The Punishment Department is an important official position under the system of three provinces and six ministries, and its status can even be equal to that of the military department. So, as one of the six official positions, what does the Punishment Department mainly do? What kind of official position is it equivalent to in modern times?
Although the Shangshu of the Punishment Department was not a minister at the level of the Prime Minister, it was also an important official position in the imperial court, and the so-called Shangshu of the Punishment Department was the official who managed the criminal law. Generally speaking, the trial of criminal law cases is presided over by the Dali Temple or the Punishment Department, but the Dali Temple is far inferior to the Punishment Department in terms of grade. Dali SiCheng was only responsible for the trial of cases, and it did not have the right to direct the mobilization of the guards of the Punishment Department. The Criminal Investigation Department has a leading role in the trial of cases, while dali temple is only an enforcement agency.
Dali Temple is the judicial organ, it is not under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment, but the direct jurisdiction of the central government. Although the Criminal Investigation Department has the responsibility to try cases, the specific trial process still needs to be completed by Dali Temple.
As one of the six officials, Shangshu of the Punishment Department had the right to play the emperor in person, but Dali Sicheng did not. When Emperor Wen of Sui had just implemented the three-province and six-part system, Shangshu of the Punishment Department played its important role. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the power of Shangshu of the Punishment Department was very large, and it was almost equivalent to the status of deputy prime minister, which can be said to be an auxiliary official of Shangshu servants. Such officials had the opportunity to enter Shangshutai, and many prime ministers of the three provinces in the late Tang Dynasty also held the position of Shangshu of the Punishment Department.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, shangshu had the right to directly hold criminal law cases accountable, because it was in charge of the criminal department, so all cases in the imperial court were handled by it. On some major issues, the Punishment Department also has the right to participate in the responsibility of the Minister, and even the Prime Minister must give three points to the Punishment Department Shangshu.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Shangshu had great power, but over time, this right was slowly weakened. Especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it became an empty shelf in name only. After the Establishment of the Jinyi Guard by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the functions and powers of the Punishment Department were greatly reduced, at that time, the Jinyi Wei could be said to replace all the officials of the Punishment Department, the Jinyi Wei was all over the country, if who was to be convicted, it was decided by the Jinyi Wei organization, and although the Shangshu of the Punishment Department also belonged to the six officials in name, it had actually become a slave of the Jinyi Wei Commandery, especially in the late Ming Dynasty, the eunuch dictatorship, and the Punishment Department Shangshu became a fictitious position.
Although the Qing Dynasty also retained the official rank of the six ministries, it was actually no different from the Ming Dynasty, and after the Yongzheng Dynasty, the judicial power was in the hands of the emperor alone. If the emperor wanted to convict a certain minister, he did not need to greet Shangshu of the Punishment Department at all, and he would directly issue it to the Military Aircraft Department, which would then pass it on to the Hands of Dali Temple. In the Qing Dynasty, Dali Temple and Zuo Du Yushi had the duty to judge prisoners, but Shangshu, a heavy minister of the Imperial Court, became a complete decoration. It was not until after the trial of the prisoners that Shangshu of the Punishment Department was responsible for the aftermath.
As one of the six officials, what official position is it equivalent to in modern times? In fact, the Punishment Department is an inspection and adjudication institution, and the Criminal Department Shangshu is the so-called chief judge. According to the modern administrative system, shangshu of the Criminal Department takes into account the three duties of the court, the procuratorate, and the minister of public security. It has both the right to hear cases directly and the role of censorship inspectors.
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, because there was no check and balance mechanism in the Punishment Department, the Shangshu of the Punishment Department was often very strong, and even the prime minister had to be subservient to it. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, Shangshu of the Punishment Department was equivalent to the position of deputy prime minister, which was not only an auxiliary institution for the prime minister to handle cases, but also a direct subordinate of Shangshu Province, with great power. Although the power of the Shangshu of the Punishment Department declined in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was still the highest criminal case institution in name, and whenever there was a major case in the imperial court, the emperor would also invite the Shangshu of the Punishment Department to discuss, and over time, it became one of the normalized institutions.