In ancient times on the mainland, whenever there was a change of political power, there were bound to be scenes of rampant corruption and the people's livelihood. But after the establishment of the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC, thousands of years of history were not enough for the rulers to sum up the experience of education?
Why is the problem of corruption, at the end of every dynasty, an irrepressible cancer?
I. Supervision system before the Song Dynasty?
According to historical records, the earliest Chinese to establish a supervision system for hundreds of officials was the Qin Dynasty. However, Qin Shi Huang initially did not simply ensure the integrity and self-discipline of officials, but he created the centralization of power represented by the emperor and the county system, and the bureaucracy also belonged to the early stage of exploration.
In order to ensure that he could lead a team without dissimilarity, Qin Shi Huang built a supervision force with Yu Shi Dafu as the core. Although the position of Imperial Master was half a block lower than that of the Chancellor, he was directly responsible to the Emperor, and he could also patrol the four directions on behalf of the Emperor.
The Imperial Historian of the Qin Dynasty not only had the power to supervise the hundred officials, but also had the responsibility to assist the chancellor in completing his daily work. It can also be understood that Qin Shi Huang summed up the shortcomings of Lü Buwei's era and set up an important official position to weaken the authority of the chancellor.
Unfortunately, the Qin Dynasty pursued the theory of the legalist, and the supervision officials also meticulously enforced the law, which was also one of the reasons for the intensification of social contradictions. Some historians believe that it was the harshness of the Qin law that caused the demise of the Qin Dynasty.
And the supervisors of the Qin Law were also these imperial historians.
In the Han Dynasty, the "Imperial Shi Dafu" was divided into three. Yushi Zhongcheng (御史中丞), Si Li (司里尉) and Shōji (丞相司司直) were the same inspectors. The three exercise their powers independently and can also supervise each other.
Yushi Zhongcheng is easier to understand, and was originally the deputy of Yushi Dafu, who abolished Yushi Dafu during the Han Dynasty, and Yushi Zhongcheng was the supreme commander of the supervision force. Relatively speaking, the direct exposure of the Lieutenant Colonel and the Minister of Justice is relatively small.
Lieutenant Si Li had a more domineering alias called "Crouching Tiger", which was established during the han wudi period, which was itself intended to arrest people. Therefore, compared with the other two, the lieutenant colonel had an armed force of 1200 people. The main duty is to supervise the officials of the capital and the surrounding areas, which is a bit of a jinyi guard.
From the name, it can also be seen that he is a subordinate official of the minister. If it is said that Yushi is responsible for the emperor, then the Minister is directly responsible to the Emperor, and the work he does is also the illegal work of correcting hundreds of officials.
In the Tang Dynasty, the supervision system and supervision institutions were further improved, and the Imperial History Terrace finally became a complete and independent system. Its work has covered all departments of the imperial court and various fields throughout the country.
However, the reason why it is separated from the Song Dynasty is mainly because the supreme leader of the Tang Dynasty imperial history needs to be recommended or even directly appointed by the prime minister. Therefore, in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Yushi belonged to the subordinate of the prime minister, and there was a great deal of wavering, and it was impossible to adhere to the principle.
Second, after the Song Dynasty
From the beginning of the Song Dynasty to the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the supervision institutions of the feudal dynasties on the mainland have become more and more complete, and the scope of supervision has become more extensive.
For example, among the counselors of the Song Dynasty, the Yushitai was the highest supervisory organ of the country, consisting of three parts: the Taiyuan, the Dianyuan, and the Chayuan.
The Taiwan Court was the highest-ranking department of the three, and its main job was to picket and impeach Beijing officials, and at the same time to supervise the trial of Dali Temple, or to directly hear major cases handed over by the emperor.
The temple is more like a ceremonial inspector, and the courtiers will be corrected by the imperial historians of the temple if they misbehave or take care of any improper behavior or large-scale ceremonial activities.
The scope of supervision of the Procuratorate is relatively extensive, from the six ministries to the hundred divisions, and all officials and work are within the scope of supervision. According to historical records, small things are reminders to "correct", and big things will be impeached.
After summarizing the shortcomings of the previous dynasty, the Song Emperor took back the right to supervise the appointment of the imperial history from the prime minister, and the imperial history was able to justifiably supervise the actions of the prime minister.
It is precisely because of these considerations, in order to ensure that the supervision forces can better perform their duties and not be troubled by external factors, the Song Dynasty pushed the status of imperial history to a very high level, and also set an example for future generations.
In addition to raising their political status, the imperial historians also faced increased pressure to work. Every month they had to submit homework to the emperor at least once a month, which was also known as a "monthly lesson."
If Yushi had not corrected any officials within a hundred days of taking office, there were only two ways to dismiss officials and pay fines. However, the author believes that the pressure to pay a fine is even greater, because this fine is called insulting Taiwan money, that is to say, sorry for the sacred work unit of "Yushitai".
Third, the limitations of antiquity
At this point, it is necessary to think about a problem, and the ancient emperors also knew the importance of restraining the behavior of officials. However, in the last years of each dynasty, corruption was always rampant, officials were lawless, and the imperial history was almost lost at this time.
Why are every dynasty so similar, and is there no lesson learned about it?
In fact, the summary is useless, because it is inseparable from the limitations of ancient feudal despotism.
First, rulers of dynasties have restrained officials not by statute but by morality. They pin their hopes on officials to achieve integrity and self-discipline through moral education.
We know that this is almost impossible, and while it is true that there have been many examples, it does not represent the majority. In particular, while enjoying most of the privileges, the emperor demanded that officials be able to become moral benchmarks, which was indeed difficult for some strong people.
By the time of the Qing Dynasty, corruption had blatantly become the norm, known as the "Ugly Rules." Officials at all levels receive and send money and wealth not only as unspoken rules, but also as a matter of routine, and can be spread out on the table. Separate bribery and bribery are not counted.
The "Bing Jing" (summer harvest), "Tan Jing" (winter harvest), "Bei Jing" (farewell to Beijing), etc., which we are more familiar with, are the collection of Beijing officials. There are more channels for local officials.
For example, Zeng Guofan once went to Sichuan as a director before founding the Xiang Army, and when he returned to Beijing, he carried 800 taels of silver given by Sichuan officials "Bad Rules". The incident was written into his diary.
Second, the regulations on rectifying officials are not absent, but they cannot be principled. From the "Six Questions" during the Han Wudi period to the "Constitutional Regulations" and the "Regulations on the Approval of the Qing Dynasty" in the Ming and Qing dynasties, there are tangible laws and regulations on the supervision and handling of officials.
But the supreme supervisory power of the feudal dynasty belonged to the emperor. Whoever is punished, or rather impeached, must be approved by the emperor. Then no matter how much evidence there is and how powerful the impeachment is, as long as the emperor does not nod his head, no one can do anything.
When the emperor attaches importance to the rule of law, the supervision force can play a normal role; when the legal system is ignored, the imperial history is a tool of struggle between the monarch and the subject, and there is no principle at all.
A more extreme example is the Ming Dynasty's "Jingcha". All of them are fish and meat on the board, and as for who to keep and who not to keep, and who to punish and who not to punish, all of them are the result of discussions on the political interests of several major factions in the DPRK and China.
To put it bluntly, it is because of the limitations of the autocratic dynasty that the power of the emperor is infinitely expanded. The supervision officials are not responsible for the people of the world, nor do they accept the supervision of the people of Li.
References: "The Evolution of the Chinese Imperial History System", "The Chronicle of the Imperial History"