Looking at the historical development of ancient China, we can see the changes in the strength and weakness of the monarchy and the power of the central and local governments, which have experienced the continuous strengthening of the monarchy, the continuous weakening of the power of the monarchy until its demise, and the continuous strengthening of the central power and the continuous weakening of the local power.
Let's explore now how ancient China constantly weakened local power and strengthened central power, and what kind of historical connotation is behind this?
During the Western Zhou and Warring States periods, the system of sub-fiefs was mainly implemented, when the King of Zhou was the highest-ranking ruler in the country, and members of the royal family or meritorious servants became princes by receiving fiefs and jointly allegiance to Zhou Tianzi.
The land near the royal capital was given to the royal family, while the other lands were divided among the princes, and in this way, the control over the princes and the localities was strengthened. After Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms, the county system was implemented, and thirty-six counties were set up throughout the country.
The highest chief of each county is directly appointed by the central government, and the political and economic affairs in the prefecture and county are uniformly responsible for the county chief, and the central government is uniformly reported to the central government, and the county, township, and village organizations are also set up under the county, so as to facilitate the unified and centralized management of the central government.
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, it mainly inherited the management system of the Qin State for the localities, but on the basis of the Qin State, the Han Dynasty added a system of parallel counties and states, and the parallel counties and states could inhibit the growing power of the princes to a certain extent.
To a certain extent, it is conducive to social stability, alleviating fierce social contradictions, and promoting the sustained development of the country's productive forces. The county was also the highest administrative institution in the Han Dynasty, but both in scale and management.
They were much more standardized than the Qin Dynasty, and the princely kingdoms also had their own internal administrative, judicial, and military powers, and the states of the Han Dynasty also became administrative districts, with layers of systems to facilitate the strengthening of central control over local governments.
By the time of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, prefectures, counties, and counties had become the most basic local administrative system, and by the Sui Dynasty, the state and county system continued to develop, and even because of the overly meticulous division, it led to an increase in redundant officials and redundant expenses.
Later, a special agency was set up to govern officials, and officials were evaluated every year, in order to prevent local officials from encroaching on power and forming a divided force.
The Sui Dynasty also stipulated the time of appointment of officials, and the establishment of grass-roots organizations also enabled the central government to grasp more about the household registration and taxation of the local population, and strengthened the central control over the localities.
In the Tang Dynasty, the prefectures still played this huge role, and the prefectures and counties, as the basic administrative units, played an important role in maintaining the stable development of the country, and in the Tang Dynasty, administrative units at the same level as the prefectures also appeared, that is, the prefectures.
The role played by the prefectures is basically the same, but there are specific classifications, such as the governor's mansion, the capital protectorate, etc., the counties of the Tang Dynasty developed more comprehensively, there were six levels, the township also had five levels, and the township had a special neighborhood chief, a baochang, etc., basically the same as the three old status of the Han Dynasty, supervising the daily life of the township, in charge of education, and the detailed setting strengthened the central government's management of the locality.
However, the Tang Dynasty's emissaries were in charge of the task of going out on patrols, but due to excessive power, a situation of feudal towns was formed in the later period, which had an important impact on the decline of the Tang Dynasty.
In the Song Dynasty, due to the influence of the Tang Dynasty, the local administration of the ruling class of the Song Dynasty further seized power, and important officials were directly responsible for the central government, and general judgments specifically responsible for supervision and management were set up in Zhizhou and Zhixian.
Strengthen central control over them. In the Song Dynasty, the local administrative organs gradually increased, and in addition to the prefectures and prefectures, roads, military, and supervisors were added, and the central government's control over the localities was strengthened through layers of control.
The provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty had a great influence on today's China, and the regional division was very conducive to the rule of the state, and it has been passed down to this day.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, in addition to strengthening local control, the management of ethnic minority areas was also strengthened, and special administrative agencies were set up.
From this we can see that the power of the central government is constantly strengthening, the power of the local government is constantly weakening, and in such checks and balances, China's history continues to move forward