as to open up disadvantages in the future. There is no doubt about the rumors at home and abroad, all of which are called left and right or stealing their handles, and their actions cannot be discussed. " Why should we say bluntly that even if we are "arbitrary" ... and take proper care of it, it is not the body of governance? It is precisely because the monarch's talent is limited after all, if he makes a decision without consulting with ministers and prime ministers, and publishes it without giving, receiving, reviewing and drafting, it can only be once or twice. If customized and used for a long time, problems will occur sooner or later, endangering the whole rule. That's what the so-called "enlightening the future" means. This is actually the reason why Emperor Taizong claimed that he was unwilling to "act arbitrarily". Zhu Xiru did not sum up countless historical lessons according to Confucian political thought, and was fearless for the benefit of the whole rule. It is impossible and dare not make such an assertion to the emperor.

This kind of thought and public opinion continued to be popular after Ming Taizu abolished the book province, the prime minister and monopolized the power. One of the most telling examples is Qiu Jun's remarks in the Ming Dynasty. He said in Volume I of the University Supplement, A General Introduction to Government Affairs in the Imperial Court: "A gentleman ... has limited spirit and is not well informed. It is impossible for people to know everything, and it is impossible for everyone to know everything. Therefore, we must choose a minister, trust him, let him collect talents, clear the cover, and ask for advice when seeking governance. " Volume 6, The Ceremony of Respecting Officials, also said: We must attach importance to virtuous officials. "Sincere people can win the people of Sri Lanka and pay the price for relying on their work. Be upright in principle, behave gracefully, and pay for your work. Why should they be ungrateful to politics and religion? They should not be dissatisfied with violence? " According to Qiu Jun, a great scholar of Wen Yuan Pavilion in the Ming Dynasty, Yi Bu of the University was a work he played in filial piety to give lectures and learn from the prince at a banquet. Xiao Zong once praised this book as "good for politics" (see Zhou Hongyi's quotation in the preface to this book). Later, he personally prefaced, saying that "every cover is more important than its book" [18]. However, unlike Ming Taizu's guiding ideology and measures, Qiu Jun still advocated that the monarch should appoint ministers, or even hang his arch. This proves once again that this idea is more mature in theory after two thousand years of repeated positive and negative experience, and it is well-founded in Confucian classics. Ming Taizu's arbitrary practices with the characteristics of the times and individuals and the resulting political system could not subdue this idea; On the contrary, even ordinary monarchs such as Xiaozong and Zongshen have to admit that this idea is reasonable because it conforms to the interests of the whole feudal rule. In this case, the system established by Ming Taizu was gradually released into the cabinet system, which can also reflect the experience of ministerial rule and actually limit the absolute monarchy. It was used until the demise of the Qing Dynasty. This problem will be discussed later.

History of the Ming Dynasty Volume 2 15 Biography: Mu Zongshi said, "Your Majesty should bow to every opportunity, and should use the opinions of his ministers, instead of sticking to his own opinions, so that whether it can be taken away or not, it will be arbitrary and will not harm personal use." This passage accurately reflects the ideal state of feudal politicians and thinkers since the Ming Dynasty and the Warring States Period: on the basis of widely absorbing the opinions of ministers, making the monarch exercise supreme power and become "arbitrary", which is completely in line with the interests of the whole feudal rule. In fact, it has become "arbitrary" that restricts his arbitrariness ("not holding his own opinions" and "not losing his own use"). Officials in the Ming dynasty often used the word "arbitrary", but as mentioned above, it has been transformed into "arbitrary", and its practical significance is no different from Zhu's opposition to "arbitrary".

Since this is the political thought that has gradually dominated for more than two thousand years, since most members of the ruling group hope so, and the emperor must rely on their support and support to maintain his rule in the final analysis, how can the absolute power of the monarch be continuously strengthened from the general trend?

(3)

It is pointed out that the general trend of the development of feudal monarchy's autocratic power is to weaken continuously. The second reason is that this kind of power can only be realized through a specific political system. Generally speaking, the evolution of the special prime minister system in a specific political system over the past 2000 years is characterized by constantly limiting (actually weakening) the autocratic power of the monarch [19]. This is the inevitable result that the majority of officials and even the general monarch have accepted this idea under the influence of the above Confucian political thought. Because these political systems were formulated or recognized by them intentionally or unintentionally. Although a few monarchs and their policy supporters formulated and implemented some systems that were beneficial to absolute monarchy, they were twisted back to the original track of limiting and weakening this power in the subsequent evolution.

Please see the following historical materials for this feature of the evolution of the specific political system.

1. Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

In the Qin Dynasty and the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor exercised his power and turned his will into an imperial edict. The procedure is relatively simple: or he agrees with the prime minister and gives it to the suggestion for drafting and issuing; Or directly order the proposal to be drafted and issued, and it will take effect. There are almost no institutional restrictions. Although in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, many political affairs were invited by the prime minister, and the emperor "refused to listen", which seemed to be relative in the imperial system. In fact, it was because of the policy of doing nothing at that time, especially the emperor lacked education and ruling experience, while the prime minister had rich ruling experience [20]. It can be said that the early years of the Western Han Dynasty was a special relationship between monarch and minister under special conditions, and it did not change the autocratic monarchy system in which the monarch held the highest power and the prime minister could not take effect without approval. Only in this way can we explain why Qin Shihuang before this and Liang Wudi after this were monopolizing power and acting in their own way. The reason is clear. Their ruling conditions were different from those in the early Western Han Dynasty. Due to the supreme power enjoyed by the autocratic monarchy, they were rarely restricted by the specific political system. With great talent, they exercised the power they could exercise under various conditions at that time to the maximum extent.

Based on the above reasons, for a long time, almost all imperial edicts issued by the emperor began with the word "imperial edict", which reflected that after the above simple procedures, they became official imperial edicts and were handed over to the prime minister's agency for implementation without further examination by any department. From the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the imperial edict was gradually changed to the word "under the door" [2 1], which means that before the formal imperial edict was formed and implemented, it should be reported to the provincial audit office, and the provincial government had the right to raise objections to the content and ask the emperor to reconsider whether to modify or cancel the imperial edict [22], which was the customary right to refute it later. At this time, the document format is fixed. During the Northern Dynasties, during the Wei and Qi Dynasties, there was a repeat system of Menxia Province, which stipulated that in major political affairs, although Menxia Province agreed to the contents of the imperial edict, it could not be signed directly, and it needed to be sent back to the emperor for re-examination, so as to prevent hasty engagement [23]. This system is first to ensure the quality of rule, but it is actually a restriction on the absolute power of the monarch [24].

Not only that, restrictions gradually appeared in the process of drafting imperial edicts. In the Qin Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty, it was not stipulated that an imperial edict must be drafted and published by any organization in order to be a formal imperial edict. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, Shangshutai gradually became such an institution [25]. In Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, this institution was replaced by Zhongshu Province. Although the emperor's "hand edict" and the "Han edict" drafted by non-Chinese book provinces often take effect, it is because the emperor holds supreme power, and relevant officials dare not refuse to carry it out. However, due to the fact that the content of this kind of handwritten edict is often decided by the emperor himself, there is little supervision in the process of drafting and publishing, and it is easy to make mistakes, which endangers the interests of the whole rule. Therefore, it cannot be regarded as a formal imperial edict, and its institutional effect cannot be drafted together with Zhongshu Province. In fact, this is also a restriction on the emperor's arbitrariness.

2. Tang and Song Dynasties

It is on the basis of the above evolution that the imperial edict system without going through the book gate was formed in the Tang Dynasty. Book of the Old Tang Dynasty (Volume 87) Biography of Liu Yi: Assistant Minister Ren Feng Ge was falsely accused together with Feng Ge and Luan Tai (under the door), and King Wu Zetian "specially appointed" to interrogate this matter. "This set of propaganda is easy. Zhiyi said,' What's the name without going through Fengge and Luantai?' Then he was furious and thought that he refused to defend the system, but he died at home. "The so-called" without going through the Phoenix Pavilion and Luantai "means not consulting with the Prime Minister, not drafting a Chinese book, and not going to the door for trial. Wu Zetian only used the vague charge of "refusing to observe the system" (see Volume 1 of Ten Evil Cases of Tang Law), but did not refute the statement that "it is impossible to name", which also proved that what Liu Yizhi said was indeed the system of the Tang Dynasty. " "History as a Mirror" Volume 290: Tang Ruizong often "does not dismiss officials" without going through Zhongshu and Menxia provinces, which is called oblique officials, with thousands of people. Li, the official minister, refused to carry out this appointment. "Around 1400 people were arrested, but they complained and slandered, and Yin Chao did nothing. Later, he once said: "Fu recounts ancient and national allusions in detail, and all those who have imperial edicts are due to Chinese books;" If it is implemented in ink (that is, by hand), the company does not have to bear it, so it is not easy for the country to show the unselfishness of the king "(quoted from Li Zhao's Hanlin Zhi). Judging from the fact that Li Wei was shot after his engagement, his words are well-founded. Moreover, to regard the imperial edict as "selfless" from the book and the door is equivalent to treating the imperial edict as "private", which is also reflected in the moral concept, which restricts the emperor's arbitrariness.

In the Song Dynasty, there were more materials to restrict the emperor's arbitrary imperial edicts. Forty-seven volumes of "Continuing the History as a Mirror" record that Du Yan was the prime minister when Renzong was in the Northern Song Dynasty. Every time I give a favor, I can't sleep. I accumulate one (handwritten letter) to ten letters in front of the emperor. Ouyang Xiu, the remonstrator, was right. The emperor said,' Outsiders know that Du Yan's seal is also evil from the inside. Every time they want something from me, they stop at something unspeakable, which is more than what they seal'. The so-called internal surrender, also known as internal approval, is a letter. The prime minister who insists on the system can refuse to carry out the imperial script (that is, "Nene") because he has not gone through the Chinese book and the door in advance and the normal way of selecting civil servants, and the wise emperor admits that his practice is correct. In the Southern Song Dynasty, although Ningzong repeatedly reduced infighting and forced officials to carry out it, the admonishers kept coming and going. Zhu objected to Ning Zong's "arbitrariness" and suggested that the emperor must seek the opinions of ministers when issuing imperial edicts, which was a "ancestral family law" and proved that this was indeed a common system in the Song Dynasty. Later, You Hongzhong went to the library and said, "Your Majesty ... is not calculated by Zhongshu (here refers to the prime minister's organization). The day before yesterday, the Prime Minister stayed in the right place without courtesy, admonished my minister Huang Du and was unjust, and told my minister Zhu to go without saying anything. Since ancient times, there have been no prime ministers, admonishers and lecturers, but they can be smart. " Wang Jie went on to say, "Your Majesty has been on the throne for less than three months. He avoided the Prime Minister and moved to Taiwan to remonstrate. He learned that it is not a matter of ruling the world by default. From Chongning to Daguan (the second year of Huizong in the Northern Song Dynasty), the east and the west clashed, which led to the disaster of hunting in the north. Du Yan is a relative and often answers dozens of letters. Today, the prime minister dare not seal it, and the Taiwan remonstrance dare not play it. How can this last? " (For both, please refer to Volume 153, A Mirror for Continuing Capital Management). When he arrived in Song Duzong, Liu Fu came up again to discuss "On the Grace of Internal Surrender", saying: The important thing to govern the world is not before the order, and the important thing to direct is not before the internal approval. Command cardinal. It must be tested by the Chinese book, refuted by the door, and then executed by Shangshu Province. If the three provinces do not implement it, it is called oblique sealing and ink containment, which is invalid. ..... So politics are all in charge of Chinese books, regardless of Chinese books, which is a mess. What's going on in the world * * * and the world, the non-human master can get private "("Song History ").

From these scattered articles, on the one hand, we can see that there are many approvals in the Song Dynasty, but on the other hand, we can also see that the system of issuing imperial edicts in the Song Dynasty needs to be more complete [27], so the reasons for opposing internal approval and autocratic monarchy are more sufficient. Or criticize the abuse of internal examination and approval from the system and reason is a violation of "etiquette", "righteousness" and "Tao"; Or criticize the abuse of internal approval from the historical experience and lessons that will lead to "disaster" and "chaos"; Or morally criticize the abuse of internal approval out of "selfishness". The emperor insisted on sending the internal reference, but there was no reason to say it. Interestingly, some emperors, while issuing internal approvals, ordered the prime ministers not to follow one by one, but to handle them as appropriate. For example, in the first year of Kangding, Song Renzong, "an order was issued to take off and land on the same day (meaning the same as the internal reference), and officials were transferred and sent, and the book was hit and the Privy Council heard the order". In the second year of Huang You's reign, he also issued an edict: internal orders should be carried out by all divisions, and nothing should be done. Those who dare to do it because of karma, officials, censors and judges. "Why are you so contradictory? It turns out that "the emperor's nature is generous, loyal to his ancestors, and those who are fortunate to seek internal surrender may not be unreasonable." (See Volume 42 and Volume 5 1 of Continuing Education as a Mirror respectively). This shows that under the influence and restriction of political thought and political system at that time, some emperors' thoughts were contradictory. On the one hand, it is well known that it is not in line with one's ruling interests to violate the specific political system, be arbitrary by one's own individuals and abuse internal criticism; On the other hand, emotionally, I often can't help myself. With the help of external forces (such as some recent lucky one and eggplant), it is difficult to change for a while, resulting in the situation that Song Renzong criticized from the side and asked the Prime Minister to check and not directly implement it. This is exactly what I said earlier. The vast majority of monarchs will abide by a specific political system, and the absolute power of monarchs cannot be unrestricted under the general trend.

Step 3 be clear and clear

Since the Ming Dynasty, the province of Zhongshu and the prime minister have been abolished, and the emperor is directly in charge of 600 government affairs, which is actually equivalent to concurrently serving as the prime minister, expanding the arbitrariness of the monarch to the peak. However, this is only a measure taken by Ming Taizu with his personal characteristics (such as strong desire for power, suspicion, rich ruling experience and energy, etc.). ) The early years of the Ming Dynasty. As a system, emperors whose descendants don't have these characteristics are unable and unwilling to carry it out as usual. However, it is inconvenient to openly violate the "ancestral training". In this case, after transformation, the cabinet system gradually formed, which played a role in restricting the absolute monarchy in a new form [28].

As we know, the university students in the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, unlike the former prime ministers, never had the power to supervise the implementation of imperial edicts by six or 100 ministries. Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, during the Chongzhen period, some cabinet ministers were still saying, "Zhao Chao didn't have a similar name, so we stopped donating tickets. Imperial edict of the last court, six parts of the next court "(Ming History, Volume 257, Biography of Yun Feng). The official work of the Qing Dynasty, A List of Officials in Past Dynasties, also said: "The officials in the Cabinet Department are like an academician who knew the imperial edict in the early Ming Dynasty, not a prime minister in ancient times" (Volume II, Notes to the Cabinet). These words are not bad. This is the profound mark left by Ming Taizu, an outstanding individual in history, on the political system of later generations after he abolished the prime minister. However, due to the irresistible historical trend of restricting the autocratic monarchy, later monarchs and princes consciously or unconsciously gradually shaped the cabinet into an institution that actually replaced the prime minister. Its powers and characteristics are as follows:

First, the cabinet has the right to "draft votes". This makes it more able to limit the power of the emperor than the previous prime minister. The so-called drafting is to draft various documents on behalf of the emperor, and a large number of them are about the examination and approval of various government documents of six departments and hundreds of departments. You can consult with the emperor first and make a decision before drafting it into words [29]. More often, the cabinet first prepared a written reply and sent it to the emperor for approval together with the original invitation letter. Because the draft was more meticulous and thoughtful than the previous system of assisting the monarch to handle government affairs [30], especially in the past (such as Tang and Song Dynasties), the institutions that drafted descending imperial edicts and reviewed ascending imperial edicts were scattered, and in the Ming Dynasty [3 1], all of them were concentrated in the cabinet, which made most lords in China have a simple dependence on the draft cabinet, so they could not care much about political affairs. The result is: on the surface, the prime minister was abolished, and the emperor directly commanded the government affairs of six ministries; In fact, most of it depends on the "draft", and the will and power of the emperor are greatly restricted by cabinet ministers. If the Confucian "monarch, servants and servants" want to find an ideal model, then the cabinet draft of the Ming Dynasty is this model [32].

The History of Ming Dynasty 18 1 Liu Jianchuan: When Xiao Zong and Li Dongyang were in the cabinet, "the three men worked together to assist the government, exhausted their feelings and knew everything. (Xiaozong) At the beginning, everyone was invited to see the letter, and Mr. Hu was not named. " Since he acceded to the throne, Liu Jian and others have put forward several methods to suppress near happiness. "If you don't follow the plan, you will be redrafted. Jane and others tried their best to remonstrate, saying, "If you don't report it, you'll have to wait a few days." . The emperor's sense of superiority and comfort