Throughout the dynasties, the relationship between the emperor and the bureaucracy has always been one of the central themes of politics. In theory, the authority of the Son of Heaven was inviolable, and the bureaucracy should be completely subordinate to the emperor.
However, the reality is often the opposite. In ancient China, there were frequent incidents of bureaucratic groups joining forces to erect emperors. But in the Qing Dynasty, this phenomenon never really appeared.
In the face of the huge bureaucracy, the Qing emperor was always the supreme controller and had a high degree of freedom.
Why couldn't the Qing bureaucracy erect the emperor? Let's go back in time and find out.
Central system: Cabinet, South Study and Military Aircraft Department
Fundamentally, the Qing bureaucracy was unable to erect the emperor because of the strict constraints of the central system. The power of the state was always in the hands of the emperor, and the bureaucracy was never truly independent.
In other words, officials have the glory of the emperor, and once they leave the emperor, it means losing power.
In fact, at the beginning of the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the central political system was almost completely inherited from the Ming Dynasty.
In 1631, Emperor Taiji set up six ministries, and five years later, Emperor Taiji changed the name of the country to Qing, and formally established the cabinet, the Duchayuan, the Hanlin Yuan and other institutions.
Compared with the previous dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was originally an "unusual road" dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang killed Hu Weiyong, abolished the chancellor system, completely resolved the dispute between imperial power and phase power that lasted for thousands of years, and infinitely amplified the emperor's authority.
However, in the late Ming Dynasty, the cabinet rose to power, and the chief assistant of the cabinet became the de facto prime minister, with the ability to overpower the imperial power.
Therefore, the Qing emperor paid special attention to controlling the authority of the cabinet.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the cabinet was still the highest administrative organ of the central government, and there were university scholars in the cabinet. Although the Qing cabinet was at the head of the hundred officials, it was far inferior in actual power to the Ming Dynasty, and was even directly suppressed by the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is a Manchu tradition and a true center of government.
It is no exaggeration to say that the cabinet in the early years of the Qing Dynasty was just a most ordinary voting body, and it was impossible to threaten the emperor.
During the Kangxi period, the cabinet became even more invisible, making way for the emperor's southern study.
Kangxi ascended the throne at an early age, and the state was controlled by the regent for a long time. For Kangxi, if he wanted to truly manipulate the imperial situation, he had to set aside the statutory cabinet and cultivate other cronies. In this way, the South Study Room came into being.
Unlike the cabinet, which has clear institutional norms, the officials of the South Study are random. The emperor would select officials from the Hanlin Academy to be on duty in the South Study to ensure that the South Study was full of trustworthy "own people". Compared with the cabinet, Nanshufang is not bound by the system, but it controls the same power.
Over time, the cabinet was emptied by Kangxi, and its status continued to decline.
However, the emperor was still not satisfied. After Yongzheng came to the throne, both the Nanshu Room and the cabinet became real decorations, and national affairs were concentrated in a small room, which was the famous Military Aircraft Department.
Yongzheng's mind was even deeper, knowing that it was not enough to control the Han bureaucracy, but also to expel a group of Manchu ministers who relied on the old and sold the old from the center of power.
The Military Aircraft Department was first called the Military Aircraft Room, which was born to replace the Council of Ministers of the Parliament, directly docking with the emperor, handling government affairs according to orders, and depriving the kings of their power.
After the Council of Ministers disappeared, the Military Aircraft Department should have been abolished together, but Yongzheng pretended to be confused and simply left the Military Aircraft Department and became the most effective assistant around the emperor.
At this point, the imperial power of the Qing Dynasty was pushed to the peak, and from now on, there was no bureaucratic group that could compete with the emperor at the level of the central system.
Yongzheng's thinking is very clear, and his plan is divided into two steps. First, other institutions were emptied, and the major affairs of the military state were concentrated in the military aircraft department; second, the military aircraft department was firmly grasped in hand, and officials were required to do heavy work for the emperor without giving them real power.
This may seem like a fantasy, but Yongzheng actually did it and provided a model for subsequent emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
Although the Military Aircraft Division was in charge of the core of the empire, every public edict of the Military Aircraft Department needed to be reviewed by the emperor before being issued by the cabinet.
Once there is a secret order, the Minister of Military Aircraft needs to kneel and receive a record, and then seal the divine decree and send it everywhere. There are only two types of officials in the Military Aircraft Department, that is, the Minister of Military Aircraft and Zhang Jing.
Only the person most trusted by the emperor can serve as the minister of military aircraft, and the military aircraft Zhang Jing has to go through strict assessment and selection, and the emperor finally decides the list.
In the appointment of officials, Yongzheng learned from Kangxi's experience, whether it was the Minister of Military Aircraft or the Military Aircraft Zhang Jing, they were all part-time.
To put it simply, the Qing emperors reshaped central politics and destroyed the original institutional norms, so that imperial power was above the bureaucracy.
In addition to institutional guarantees, a unique system of selecting officials in the Qing Dynasty also divided the bureaucracy internally, losing the ability to erect the emperor.
Unique Selection of Officials: The prevalence of Baoju
The imperial examination was an ancient Chinese system of selecting officials that lasted for thousands of years, and in a sense, it was precisely because of the imperial examination system that the bureaucracy had internal cohesion.
As we all know, the imperial examination goes through layers of selection, and in the process of selection, the gentlemen and the gentlemen make friends, and the network of relationships within the bureaucracy is formed.
Whether it is a protégé or a fellow in-law, most of the interpersonal interactions of ancient officials were based on the imperial examination system. Not only that, but the same exam preparation experience will also make officials form a sense of identity, the so-called ten-year cold window, can understand each other best.
Before the Qing Dynasty, although the bureaucracy had its own interests, it shared the same values and beliefs and abided by the same set of rules of the game. However, the prevalence of the Qing system of patronage broke the unity within the bureaucracy.
The so-called baoju refers to a special way of selecting officials, if it is simply summarized in four words, it is unqualified admission.
As long as it is recommended by a member of Beijing and approved by the emperor, then the talent who is guaranteed can rise to the top, exempt from the series of procedures of the imperial examination, and directly become an official.
Baoju was not an original creation of the Qing Dynasty, but it was carried forward in the Qing Dynasty. In the past, Baoju was only a special case, but the Qing emperor particularly favored Baoju, which promoted its institutionalization and normalization.
However, once the patronage system prevailed, imperial power would be strengthened like never before.
On the one hand, this tantalizing shortcut divided the bureaucracy, making them suspicious and wary of each other, and the only person to be loyal to was the emperor.
On the other hand, the baoju was equivalent to putting the emperor above the regular system of selecting officials, and the emperor had the power to say everything about the employment of personnel.
Under the framework of the imperial examination system, the emperor only had the power to decide the final palace examination, and the scope of influence was relatively limited. However, with the help of the baoju system, the emperor was able to extend the tentacles of power to the first place of the empire, and his influence increased exponentially.
What's more interesting is that in order to further strengthen the guarantee system, the Qing emperor even divided the power into two, the right to appoint and the right to guarantee. Officials who are guaranteed will not be directly appointed, and the final appointment can only be decided by the emperor.
Sometimes, when the emperor was willing to directly control the right of appointment, he would "grant special orders" and "open regulations". An official who has been approved by the emperor is tantamount to ascending to heaven in one step, and naturally he will be overjoyed and loyal to the king.
These officials did not undergo strict official promotion, so they had no power in the dynasty, but were only the emperor's lone favorites. Therefore, the emperor's trust is everything to these officials.
Perhaps the life of this group of officials is not good, the imperial authority is pressed on it, and they have to tremble every day, like walking on thin ice. But in the eyes of colleagues, this is not the case at all.
Colleagues have worked hard for decades, but they are not as good as the emperor's golden mouth, and it is inevitable that they will feel jealousy, and regard these "privileged" officials as a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh.
And the fight between officials is precisely the scene that the emperor is most willing to see. Their internal friction weakened the overall strength of the bureaucracy, and the imperial power was strengthened.
And when the emperor did not want to directly control the appointment power, he would delegate power to the officials and governors, allowing them to promote talent. But no matter what kind of guarantee, in the end, it must be approved by the emperor.
For officials at all levels, baoju gradually became a part of the political achievements, so they dug out their minds to find talents for the empire and please the emperor.
Not only that, the development of talents is also closely related to the career of the guarantor who is over, and the emperor will severely punish the person who exceeds the standard of the guaoju.
Under the widespread implementation of the baoju system, thunder and rain were all kings, and the emperor and officials became a community of interests, but the bureaucracy was divided.
It has to be said that this move was really brilliant, and the emperor intervened in a high-profile manner at the official selection stage, shaping the entire bureaucracy into his own private property. How could such a bureaucratic clique have the ability to erect the emperor?
In addition to the central system and the official selection system, the Qing emperor also invented a unique messaging system, which is the familiar twist and turn. The appearance of the twist and turn completely reduced the bureaucracy to the palm of the emperor.
Shangda Tianting: The Twists and Turns of the Qing Dynasty
The folding system was an original creation of the Qing Dynasty and marked the unprecedented strengthening of the absolute monarchy of the Qing Dynasty.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the music system followed the Ming Dynasty's "public theme and private music" system. The so-called "public theme and private music" means that the "title book" is used for official affairs and the "music book" is used for private affairs, which is distinguished.
But whether it is a title book or a script, as long as the document is shown to the emperor, it must be made public. All documents had to go through many hurdles before they reached the emperor.
Under the "public and private" system, the imperial government affairs were open and transparent, but this system did have drawbacks, that is, officials could not speak freely, and the real situation was likely to be concealed.
Initially, the folding system was born only to solve this shortcoming, but with the processing of the three generations of Kang Yonggan, the folding gradually evolved into a deeper meaning.
The fold was a private document that was reported directly to the emperor by the official and had to be handwritten by the official himself, and no one except the emperor and the official would know the content of the fold.
More importantly, officials who can write folds do not have to be of high grade, as long as they are handpicked by the emperor, even local sesame officials can reach the heavens in this way.
During the Kangxi Dynasty, only a certain group of officials were qualified to write recitals. However, during the Yongzheng period, the scope of use of the fold was further expanded, and the system was formally established. In February of the first year of the Yongzheng Dynasty, the emperor personally issued an order requiring all ministers to play everything in secret.
Since then, the twist has changed and become the best way for officials to snitch.
It is said that Yongzheng used the trick to win over Nian Xinyao's henchmen, and finally eliminated dissidents with their help, and attacked the forces of Nian Xinyao's faction.
However, the twist and turn is like Pandora's box, as soon as this gap is opened, it can no longer be stopped.
The emperor took advantage of the tricks to monitor the officials, and also encouraged the officials to report to each other, and asked them to pay close attention to various developments among the people. The system is like a sword hanging over the heads of all officials, and officials know of its existence but do not know when it will fall.
Officialdom is the norm, everyone is on guard and wary of each other, and the power of the bureaucracy is further weakened.
It can be seen that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty played a big game of chess and played the bureaucracy between the palms of their hands. The emperors destroyed the original political system, made themselves the sole masters of military affairs, and used various means to divide officials and strengthen their ties with officials.
In the long run, the imperial power continued to increase, the bureaucracy was divorced, it was impossible to betray the emperor, and there was no talk of the word "empty".
However, the strengthening of imperial power was a double-edged sword. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, these systems did ensure political stability, but in the late Qing Dynasty, the shortcomings of these systems eventually appeared.
The Qing Dynasty's officialdom was sluggish, and the bureaucracy had long lost the dignity of ancient scholars. Success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He, maybe this is exactly the case!
Bibliography:
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2. Liu Shejian. History of ancient supervision[M]. Shanghai:Oriental Publishing Center, 2018.06.
3. TIAN Qing. Qing Dynasty[J].Bookhouse,2020,(No.12).
4. Xiao Zongzhi. Civil official baoju and political reform in the late Qing Dynasty[M]. Chengdu:Bashu Books, 2016.07.