Dynasties and dynasties have had prime ministers, but they have different titles. The prime minister's main duty was to assist the emperor, and he was the emperor's chief consul, who had some decision-making power from the center and most of the executive power of the central policy. If the emperor is not there, the chancellor can handle all the major affairs of the imperial court independently.
So, what kind of existence is this position above ten thousand people under one person?
Generally speaking, the prime minister is the collective name of the highest administrator under the ancient monarch, not a substantive official name. The "prime minister system" began in the Spring and Autumn Period and ended in the Ming Dynasty, and after the Ming Dynasty abolished the "prime minister system", the "cabinet system" was formed. The Qing Dynasty System, the Cabinet Of Ministers, and the Military Aircraft Department were all evolutions of the prime minister system.
The true prime minister refers to the real prime minister, who has actual power and is characterized by "knowing the affairs of the government". The three governors of the Tang Dynasty, Zhongshu Ling, Shangshu Ling, and Shi Zhong, held real power, so they were also called "True Prime Ministers". According to the Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Dai Ji, Tang Taizong once said: "Shangshu Province, the World's Gangwei, and the Hundred Divisions, if anything is lost, the world will suffer from its abuses." It can be seen from this that Shangshu Province has a very important position in the central administrative body, that is to say, Shangshu Province is the actual ruler of the three provinces.
At the same time, the nominal prime minister is the prime minister who only has a position and no real power, which mainly refers to: three divisions and three dukes. The three divisions, namely: Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao; the three gongs, namely: Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong; in the Book of Rites, the functions of Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao are more accurately explained: "The teacher, the lesson of guidance" is to impart knowledge; "Fu, Fu Qi's virtue and righteousness" is moral indoctrination; "The protector, to protect his body" is to assume certain guardianship responsibilities.
As the saying goes, if you want to give someone a bucket of water, you must first have a bucket of water. If you want to become the "Third Division", you must undertake the heavy responsibility of educating the Son of Heaven. The "Three Divisions" must not only have noble moral character, but also have profound cultural attainments. Therefore, the ancient "three masters" were all first-class and first-class Confucians. Although the Third Division had no actual power or any administrative work, successive Confucian students had taken the "Three Divisions" as their highest goal in life.
In Chinese history, the "Three Dukes" were a very noble combination of official positions, and the ancient classicists thought according to the Zhou Li that Taishi, Taifu, and Taibao were the three dukes. In the early days, the three of them divided almost all the power of the central government, with Taiwei appearing in the Qin Dynasty, while Situ and Sikong appeared in the pre-Qin era. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the "Three Dukes" became an honorary title without real power, equivalent to the "senior advisers" in the imperial court.
So, what about the system of prime ministers in successive dynasties?
The prime minister originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Guan Zhong was the first outstanding prime minister in Chinese history. By the Warring States period, all the princely states had established the post of prime minister. According to records, as early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, some people called Itahad, "Zai" means to dominate, and during the Shang Dynasty, it was the officials who assisted the emperor in managing the government. In the Zhou Dynasty, Dazai began to take charge of state affairs, and was also in charge of the household affairs of the nobles, and the Yizai who was in charge of Yiyi, in fact, was already a common name for officials.
Xiang, the original meaning is the person who reciprocates, and the meaning of the word has the meaning of auxiliary, so the name of the prime minister is born. After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, the chancellor was initially established as a bureaucracy. After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, from the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the imperial court implemented the "three dukes and nine secretaries" system, establishing: counties, counties, and officials. At this time, the state was no longer ruled by patriarchal relations, but appointed bureaucrats to govern the country, and the prime minister officially had his own official name "Xiang Xiang".
The Han Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty were very similar in system, except that the chancellor was called "Xiangguo" and had a higher status, with the imperial history as a deputy. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a group of Confucians were appointed as prime ministers in charge of the day-to-day administrative affairs of the state, and the administrative center was handed over to the inner court. The power of the prime minister gradually passed into the hands of the chief of the Shang Shutai. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, in order to strengthen the power of the monarch, the power was vested in the monarch, and the Three Dukes were only prepared. Later, the power was transferred to foreign relatives and eunuchs.
During the reign of Emperor Xian of Han, he reappointed Xiang Xiang, and Cao Cao was the Minister at that time.
During the Three Kingdoms period, this era of division and division, the prime minister of each regime was different: the State of Wei was called "XiangGuo", the Shu Han still used "Xiang", and the State of Wu used "丞相" at the beginning, and later, it became "Left and Right Xiang". Moreover, the power of the chancellor was also very different: the Xiangguo Zhong and Hua Xin of the State of Wei had no military power during their reign, and the military power was also held by Sima Da. When Sima Zhao became the XiangGuo, he was given the title of Duke of Jin and began to grasp military power; only Zhuge Liang of the Shu Han Dynasty served as the chancellor and held the military and political power; the chancellor of the State of Wu did not control the military power at first, and began to take charge of the military and political power when Lu Xun was the chancellor.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, most of the prime ministers or xiangguo were self-appointed and became a means of usurping power. During the Sui Dynasty, the "three provinces system" was established, and the chief officers of the "three provinces" were all prime ministers. The Tang Dynasty inherited the sui dynasty system and set up Shangshu servants as prime ministers. After Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the hundred officials who participated in the administration of the dynasty were added: those who participated in the political affairs, participated in the political affairs, were also added to the ranks of the governors, and the officials of the tongping zhang. After the founding of the Song Dynasty by Zhao Kuangyin, in order to strengthen the "imperial power", it constantly weakened the "phase power" and implemented the "two governments and three divisions system".
At this time, the powers of the prime minister were divided into three, and although the central government had established three provinces, the chiefs of the three provinces and the six ministries could not manage the affairs of the division without permission, so they became idle posts. The actual power is vested in the "Zhongshu, Menxia", also known as: government affairs hall, capital hall, etc. To manage the administrative affairs of the state, with Tongping Zhangshi as the chief, most of them are served by the two provinces of Zhongshu and Menxia, and there is no fixed number.
By the Yuan Dynasty, Zhongshu Province was a central government, and the main officials were usually the crown prince and the left and right prime ministers, and then the deputy prime ministers and advisers. In fact, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also set up Zhongshu Province. However, in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, he abandoned Zhongshu Province, abandoned the chancellor, the emperor decided on the major affairs of the country, and the chancellor system was abolished. Later, the Emperor established a cabinet of scholars to assist the Emperor in his rule. Just like Zhang Juzheng, the most powerful university scholar in the Ming Dynasty, known as Jiangling Xianggong, he was the prime minister who was in power at that time.
The Qing Dynasty inherited the traditions of the Ming Dynasty, Yongzheng set up the Military Aircraft Department, and the cabinet became empty. However, the Military Aircraft Department was not really the Prime Minister, but a communication room responsible for conveying the emperor's orders. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, university scholars were called "worshippers", but there was no official title of prime minister. It can be said that in ancient China, the changes in the prime minister system were the most, which was also the inevitable development of feudal society. Imperial power is constantly being concentrated, and naturally, phase power is also constantly weakening, thus reaching a situation in which imperial power is supreme.
Resources:
["Zhou Li", "Han Feizi Xianxue", "Shi Ji Chen Cheng Shi Jia", "Yan Family Training , Provincial Affairs"]