#History#Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the royal power of the Zhou royal family has declined sharply, while the power of the remaining princely states has grown sharply, the economic development of various places is extremely unbalanced, and annexation wars have become increasingly frequent.
The weaknesses of the division system were fully exposed, and the ties between the princes and the Zhou royal family became increasingly loose, and the power of the Zhou royal family was constantly divided.
The county system had many advantages over the sub-sealing system, so it was adopted by the monarchs of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and laid the foundation for the institutional culture, which took shape during this period in ancient China.
The initial development of the county system has gone through several important stages of development: the emergence of counties in the early Spring and Autumn Period, the emergence of counties in the late Spring and Autumn Period, and the formation of the two-level system of counties and counties in the Warring States period.
The formation of the county system in the Spring and Autumn period
In 1046, King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty and established the Zhou Dynasty, which inherited and continued the Shang Dynasty's system of division and fiefdom, dividing the land to other vassal states.
The princely states supported the Zhou royal family as the "co-lord of the world", and were required to pay regular tribute to the Zhou royal family every year, report on their duties, defend the territory, obey the orders of the Zhou royal family, and at the same time, accompany them to fight when necessary.
The Zhou Dynasty ushered in the peak of slavery and witnessed its decline.
The implementation of the division system for many years made the territory actually controlled by the Zhou royal family smaller and smaller, and its status and influence were also declining.
After King Ping of Zhou moved the capital, the status of the Zhou Dynasty plummeted. The various princely states gradually stopped putting the Zhou Dynasty in their eyes, and the King of Zhou also became a nominal "co-lord".
The establishment of the State of Qin was after King Ping of Zhou moved the capital, and the State of Qin at that time was still a little-known person, with little status and influence, and the princely states did not put the State of Qin in their eyes.
However, the Qin Kingdom is in a marginal and barbaric area, which also has advantages.
The State of Qin was less affected by the radiation of various aspects of the Zhou royal system, so the State of Qin did not naturally inherit the system of division and sealing as it did when the Zhou Dynasty was founded.
Coupled with the fact that it was located in the border area and was always harassed by other Rongdi ethnic groups, the Qin state had a strong sense of military precautions, and the establishment of the county system was originally to achieve the military purpose of guarding the border.
The monarchs of other princely states learned the lesson of "the tail is not lost" in the war for hegemony.
They realized that the system of division and sealing made the power of the monarch constantly exploited, which was not conducive to unified dispatch, was not conducive to the smooth progress of annexation wars, and in the long run, would cause local separatist forces to flourish.
Therefore, monarchs often no longer use the system of sub-fiefdom as a means of ruling and management.
In order to centralize power in their own hands and strengthen the garrison of the frontiers, the princes often no longer gave the newly acquired land to their subordinates as fiefs, but converted it into counties or counties, which were directly controlled by the monarch.
The development of the county system originated in the Spring and Autumn period, the county was born in the early Spring and Autumn period, and the county appeared in the late Spring and Autumn period, it can be said that the Spring and Autumn period is an important period for the emergence and development of the county system.
The germination of the county system of the Qin state during the Spring and Autumn period
Among the various princely states, the State of Chu established counties first, and the counties of the State of Jin developed extremely rapidly after the middle of Spring and Autumn, but in the end, it was the State of Qin that unified the Six Kingdoms and implemented the county system throughout the country.
In the Spring and Autumn, only the two countries of Jin and Chu had a more formal county system, and the state of Qin at that time was still in the embryonic stage of national development, and the setting of counties only appeared sporadically by chance, did not have scale, and the development state was relatively backward.
At that time, the State of Qin was only a small remote country, did not have national hard power, and its development was also lagging behind.
The "Shiji Qin Benji" records that Qin Wugong "fell, Ji Rong, Chu County." It can be seen from this that the county system of the Qin State in the Spring and Autumn period was just in its infancy, and its development was far from mature.
At this time, the advantages of the county system in consolidating the local area have been revealed, which also laid the foundation for the formation of the two-level management system of the county and county in the future.
The emergence of counties also has a process of development and evolution, and the counties were initially located in remote areas to prevent external encroachment and have the role of guarding the border.
The development of the county system of the Qin State during the Warring States period
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Zhou royal family had become the nominal co-lord of the world, and various vassal states began large and small annexation wars.
After entering the Warring States period, the original annexation wars became increasingly fierce and expanded, many small countries were defeated and annexed by large countries, the number of princely states decreased sharply, and the situation became increasingly clear.
The State of Qi, the State of Qin, the State of Chu, the State of Yan, the State of Zhao, the State of Wei, and Korea, the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States" became the seven princely states with a relatively stable position.
In the Warring States period, the development of social economy, the development of social productive forces, and the change of the international situation undoubtedly greatly promoted the development of the county system.
During the Warring States period, annexation wars were very frequent, military contests between countries rose one after another, and the economic level of various places was also significantly improved compared with the Spring and Autumn period.
The area of county rule is very large, because the formation of the county system is earlier than the county system, and after the county system is popularized in a wide area, the development of the county system has become mature.
The hierarchy of regions is relatively clear, and the mutual subordination relationship between Wu, Li, Bian, township, county and county has emerged.
Several counties were divided under the county for jurisdiction, and there were more grass-roots organizations under the county, and a two-level system with the county being unified was gradually formed.
At this time, the county system had departed from its original state and gradually began to change to the standard form of the county system in later generations.
The state of Qin established counties later than the states of Qi, Chu, and the Three Jin Dynasties, and reformed the county system twice when Shang Martingale changed the law.
For the first time in 355 BC, the county system was established in areas where there were no counties, or the original counties were divided into separate counties, and a total of "forty-one counties" were established throughout the country;
The second time, in 350 BC, "Chuju Xiaoyi became thirty-one counties" (Shiji Qin Benji), that is, the original counties were adjusted and merged, the number of counties was reduced, and the area of counties was expanded.
The concept of county was not mentioned both times, but it can be seen that there was no county at that time, and the Qin State only had a county after the Shang Martingale Change, but it was also directly plundered from other countries.
Qin began with the establishment of counties by King Wu, until Qin Shi Huang annexed the Six Kingdoms of Shandong, implemented the county system, and continuously established counties, according to the statistics of the "History of Qin Ji", Qin set up no less than 433 counties in its heyday.
The county system of the Qin State developed more rapidly than other countries, the county system gradually improved, and the two-level system of counties and counties was more developed. The State of Qin mainly has the following counties:
In the twelve years of Qin Xiaogong, he gathered small townships and gathered them into large counties, county orders, and forty-one counties, although there is no specific county name, but there are many articles on its research.
In the tenth year of Qin Huigong, "Shaanxi" County was established.
In the sixth year of Qin Xiangong, he established "Pu", "Shan" and "Ming" counties respectively.
In the eleventh year of Qin Xiangong, "Liyang" County was established.
Qin County has been greatly developed, especially after Qin Xiaogong appointed Shang Martingale to change the law, one of the important contents is the transformation of the county system.
The appearance of "gathering small towns, gathering into large counties, county orders, and forty-one counties" shows that the Qin State has generally established counties throughout the country, and there are already 41 counties in the country.
In the early years of the Warring States period, one of the important contents of the martingale reform law of the Qin State was to set up counties throughout the country for management.
The Shang Martingale Law also regulated the organizational structure of the county, and the relevant regulations such as the name, power, and servants of officials were gradually clarified, and the county system was gradually improved.
In addition, the State of Qin set up Longxi and Beidi counties on the border, and established a two-level system of counties and counties, and the situation of the establishment of counties in the State of Qin at that time was roughly as follows:
In the tenth year of Qin Huiwenjun, he established Shangjun Fifteen, (obtained from the Wei state).
In the forty-eighth year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, Shangdang County was established, (obtained from the Wei state).
In the ninth year of Qin Huiwen Jun, he established Shu Commandery, (destroyed Shu).
In the twelfth year of Qin Huiwenjun, he established Hanzhong Commandery, which was obtained by destroying Hanzhong.
In the 29th year of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he established Nan Commandery (Nan Commandery) (set up by attacking Chu).
In the thirty years of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, he established Qianzhong County and Nanyang Commandery.
In the first year of King Xiang of Qinzhuang, Sanchuan County was established.
In the third year of King Xiang of Qin Zhuang, he established Taiyuan County.
Since the establishment of counties in Qin, various vassal states have followed suit, but different countries have adopted different methods and means to implement the county system, and during the Warring States period, the princely states basically set up counties as local first-level administrative regions.
The Qin state implemented the county system, mainly in the form of war, annexing weak states and tribes, and taking advantage of the opportunity to occupy the labor force and wealth of these regions to expand its national strength.
The establishment of the county system by the State of Qin was mainly in the form of war, and after conquering the small barbarian countries, it was set up as counties in the occupied areas, and this means of military expansion provided valuable experience for the future annexation of the Six Kingdoms by the State of Qin.
During the Warring States period, the county system developed rapidly and popularized, gradually developing and evolving in the order of county-county-county, and became more and more mature, so it was widely used in various countries.
After Qin Shi Huang annexed and conquered many places, a large number of counties also appeared in the Qin state, and gradually fixed the two-level system of counties and counties, which became the basis for the development model of the county system in later generations.
After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, the county system was implemented throughout the country, and the Shang Martingale transformation method made great contributions to the promotion of the county system.
The smooth implementation of the county system is mainly due to its own hierarchical system, appointment system, mobility system, and lower to upper responsibility system.
In the Warring States Period, when annexation wars were frequent, these characteristics echoed the rapidly growing calls and needs of various princely states to strengthen their national strength.
At the same time, the county system is also in line with the background of the times and the historical trend, so that it can be fully tested in the process of practice.
Therefore, it was not only welcomed by the princely states during the Warring States period, but also used in subsequent dynasties.
Features of the county system
After the advent of the county system, the secretarial system, which relied on blood relations, was broken.
The county system emerged as a result of the monarch's increased centralization, so the monarch implemented an appointment system when administering county governors.
Official positions are appointed by the monarch and should be loyal to the monarch, who has more control over magistrates, is able to better manage the territory, and concentrates all power in his own hands.
Whether or not you can get a position, being an official in the imperial court does not depend on blood, but completely depends on their own qualities and abilities, so the situation of the royal aristocracy monopolizing the dynasty has been broken, and ordinary commoners can also have the opportunity to become officials.
The opening of channels for officials has enabled more people with real talents to occupy important posts, the quality of officials has been improved, talented and experienced officials are responsible for regional management, and local governance has been further improved.
At the same time, official positions are not iron rice bowls and umbrellas, and the appointment of county guards or county orders is not a lifelong system, but has a certain term of office.
The office location of officials will be transferred at any time, not only in a fixed area, but also in a fixed area, officials are more mobile, and it is not easy to cause local control and power manipulation.
The State of Chu had Shen County, and the candidates for the governor of Shen County were Ziyuan, Zizhong, Zimou, etc., and the three were not related by blood, and not all of them held this position for life.
It is precisely because the former is transferred that the latter is succeeded by the latter, so the county system makes officials mobile.
In the process of development, the division of labor in the county system was clear, administrative efficiency was improved, and local officials were ordered and dismissed by the monarch, so the monarch controlled the fate of officials, and officials obeyed the orders of the monarch.
Under the constraints of the hierarchical system, the subordinates are responsible to the superiors and must report the situation regularly to the top, so that the monarch can understand the local situation through the county system, and then control the activities of officials.
Although these officials are appointed by the monarch, their positions are not permanent and mobile, and officials change positions, promotions or demotes based on merit.
The formation of the county system
In the late Spring and Autumn years, counties appeared, and the establishment of counties was initially located in the border area, mainly for military purposes, and the area that could be controlled was relatively large.
During the Warring States period, with the development of counties and counties, there was a two-level system of counties and counties, and since then, the county system has basically formed, although the names of administrative divisions in later generations are different and the levels are different, but the county system is its basic division.
In the Qin Dynasty, the establishment of the administrative division system of county-administered counties, county-administered townships, township-administered pavilions, and pavilion-administered pavilions, and the people were established by Shiwu, which showed strong vitality in the rule of subsequent dynasties, and its longevity has not declined.
The establishment of the county system in the Qin Dynasty created conditions for the abolition of the hereditary privileges of feudal monarchs and for the bureaucracy to replace the Shiqing Shilu system, but it was gradually realized.
The county system provides conditions for the bureaucracy to replace the Shiqing Shilu system, which is an inevitable product of the county system, and the bureaucracy system ensures the establishment and development of the county system, and constantly improves it in the process of development.
With the establishment of the county system in the Qin Dynasty, the state could directly recruit troops from county residents, expanded the source of military labor, improved the efficiency of army upgrading, and was conducive to army building and combat effectiveness.
The establishment of the county system in the Qin Dynasty, in which officials were directly appointed and dismissed by the monarch, did not allow hereditary inheritance, abolished the hereditary privileges of the clan nobility and slave owners, and completely concentrated the military, political, financial and taxation powers of the state from the central to the local level in the hands of the monarch alone, which was a negation of the "divided sealing system".
From the center to the county, from the county to the county, from the county to the township, from the township to the inside, it has become a complete set of systematic political systems, forming a centralized system that controls the entire slave empire at all levels, so in the history of the mainland for more than 5,000 years, unity has always been the mainstream feature.