Which of the qing dynasty governors and inspectors had more power, and was there a subordination between them? This is a question that a reader friend asked to Goshi, hoping to write an article on this aspect. In fact, Yu Shi had written many articles on Qing Dynasty governors before, and the total number should be no less than twenty.
This issue should be looked at in two ways. From the point of view of power, the governor's rank is slightly higher than that of the inspector, the power is naturally a little larger; if it is from the perspective of subordination, the situation is more complicated, and the relationship between the governors in different periods is different. Let's take a closer look.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > the settings of the provincial governors</h1>
Before Qianlong, the governors of various provinces did not form a unified customization, and the governors of some provinces were called differently in different periods, such as the governor of Huguang and the governor of Sichuan Lake, the governor of Hunan, and then the two provinces of Henan and Zhejiang also set up governors before Kangxi, and the changes in other governors were also relatively large.
In the thirty years of Qianlong, the Qing Dynasty supervision system was finally formed, establishing the basic pattern of "eight governors and fifteen cares". After the formation of the Eight Governors and Fifteen Fu, the area under the jurisdiction of the Governor was basically fixed.
In general, there are three main forms of supervision: one is one province and one governor, such as Zhili and Sichuan; the other is one province and one governor without a governor, such as Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan; the third is the supervision and maintenance, in addition to the above five provinces, all of which are set up as governors.
Corresponding to the situation of the establishment of the governor, there are also three types of governor-general relations: first, the governor and the governor, such as the three provinces of Zhili, Sichuan, shaanxi and Gansu, the governor and the governor are also the title of inspector, there is no separation of powers; the second is that there is only a governor without a governor, and the governor and viceroy of the three provinces of Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi are actually the same as the governor; the third is that the governor and the governor are set up together, except for the two rivers, the others are set up as a governor in the two provinces, and the provinces under their jurisdiction each set up a governor, and the two have a subordinate relationship.
Provinces with only governors or only inspectors obviously do not have the situation of decentralization and division of governors. Provinces with the same set up as governors should also be treated specifically: the first is to supervise the same city, such as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang stationed in Fuzhou, and the same city as the governor of Fujian; the second is to be stationed in different provinces, such as Zhejiang governor in Hangzhou, and the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang is stationed in different provinces.
From the legal point of view, whether the governor is stationed in the same city or in different provinces, the governor is "subject to the governor's moderation", and "the military, government and civil servants are subject to the governor's decision". In the early Qing Dynasty, when the governors were co-located, the authority between the governors was roughly to return military affairs to the governor and civil affairs to the inspectors.
The Kangxi Ten Years stipulated: "The governors of the provinces do not have to order the management of the troops", but only in the "no governor to supervise the provinces, deputy generals below the military attaché, so that the inspectors and governors are also under jurisdiction". The inspector cannot manage the troops, that is, the main civil administration, and must listen to the governor's moderation. In this way, the power of the governor is not only less than that of the governor, but in fact it is also subordinate to the governor, to put it bluntly, it is the subordinate of the governor.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="27" > the status of the inspector after Yongzheng was improved</h1>
During the Yongzheng period, the power of the governors was restored, thus changing this subordinate relationship of the governors caused by the disregard of soldiers. In the twelfth year of Yongzheng, the Inspector of Shanxi "managed the affairs of the Viceroy of Shanxi, passed through the provincial military attaches, and listened to his jurisdiction." This is an important measure in the process of adjusting the supervision system.
In the fifth and eighth years of Qianlong, he also instructed the inspectors of Henan and Shandong to "concurrently hold the rank of viceroy" to control military affairs. Since then, those provincial governors who have governors, such as Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hunan, etc., have also added the title of viceroy and given the power to manage the troops. As a result, the relationship between the governors of the provinces and the governors also returned to the parallel relationship between the two officials. Although there are differences in rank, they are no less than equal in administrative power.
After Jiaqing, he also ordered that "the governors of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou should be in charge of temperate towns and auxiliary military posts, and the governors should also have jurisdiction over sub-provinces, and the inspectors' offices should examine the questions, read and prevent the suppression, and be designated as full-time", and the authority of the inspectors has been more respected thereafter. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was almost no difference between the governors of the same city, so when the official system was reformed in the last years of Guangxu, the inspectors of the same city were dismissed.
However, in the case of overseeing the same city, the relationship between the two is still relatively complicated. As mentioned above, the governors of the provinces all gained the power to manage the troops during the Qianlong period, which was fundamentally due to the state of social order. Since the Kangxi Dynasty, the population has increased dramatically, the land problem has become increasingly severe, and social contradictions have become increasingly acute. In addition to the establishment of political systems such as the armor protection system in the civilian sector by administrative means, the government must use military force to exert pressure by force.
Therefore, as a vassal, it is necessary for the governor of the provinces to give power to the autocratic side. In terms of administrative relations, the governors were stationed in two provinces, the distance was very far, limited to the communication conditions at that time, and it was not only inconvenient to ask for instructions on everything, but also delayed the timing.
Since the governors of the provinces added the title of "viceroy", their functions and powers have been no different from those of the governors. And those who are in the same city often do not have the title of governor, so the same inspector, to assess the size of their power, is mainly to see whether there is a concurrent title of governor.
However, the governor of the same city, the governor is in charge of the military and the people's political power, and the post of inspector is heavy on the civil administration, and it is also customary to the governor to exercise self-control. However, after all, the governor of the system decreed that the governor was also a vassal of the frontier, and the opening houses and documents were not the same as the six Shangshu and the waiter, so among the governors of the same city, it was easiest to form a situation of "one mountain does not tolerate two tigers".
In the late Qing Dynasty, the country's political internal and external difficulties, the conflict of supervision power became more prominent, resulting in a situation in which the post of governor was lost. During his tenure as governor of Guangdong, Guo Songtao made a concert in the fifth year of Tongzhi, elaborating in detail on the shortcomings of supervising Tongcheng and strongly recommending that the imperial court dismiss the governor of Tongcheng.
Obviously, Guo Songtao stood on the position of the inspector and went up to this twist, and if it is concerned about unifying the powers of affairs, the referee can also achieve the goal. In the first year of Guangxu, the Fujian governor who was in the same city as the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang moved to Taiwan. In the eleventh year, Taiwan was established as a province, and the Fujian Governor was changed to the Governor of Taiwan, and the affairs of the Fujian Governor were also handled by the Governor- This incident, caused by the establishment of Taiwan as a province, became a model for the later dismissal of the governor of the same city as the governor.
From the 30th to the 32nd year of Guangxu, Yunnan, Hubei, and Guangdong successively laid off the inspectors of the same city, and the governor and inspector were also the governors, but by this time, the Qing Dynasty was about to die.