Many students often hear "three-church triage" when watching ancient film and television dramas, especially when they hear about the trial of major cases.
In fact, the system of three-church triage has a long history, so what does this three-church triage mean?
Today, let's take a look at it together with Yi Geng, what kind of development and evolution has this judicial and political institution in the feudal era undergone?
The three-court trial is actually equivalent to today's three organs, such as public security, procuratorate, and court. Of course, the present and the ancient times are certainly incomparable, but in order to make everyone understand a little better, let's say so.
In ancient feudal society, the three-church triage mainly tried some major cases or related cases involving the royal family.
At different times, because of the different positions of political control, dozens of name changes and adjustments have been carried out.
Originally, the three halls were not called three halls, but three gongs. It is the three important official positions established during the Qin Shi Huang period to manage the country on behalf of the emperor, namely: Minister, Taiwei, and Yushi Dafu, who respectively managed important aspects such as government affairs, military affairs, and supervision.
In the early days of the Western Han Dynasty, this system was followed, and real power was established and increased, which can be described as a position below one person and above ten thousand people.
However, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to further strengthen the power of the monarch, the "History of Thorns" was established.
During the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, he promoted Huo Guang as a military representative and adopted the suggestion to rename Yushi Dafu to Dasikong. The status of both was due to the emperor's intention to promote the same rank as the chancellor.
During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, he renamed Yushi Dafu as Grand Sikong. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he became the Imperial Historian again, and later changed back to the Great Sikong again, and then changed the name of Grand Si Tu to the Great Si Tu.
Later, after the successive reforms of the Han Dynasty, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the three dukes of The Great Sima (大司馬), the Great Situ (大司图), and the Great Sikong (大司空) were eventually formed, also known as the "Three Divisions".
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of Han changed the word "Da" to "Sikong", removed The Great Sima and set up Taiwei (太尉), and Situ and Sikong as the Three Dukes.
In order to increase the centralization of power and weaken local forces, Emperor Guangwu of Han was no longer in a hurry to return real power to the people.
All administrative power was vested in Shang Shutai, which was directly commanded by the emperor in the Middle Dynasty. "Although the three dukes are placed, the matter is returned to the Taiwan Pavilion."
Although the nominal continuation of the three metric systems continued, but the real power has been greatly weakened, and a situation of foreign relatives holding power has been established, which is also the beginning of the gradual demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
For example, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Shang Shutai degenerated into a tool of the dictatorship of the powerful ministers.
Therefore, at this time, the three divisions were subject to Shang Shutai and the powerful ministers, and could not exert their ambitions politically.
In addition, the eunuchs used the ancient times to conform to the yin and yang four times, and the country had a major disaster, and the chancellor should bear great responsibility, so the three divisions were often criticized and belittled by the emperor.
During the Tang Dynasty, the three divisions were also defined as the same three-legged state as the previous dynasty, and were divided into three provinces: Yushi Dafu, Zhongshu, and Menxia.
The New Book of Tang and the Hundred Officials Chronicle III: "Whoever is wronged and has not been informed, the three divisions will be questioned." The Three Divisions are the Imperial Physician, Zhongshu, and Menxiaya. ”
However, with the development and growth of the local economy, during the reign of Wu Zetian, a large number of administrative positions appeared in state rule. This has led to a legal institution similar to the management of modern legal departments.
That is, the Dali Temple is the dominant legal institution, the review of the Criminal Department, and the supervision-oriented legal institution of the Imperial History Platform, called the "Three Laws Division".
New Book of Tang and Criminal Law Chronicle: "Since Yonghui, the Wu clan has gained the zhi, and the punishment is indiscriminate. At that time, the great prison was called the 'Three Divisions' by the Shangshu Punishment Department, the Imperial History Platform, and the Dali Temple. ”
Among them, Dali Temple evolved from the Yanwei of the Han Dynasty, as the most senior central adjudication agency, in charge of major crime cases gathered from various places, and is responsible for the death penalty unsolved by the Punishment Department, retrial and then review by the Punishment Department.
The Punishment Department was transformed from the Three Gong Cao and the Two Thousand Stone Cao of the Han Dynasty, and the top administrator was the Punishment Department Shangshu, who managed the criminal law cases in the world and the management and formulation of laws.
The Yushitai was a supervision organ established by the Tang Dynasty to supervise the central departments such as the Ministry of Punishment and dali Temple, which summed up experience.
The triage of the three divisions corresponds to the major cases jointly handled by these three institutions.
With the establishment of the three central judicial organs of Dali Temple, Shangshu Punishment Department, and Yushitai, a legal mechanism system combining justice and administration has been established.
The three divisions, that is, mutual assistance and mutual supervision. This is not only an effective method conceived by Wu Zetian to strengthen the rule of feudal emperors, but also a very representative legal system norm during the Tang Dynasty.
The emergence of the Three Laws Division has subverted the management model of a single judicial institution in the pre-Qin and Han dynasties.
The Tang Dynasty, as a prosperous world, established a good judicial institution, and the system of provisions combining the judiciary and administration with the gradual improvement of the later period lasted until the later Ming and Qing dynasties.
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the establishment of the Three Divisions had changed from political direction to financial aspects.
"Zizhi Tongjian Tang Zhaoxuan Emperor Tianyou Three Years": "(March) Peng Yin, with Zhu Quanzhong as the envoy of the three divisions of Salt and Iron, Du Zhi, and Hubu. The name of the Three Divisions began here. ”
The third division was renamed as a financial institution of salt and iron, household department, and degree branch. He is in charge of land taxation and Tribute to Qiangu throughout the country, and has 15 subordinate divisions to inspect and supervise the work of the three divisions.
This marked the formation of a financial department headed by salt and iron, and improved the policy of the state financial system at that time.
Under the history of salt and iron, there are also more detailed official positions, under which there are subordinate organs such as salt supervisors and salt works, which constitute a strong chain of financial supervision in the outer circle.
In the later Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it was established as a department in charge of finance until the Song Dynasty.
By the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the current rulers directly set up the three divisions as financial administrative agencies, and the relevant responsible personnel of each department were all important ministers.
At the same time, the three divisions in charge of the three divisions were also set up, who were responsible for financial revenue and expenditure, leasing, salt and iron monopoly and other related matters, and were the highest financial officers of the central government, known as "counting ministers".
"Continuation of Tongzhi Officials IV": "The three divisions began at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the five generations were particularly important in their duties, and until the Song Dynasty, they were in charge of wealth, and they were all led by heavy subjects." ”
For such an approach, it is more to weaken the financial power of the prime minister and consolidate the unity of imperial power.
At that time, the third division was in charge of the financial power and the emperor, and the emperor was sitting on his own success, controlling the national treasury, and became the "rich man" behind it. But in fact, the establishment of this system has essentially infringed on the management of the six ministries.
Later, in order to strengthen the management and control of the interior, the rulers formulated the "two governments and three divisions" system, and the administrative, financial, and military restrictions were mutually restrictive.
The formulation of the second government is to divide the powers of the prime minister once again, and the prime minister has no right to question the military, and then because of the establishment of the three divisions, he has no real power.
In this way, the purpose of weakening the centralized imperial power of the phase power was achieved, and the two were eliminated and the management of the lower levels by the central government was strengthened.
Later, the tide of history presented the same situation as the Song Dynasty, and the division of power was an inevitable result.
From the "Examination of the Triage System of the Three Divisions in the Early Ming Dynasty", we can see that in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang directly abolished the Minister of Finance, and directly assigned the duties of the Minister to the Six Ministries, and the Six Ministries were directly subordinate to the Emperor.
In order to strengthen the power of the autocratic monarch, a three-division triage system was created, which was jointly tried by the Three Divisions of the Punishment Department, the Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, and the final adjudication power was handed over to the emperor.
At the local level, there are also administrative departments, inspection departments, and capital divisions to control local civil affairs, finance, justice, and military affairs.
"Ming Shi Zhi Guan Zhi I": "The peripheral capital, cloth, and three divisions are divided into soldiers and criminal Qiangu, and their assessment is subject to the government." ”
In the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's three-division triage system was followed, and a hot trial, autumn trial, and court trial system were added.
In various localities, there are also the Department of Political Envoys (or the Department of Civil Affairs Envoys), the Department of Envoys according to The Inspectorate (or the Division of The Teachings), and the Division of The Envoys of The Institute of Learning, collectively known as the "Three Divisions".
On the whole, the three divisions initially established in the Tang Dynasty laid the foundation for the integration of judicial administration in the future, marked the emergence of judicial consciousness in ancient China, and opened up the way for the establishment of the trial system in the future.
The Three Divisions, represented mainly by Dali Temple, became synonymous with later judicial activities, including the later Ming and Qing Dynasties, which directly made the Three Divisions the highest administrative and judicial departments in the country.
The three-court triage that often appears in TV dramas is more often tried by the three central judicial organs of Dali Temple, the Punishment Department, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, referred to as "three divisions triage".
The Criminal Investigation Department is the central judicial and judicial organ, the Dali Temple is the review organ, and the Metropolitan Inspection Bureau is the central supervision organ.
That is to say, after the trial of the Punishment Department is completed, it is handed over to the Dali Temple for review, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate has the right to supervise the trial of the Punishment Department and the review of the Dali Temple.
These three organs complement each other, both checking and supervising each other, embodying the serious judicial and political system of ancient feudal society.
Since it is the Three Divisions of Law, which is called the Three Divisions triage, why is it also called the "Three Tribunes"?
Because during the trial of the three divisions, three desks are set up in the lobby, and the officials of the three divisions are seated, and in the process of trial, they all have the right to speak.
Therefore, the folk custom is to call it "three-church triage". However, in a strict sense, it should be called "three divisions triage".
Although the three-church triage began in the Tang Dynasty, it was in the Ming and Qing dynasties that the three-church triage was pushed to the extreme.
In the Ming Dynasty, the establishment of the three-court trial reduced the misjudgment of cases to a certain extent. However, in the end, it is still up to those in power to make the ruling, which is still a product of the autocratic system of feudal society, which is fundamentally different from today's rule of law and equality.
With the progress of society, the judicial and political system of the feudal era has also been continuously improved and developed.
References: "New Book of Tang , Hundred Officials Zhi III " New Book of Tang , Criminal Law Chronicle " Zizhi Tongjian , Tang Zhaoxuan Emperor Tianyou Three Years " Continuation Tongzhi • Gongguan IV " Ming Shi Zhi Zhi I " Examination of the Trial System of the Three Divisions in the Early Ming Dynasty "
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