The Historical Evolution of Shaanxi Provincial Civil Affairs Department

As a part of internal administrative affairs, civil affairs has a long history. For thousands of years, various dynasties in China have had officials or institutions in charge of civil affairs.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty, local official Situ was in charge of civil affairs. The civil affairs of the Qin dynasty were managed by the prime minister. The officials in charge of civil affairs in Han Dynasty were Prime Minister (Situ) and Cao Shangshu. During the Jin Dynasty, the Secretary of the Central Committee, the Minister of Reclaiming Land and the Right People's Langguan all managed civil affairs. The Sui Dynasty set up the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the central government to take charge of civil affairs. In the Tang Dynasty, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was changed to the Ministry of Housing, and it was still in charge of civil affairs. In Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, there were departments in charge of civil affairs. In the thirty-second year of Guangxu (1906), the Qing government established the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which was the first time in the history of China to manage state civil affairs, and the civil affairs department became an independent administrative agency. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the business scope of civil affairs agencies was very wide, including modern civil affairs, personnel, public security, health, land, engineering construction, religious affairs and other departments, and became a comprehensive management agency. 16 (1927), the national government set up the Ministry of the Interior to manage civil affairs. 1935, after the Red Army's Long March arrived in northern Shaanxi, the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs was established in the Northwest Office of the Chinese Soviet Provisional Central Government to take charge of civil affairs. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), the Central People's Government set up the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take charge of civil affairs, and 1969 was revoked. The Fifth National People's Congress decided to set up the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China, which has continued to this day.

Shaanxi is one of the earliest cradles of the Chinese nation. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, there have been several civil affairs in Shaanxi, such as relief, immigration and administrative division. In different historical periods, Shaanxi's civil affairs agencies have used the names of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Civil Affairs Department of Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, Civil Affairs Labor Group of Shaanxi Revolutionary Committee, Civil Affairs Bureau of Shaanxi Revolutionary Committee, and Shaanxi Provincial Civil Affairs Department. 1983 was changed to "Shaanxi Provincial Civil Affairs Department", which has continued to this day. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to the development of business and the specialization of government functions, nearly ten bureau-level units have been set up in the province to undertake the business of the original civil affairs department. The main business of Shaanxi Provincial Civil Affairs Department can be divided into four parts: grassroots democratic political construction, social welfare and social assistance, services for national defense and military modernization, special social affairs management and ***30 major items and 68 minor items. Although the scope of civil affairs business is constantly adjusting, the purpose of "sharing worries for the central government and solving worries for the people" has not changed. Shaanxi civil affairs system follows the concept of "people-oriented, solving problems for the people and serving the people", keeps pace with the times, develops and innovates, pays attention to practical results, pays close attention to implementation, and the civil affairs cause develops continuously and healthily. It has played an important role in "implementing civil rights, safeguarding people's strength, solving people's livelihood", effectively regulating social interests, promoting social equity and maintaining social stability. With the proposal of building a harmonious socialist society, civil affairs is facing unprecedented development opportunities and will play an increasingly important role.