The Concept and Practice of "Think Tanks" in Ancient China - Chen Zhonghai|National (China) Think Tank

The Concept and Practice of "Think Tanks" in Ancient China - Chen Zhonghai|National (China) Think Tank

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According to the modern definition, a think tank generally refers to a consulting institution specializing in developmental research, which brings together experts and scholars in various fields to provide intellectual support for socio-economic and other aspects of development by using their expertise. In a narrow sense, the modern think tank has only been around for more than 100 years since its birth, but in a broad sense, it actually has a longer history, and the concept and practice of "think tank" in ancient China are very rich.

Outwitting the world

People have long recognized that the use of intelligence to solve problems is more efficient and better than the simple use of martial arts, and the "Zeng Zi" concludes that "the master is the king, the friend is the hegemon, and the apprentice is dead", and the "teacher" here refers to the person who has a higher level of intelligence than himself, and can only achieve the highest career by relying on them.

Duke Huan of Qi was the first to dominate in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Sima Qian summarized the reasons in the "Historical Records", believing that it was all "Guan Zhong's strategy". The "Historical Records" also pointed out that Wu Guoneng "broke through the strong Chu in the west, Qi Jin in the north, and subdued the Yue people in the south", because they had "the conspiracy of Wu Zixu and Sun Wu". After Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, asked the ministers "how can I get the world", the answers of the ministers are not the essentials, Liu Bang said: "In the planning and planning of the husband, the decisive victory is thousands of miles away, and I am not as good as the ovary."

Town the country, care for the people, give wages, and keep the grain, I am not as good as Xiao He. Even an army of millions, the battle will be won, the attack must be taken, I am not as good as Han Xin. These three are all masterpieces, I can use them, so I take the world. Liu Bang regarded Zhang Liang as the first strategist, Xiao He as the first administrative talent, and Han Xin as the first military talent, and put the strategist at the forefront of all talents.

People like Zhang Liang who were specifically responsible for "planning and planning" had various names in different periods in ancient China, such as doorman, longitudinal and horizontal scholar, think tank, strategist, strategist, military advisor, staff member, etc. They may be "powerless", but they have superior wisdom, and they have the idea of "learning literature and martial arts, goods and the emperor's family" to enter the WTO, and once they have a stage to display, they will exert amazing energy.

Jing Chun, a disciple of Mencius, once sighed: "Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi are not sincere husbands? When they are angry, the princes are afraid, and they live in peace and the world is extinguished!" Liu Xian, in "Wenxin Carving the Dragon", said: "A one-word argument is more important than the treasure of the Nine Dings, and a three-inch tongue is stronger than a million teachers." ”

"The Art of War" emphasizes "going to the army to fight and plotting", and regards the use of strategy as more important than direct military struggle. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Sima Hui said to Liu Bei, "Fulong, phoenix chick, the two of them get one, but the world can be safe", the importance of the strategist was raised to the extreme, and this is indeed the case, Liu Bei got Zhuge Liang's assistance and immediately changed the decline, although he failed to take the world, but also realized the "grassroots counterattack" and established the Shu Han regime.

The prototype of a think tank

Gathering wise people and listening to their opinions and suggestions is actually the construction of think tanks. In the early days of civilization, people pay more attention to and rely on the wisdom of the elderly, "Xunzi" said that "the old and the young, persevere", which means that it is very important to apply the wisdom of the elderly to govern the country, it is related to the survival of the country.

"The Book of Rites" records: "The Yu clan raises the country and grows old in Shangzhen, and raises the old in Xiazhen." Zheng Xuan believes that "Shang Zhen" and "Xia Zhen" refer to universities and primary schools respectively, Kong Yingda believes that "Guo Lao" refers to "Qing Dafu to Shi", and "Shu Lao" refers to scholars. During the era of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors, schools were set up to meet the needs of tribal governance, allowing the learned elders and those who had retired from various administrative positions to use their rich knowledge and experience to educate and train young people while providing advice for tribal governance.

In the pre-Qin period, the "three old and five watch" system was gradually determined. "The Book of Rites" records: "Eat the three elders, five watches in the university", Zheng Xuan commented: "The three elders and five watches, the ears of each other, are all old people who know the three virtues and five things." "This system existed during the Warring States period, and was finalized after the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, and generally there were three elders and five watches at the township level;

Unlike the pavilion chief, they are not responsible for specific administration, and are usually held by elders over 50 years old, who educate the people through their own wisdom and influence, and "speak the way of father and son, monarch and minister, elder and younger, and the way of virtue and sound", and are an important auxiliary force for rulers. "The Book of Filial Piety" says that "the Son of Heaven respects the three elders, and the brothers do the five watches", when the emperor pays tribute to the three elders and the five watches, he not only has to bow down, but also personally deserve.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the vassal states generally established a system of raising scholars. Every year in the struggle for hegemony, so that all countries are more aware of the importance of talents, are desperately recruiting talents, "scholars" have become an important social class, they are intellectuals, also regarded as the retainers of the princes, according to the specialty of the bachelor, samurai, alchemist, etc.

Among them, there are also strategists who specialize in giving advice. During the Warring States period, there were 3,000 diners each, including a "think tank" composed of strategists.

The most famous think tank institution in this period was the Jixia School Palace, which was founded in the early years of King Qi Wei and was a government-run institution, named after its location near Jimen, the capital of Qi in Linzi. Jixia School Palace has the function of teaching, but more emphasis on "attracting sages", has brought together thousands of wise men from all over the world, including Mencius, Xunzi, Chun Yuji, Zou Yan, Shen Buxian, Ji Zhen, Yin Wenzi, Lu Zhonglian, etc., of which Xunzi served as the head of the school palace 3 times.

Everyone argued, debated, and put forward a strategy for governing the country. Qi respected these intellectuals very much and allowed them to "discuss without cure", so that the school palace had the dual functions of education and think tank, and many intellectuals enjoyed the "wisdom of the doctor".

The Qin Dynasty established the doctoral system, and the Han Dynasty followed its system and perfected it. According to the "Book of Han", the main condition for becoming a doctor is to "understand the past and the present", and his duty is to "have doubts in the country, and ask the right questions", and his rank is 600 stones, which is equivalent to the county order. Under normal circumstances, the imperial court has dozens of doctors, and the "think tank" composed of them has a considerable scale.

谏议System

In the process of the establishment and continuous improvement of China's feudal system, the rulers' demand for intellectual support is also increasing, and the relevant institutional arrangements are more mature, and the advisory system is one of the most important.

Advice is to put forward opinions, suggestions or criticisms of the emperor's decision-making, and the origin of this system can also be traced back to the era of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors. The "Historical Records" records that the Yellow Emperor once set up "left and right eunuchs", allowing them to "prison all countries" and express their opinions on the governance of the world. "Guanzi" said that the Yellow Emperor also "established a Mingtai proposal", and the so-called "Mingtai" is a place dedicated to listening to the opinions of the people, and assumes a function similar to that of a "non-governmental think tank". Since then, relevant systems have always existed, such as the "Lü Shi Chunqiu" records that Yao had a "drum of desire to admonish" during his reign, and Shun had a "slanderous wood" during his reign, which were used to listen to opinions and suggestions.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a position of "counselor" under the king, whose duty was to "correct the virtue of the people and persuade them", and there was also a position of "Baoshi", whose duty was to "admonish the king and raise the sons of the country to the Tao". Confucius said, "In the country of ten thousand times, if there are four contentious ministers, then the territory will not be cut, and in the country of a thousand times, if there are three contentious ministers, then the society is not in danger", and the "contentious ministers" here are those who have wisdom and dare to admonish, and Confucius believed that without them or the monarch is unwilling to listen to their opinions, the country cannot become strong.

After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, the post of counselor was set up, which was specially responsible for advising, and there were dozens of people when the number was large. The Western Han Dynasty set up a royal history doctor, similar to a counselor, with a higher status. Although the Eastern Han Dynasty no longer has a royal historian, there is an institution such as the Imperial Historical Observatory, which specializes in "correcting impeachment and admonishing".

After the establishment of the system of central institutions of the three provinces and six ministries, the functions of counseling are often divided into the provinces of Menxia and Zhongshu, and usually the provinces under the door have set up the left counsellors, the left gleans, the left menders, the left scattered horses, and so on, and the Zhongshu province has set up the right counsellors, the right gleans, the right movers, and the right scattered horses, etc., in addition to listening to opinions and suggestions more extensively, these advisory bodies can also be made to supervise each other.

The Tang Dynasty attached the most importance to the advisory system, and famous ministers such as Wei Zheng emerged, such as Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Wang Wei, and Chen Ziang, all of whom successively served as counselors. At that time, the power of the counselor was very great, and even if the emperor's edict had been issued, the counselor could dismiss it if it was inappropriate, which was called "sealing and refutation". Some people have sampled the records of the "Tang Hui Yao", and among them, there are 16 times in volumes 54 to 56 about the emperor's edict being refuted by the counselors, and 11 times the refutation is valid.

In the Song Dynasty, there was a new development of the advisory system, the establishment of the Imperial Academy, and the general setting up of the Imperial History of Speech and Affairs, emphasizing the mutual checks and balances between various institutions. In the Ming Dynasty, the Metropolitan Procuratorate was set up to be responsible for the supervision affairs of the whole country, and six departments were set up in various ministries to give affairs, which also undertook the functions of supervision and correction. The relevant system of the Qing Dynasty was generally the same as that of the Ming Dynasty, except that the six departments were merged into the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the counselors and supervision systems were merged, and the functions of advice and discussion were further weakened.

Bachelor of Hallym

From the Qin and Han dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, functions such as think tanks were often combined with supervisory functions, which was a characteristic of the ancient Chinese system of counseling. From the Tang Dynasty onwards, while attaching importance to the counselors, a new Hanlin Academy was established to make the functions of the think tank more professional.

The word "Hanlin" first appeared in Yangxiong's "Changyang Fu" in the Han Dynasty, and the Hanlin Academy, as an official office, first appeared in the Tang Dynasty. When Tang Taizong was still the king of Qin, he was ordered to set up the "Hongwen Pavilion" and recruit talents, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Kong Yingda, Yu Shinan, Xu Jingzong and other 18 people entered it, known as the "Eighteen Bachelors". Although it is called "Hongwen Pavilion", they are not there to recite poems and compose endowments, but to plan for Li Shimin, which is equivalent to a "half-public and half-private" think tank around Li Shimin. After Li Shimin ascended the throne, many of the "Eighteen Scholars" held important positions in the imperial court.

Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty formally established the Hanlin Academy, commonly known as the "Hanlin Academy", and selected some courtiers who were good at writing and writing to draft edicts in the Academy, and the selected people were called Hanlin Scholars, and the most senior one was called the Hanlin Academy Scholars. The Hanlin Courtyard of the Tang Dynasty is located in the Daming Palace, the courtyard is equipped with each room, and the four walls of the room are set up with a bell in addition to the regulations of the edict to be ordered, and the bell rings to answer the call;

Hanlin Bachelor directly served the emperor, participated in the brewing and planning of major decisions, was not only the emperor's "confidential secretary" but also a think tank, its importance became increasingly prominent, and even shared part of the power of the prime minister.

The Song Dynasty continued the system of setting up the Hanlin Academy in the Tang Dynasty, and the Hanlin Bachelor Chengzhi and the Hanlin Scholar no longer held other positions, and the grade was determined to be the third grade, which was equivalent to the Liucao Shangshu, and became a veritable "full-time senior adviser" to the emperor. Because they helped the emperor to plan at any time, they were easier to be known and trusted by the emperor, and many prime ministers in the Song Dynasty came from among them.

With the evolution of the bureaucratic system, the political importance of the Hanlin Academy decreased after the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the institutions became larger and larger, and the role of think tanks became more prominent. The person in charge of the Hanlin Academy is generally called the master of the academy, the deputy title of the bachelor, the bachelor of the lecture, etc., and the following Hanlin has different levels and professional divisions of labor, such as the lecture, the study, the revision, the editing, the review, and the Jishi;

Some were similar to the emperor's literary attendants, some were responsible for drafting ceremonial regulations, and some were responsible for compiling the emperor's daily notes and national history.

In the Qing Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy was also responsible for royal education, lecturing for the emperor and other royal children, which was an important and special job, and some Hanlin scholars used the opportunity to lecture and read to make the emperor accept their opinions and gain the emperor's trust. During the reign of Kangxi, in order to discuss and learn more easily with the Hanlin scholars, he set up a special building in the southwest corner of the Qianqing Palace, called the "South Study", and among the officials such as the Hanlin Scholars, "those who choose words and have excellent talents" are valued, which is the famous "South Study Walking".

Although the "South Study" is not a formal official office, and the "South Gatehouse Walk" is not in the official rank sequence of officials, this "temporary institution" has a number of important functions such as think tank, confidentiality, and decision-making, and has gradually become the center of power.

The Concept and Practice of "Think Tanks" in Ancient China - Chen Zhonghai|National (China) Think Tank