Grand Secretariat (Ming Dynasty)
The Grand Secretariat - Neige (also: Da Xue Shi , Chinese 內閣 , Pinyin Nèigé , Chinese 大學 士 , Pinyin dà xué shì , Chinese 內閣大學士 / 殿阁 大学 士 , Pinyin Nèi gé dà xué shì ; literally translated: Inner Pavilion, Large scholar official; Manchu : Aliha bithei there; engl .: Grand Secretariat ) was officially only a coordinating body, but in fact the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty . It developed its power after Emperor Hongwu had abolished the office of "Chancellor" (丞相, chéngxiàng, 宰相, zǎixiàng; in Zhongshu Sheng , 中書省 zhòngshū shěng) in 1380 and developed into a powerful body that comprised the three departments and six Ministries (三省 六部 Sānshěng liùbù) was superordinate. There was always a total of six Nèigé dàxuéshì , but the offices were not always occupied. The elder was usually referred to as "Shoufu" (" Chief Official", Chinese 首輔 , Pinyin shǒufǔ Senior Grand Secretary). The Daxueshi were nominally only middle officials - the ministers of the ministries were in rank much higher - but since the documents of all government agencies that went to the emperor passed through their hands and they had the power to issue rescripts ("piaoni" Chinese 票 擬 , Pinyin piàonǐ or “Tiaozhi” Chinese 條 旨 , Pinyin tiáozhǐ ), the Daxueshi had the power to influence the entire government. You took the position of "Chancellor".
development
A central "Great Secretariat" Zhongshu Sheng (中書省) already existed in the Sui Dynasty . The Ming Dynasty adopted the government model of the Yuan Dynasty , in which a central body, the "Secretariat", was in charge of the six ministries . The secretariat was headed by two chancellors. They were referred to as "Chancellor on the left" (senior) and "Chancellor on the right" (junior) and were the highest officials in the Reich. Hongwu feared that such a concentration of power among the chancellors could pose a threat to the throne. In 1380, Chancellor Hu Weiyong was executed as a traitor. Hongwu then abolished the secretariat and the post of chancellor; The ministers of the six ministries were directly responsible to the emperor.
But the abundance of administrative details made it necessary again for the emperor to set up a supporting secretariat. In 1382, Hongwu appointed several "Great Scholars Officials" (Daxueshi, Grand Secretaries) from the Hanlin Academy to do the paperwork. These grand secretaries were given "offices" in certain buildings within the palace and were collectively referred to as the grand secretariat from the government of Yongle onwards .
The Grand Secretariat received greater powers during the reign of Xuande (1425-1435). Since that time, all entries from the ministries to the emperor had to be passed on through the grand secretariat. Whenever the grand secretaries received an input, they first checked it and drafted an appropriate answer. The rescript was then taped to the entry and given to the emperor. Through this procedure (票 擬, piaoyi) the Grand Secretariat actually became the highest political institution that stood above the Six Ministries and the oldest Grand Secretary was given power comparable to that of the abolished Chancellor.
Rank of Grand Secretaries
In the Ming Dynasty, there were nine ranks for officials. Each rank was divided into two grades, so that rank 1 grade a was the highest and rank 9 grade b was the lowest. The top but functionless officials were therefore the three councilors in rank 1a. The Chancellor also had this status. In the new system of the Ming dynasty, the grand secretaries only received the rank 5a, and were thus ranked below different ministers (who held the ranks 3a to 2a). The grand secretaries, however, often received additional higher-ranking posts (ministers, vice ministers of the nine ministries , or even “ grand teachers ” (太師, dashi) within the three councils of state ). Accordingly, the Grand Secretaries in the Ming Dynasty always stood at the top of the administrative hierarchy as the highest-ranking officials.
literature
- Li Konghuai: History of Administrative Systems in Ancient China. Joint Publishing (HK) Co., Ltd. 2007. (Chinese) ISBN 978-962-04-2654-4
- Qian Mu: An Outline of the National History. The Commercial Press 1996. (Chinese) ISBN 7-100-01766-1
- Charles O. Hucker: Governmental Organization of The Ming Dynasty. In: Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. December 21, 1958: 1-66 Harvard-Yenching Institute
- Denis Crispin Twitchett; John King Fairbank: The Cambridge History of China : The Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644, Part 1, Cambridge University Press 1988: 358-69.
Web links
- Chinese Collegiate Historical dictionary of bureaucratic ranks .
- Taiwan national language dictionary