What are the ancient official system and local official system in China?

The development of China's ancient official system has two remarkable characteristics. One is continuity, that is, the official system of dynasties always follows before and after, and has been inherited successively. The second is variability, that is, the official system is different in different periods. Whenever a new dynasty appears, it is always necessary to sum up the official system of the previous dynasty, consider the gains and losses, inherit it, and change it according to the current situation.

Qin and Han dynasties were two unified dynasties in the early feudal society of China. During this period, an autocratic centralized state machine was established, and the official system as a superstructure fully reflected the characteristics of this era. After the unification of Qin Dynasty, with the strengthening of centralization and the increasingly neat and precise local administrative organizations, a complete official system came into being. The official system of the Han dynasty basically followed the Qin dynasty with slight changes, and the feudal dynasty after the Han dynasty basically followed the official system of the Qin and Han dynasties. The official system in Qin and Han Dynasties was the source of China's official system, which had a far-reaching influence on later feudal dynasties.

Since the Qin Dynasty, the official system in China has been divided into central and local branches.

The central government has three officials and three ministers.

San Gongwei, Prime Minister: Chief Executive; Qiu: the highest military officer; Doctor Ambassador: On the one hand, he is the deputy of the Prime Minister, on the other hand, he is sent by the Imperial Palace, and on the other hand, he has supervision over officials.

Lieqing Wei, seal chief: in charge of the etiquette of the ancestral temple; Lang Zhongling: in charge of the palace gate; Ting Wei: in charge of the prison; Internal history of treating millet: in charge of finance and economy; Official: in charge of tribal affairs; Zong Zheng: Managing royal affairs; Wei Wei: An Lushan, who is in charge of the palace guards; Servant: in charge of palace chariots and horses and national horse administration; Classical countries: courtiers in charge of tribes; Captain: in charge of the marquis title; Shaofu: in charge of the tax on mountain and sea ponds for the royal family to enjoy; Will be a junior official: responsible for the construction of the palace. In addition, there are court officials, who are officials under the Queen and the Crown Prince.

To the Central Committee of the Western Han Dynasty, it was still three fairs, but the Prime Minister changed his name to Guo Xiang and listed it as nine fairs. After the Ninth Fair, it refers to Taichang, Guangluxun, Wei, Taifu, Tingwei, Dahonglu, Zong Zheng, Dasinong and Shaofu, and their positions are generally higher than other columns. It was relatively easy for Wang Mang to establish a new dynasty in the Han Dynasty, and there was a method of "nine Qing's returning to the three public offices", which was absorbed by the official system of the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Three Public Offices and Nine Qing's" was the basic system of the post-central official system.

Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, apart from the brief reunification of the Western Jin Dynasty, there has been a split and turbulent situation in China for three or four hundred years. At the same time, there are often several emperors, and their status is not consolidated. How to achieve national reunification and how to restore the emperor's supreme position in the state power, monarchs of all countries have taken great pains, which is reflected in the frequent adjustment of the official system. The general trend is the transition from the system of "three officials and nine ministers" in Qin and Han Dynasties to the system of "three provinces and six ministries", which indicates that the feudal monarchy in China has entered a more mature stage.

The three provinces are Shangshu Province, Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province.

Shangshu province, Qin Shaofu and Shangshu are officials and in charge of documents. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a Shangshutai, and ministers played the throne, all of which had to go through Shangshu Province. Known as Shangshu Province in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it is the general agency of the central government to carry out government affairs.

Zhongshu Province, founded in Wei and Jin Dynasties, was an institution that safeguarded the will of the monarch, took charge of confidential information and issued government decrees.

Menxia province, known as the Shizhong Temple in the Eastern Han Dynasty, took serving the emperor as its main duty, and was renamed Menxia province in the Jin Dynasty, which was the emperor's attendant consultation institution.

The system of "three provinces" was gradually improved and determined from the Western Jin Dynasty, and was later used by successive dynasties. It was not until the abolition of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Books in the early Ming Dynasty that the central institutions were readjusted.

The six departments refer to the official, household, ceremony, soldier, criminal and Ministry of Industry.

Official department: managing civil servants.

Ministry of Housing: Manage land, household registration and national finance.

Ritual department: in charge of etiquette education.

Ministry of war: in charge of the army.

Penalty department: in charge of criminal administration.

Ministry of Industry: in charge of engineering construction.

From the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the early Ming Dynasty, although the six departments were important departments of the central government, they were not directly under the emperor, or were placed under the jurisdiction of Shangshu Province or Zhongshu Province, and their powers and responsibilities were greatly limited. After the abolition of the prime minister in the early Ming Dynasty, six ministries were directly under the emperor, forming an administrative pattern in which six ministries were the mainstay and the government, ministries, colleges and temples (divisions) were separated. The government, ministries, hospitals and temples (divisions) are cooperative institutions with the six ministries.

After the abolition of the prime minister in the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet system was gradually formed, and a cabinet was established between the emperor and the six ministries. There are usually five to seven college students in the cabinet, and the power of the cabinet is far less than that of the former prime minister.

The Qing dynasty inherited the Ming system, and the central organization still had six cabinets until the demise of the Qing dynasty.

Since the establishment of a unified feudal dynasty in the Qin Dynasty, the establishment of official positions for more than two thousand years has generally come down in one continuous line. With the demise of the Qing Dynasty, the feudal system, which lasted for more than two thousand years, ended, and the corresponding superstructure also disintegrated, and the ancient official system also ended. The central official system is only a part of the ancient official system, which can reflect the characteristics of the ancient official system in China. This system is still changing. General readers know some knowledge in this field, which is convenient for them to have a macro understanding of traditional culture and better read and appreciate traditional cultural works.

Local political system

1. Feudalism: the local political system practiced by the three slave dynasties of Xia, Shang and Western Zhou.

2. County system: appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, formed in the Qin Dynasty, developed in the Western Han Dynasty and changed in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

3. State-county system: refers to the three-level local political system of state, county and county formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The country originated from the system of monitoring the history of assassination established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

4. Road system: refers to the road system in the Tang Dynasty and the road system in the Song Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty unified the Central Plains, the local administrative agencies found a new way and became three administrative regions: Road/Government, Prefecture, Army/Prison/County.

5. Provincial system: It originated from the platform of Wei and Jin Dynasties, and was a temporary institution for the central government to handle military affairs. The rulers once set up Shangshu Province on the border. After the Mongols entered the Central Plains, they imitated the gold system, set up Shangshu Province, governed a large area, and evolved into the highest local political authority. In Yuan Shizu, Shangshu Province was merged into Zhongshu Province, and the local organization was renamed Shangshu Province, referred to as the province.