What kind of officials are the Taiwei, Palace Commander, and Tiha in "Water Margin"?

Anyone who has read books about the Song Dynasty will have a feeling that the names of official ranks and positions in the Song Dynasty are very difficult to understand. In a word: complicated and miss the point. Now the woodcutter will talk to you about what kind of officials these Taiwei, Palace Commanders, Tiha, Dutou, etc. in "Water Margin" are, and what are their specific responsibilities?

In fact, it is basically impossible to describe the official rank system of the Qing and Song Dynasties in one or two sentences.

The official system of the Song Dynasty was bounded by the Yuanfeng reform. There were one stage before and after the reform, and the Southern Song Dynasty was another major stage.

The picture above_ A brief table of the official system of the Song Dynasty

We will discuss it based on the approximate background period of the Water Margin. Before Song Shenzong Yuanfeng, the official system was not much different from the Tang Dynasty in name, but in fact it was very different. The main reason is that the Song Dynasty implemented a central official system with centralization as the axis. It established the Zhongshu Sheng, the Privy Council (the highest military organ), and the three divisions to control the three major powers: government, military, and finance. The power of the prime minister was assigned to the Privy Council and the Three Divisions. Divide. The powers of the three are equal and do not control each other. The power of the prime minister was seriously weakened, while the power of the emperor was strong.

In the Song Dynasty, the system of three provinces and six ministries was implemented, which was clear and definite on the surface, but in reality it changed a lot. And the name is designed to be extremely obscure. Let’s start with the big picture and move towards the novel.

Prime Minister

There was no title of prime minister in the Song Dynasty, but there was actually a prime minister's position. Its name was Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi, which meant that it was handled together with the two departments of Zhongshu and Menxia. affairs. His deputy position is called "Informer of Political Affairs", but this name is actually a fallacy. "Shenzhi Zhengshi" was originally an official name in the Tang Dynasty. He was one of the highest administrative officials in the Tang Dynasty. Taizu of the Song Dynasty first appointed Zhao Zhongling as the sole prime minister. He had wanted to appoint someone else as his deputy for a long time but was unable to choose a suitable title for him. He called Tao Gu, a scholar, to ask: "I am a prime minister, what official position do I have?" Tao Gu replied: "In the Tang Dynasty, there was a counselor. "Political affairs", hence the name. In fact, the order of character is turned upside down.

The most unique feature of the central official system in the Song Dynasty was the separation of official titles and actual duties. The purpose was to divide the powers of officials at all levels so as to restrict them. In this way, the official title is just an empty name, and the so-called official rank only means that you can enjoy the salary and treatment according to the standards. Used as the basis for determining rank, salary, uniforms, and order of movement, this type of official is called a "send salary official", which is in name only, does not assume responsibilities, and does not even work at the post. This left a large number of officials in the imperial court idle.

The three provinces, six ministries, and twenty-four divisions all have formal officials in name, but unless specifically ordered by the emperor, they do not care about their own duties. Therefore, although there are official officials in each department, they do not manage the political affairs of the department, and only half of them are responsible for their responsibilities. This is true for official officials, not to mention servants such as servants, ministers, prime ministers, ministers, and other assistants who are in their official positions and do not know their duties. It is even more common.

There are two situations for this type of officials. One is that during the process of Song Taizu and Taizong unifying the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, a large number of old officials were retained. In order to enable them to maintain their official positions and receive salaries, but not to hold real power ( Only those who are considered reliable are assigned some actual positions); secondly, some members of the clan, relatives, and honorary elders are only awarded high-ranking officials with preferential salaries, but no actual positions.

At the time of Zhenzong, these measures were institutionalized. According to this system, general officials have two titles: "officer for salary" and "officer for dispatch". It is very common for officials to be "appointed to officials who are not their official".

Grand Master

As Grand Master, Cai Jinggui has always been the most powerful official in the dynasty. The title of Grand Master was originally used in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and became an honorary title in the Wu Dynasty of the Zhou Dynasty. Cai Jingquan's power was dominated by both the government and the public because he served as his right servant and minister (i.e., deputy prime minister) for seventeen years. (There was no full-time prime minister during this period.) This means that Cai Jing's grand master was a salary official, and his deputy prime minister was a dispatch officer. There was no full-time prime minister, so he had all the power.

Taiwei

This title began in the former Qin Dynasty and was an important position with the power to lead the army. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Taiwei was ranked under the Taibao. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Huizong reorganized the military attache system. That is, when the story of "Water Margin" takes place, the Taiwei became the head of the military attache rank and was a "service officer" with little power in his hands. But it is true that Gao Qiu, the great captain who can cover the sky with one hand, was created.

Tijia

This is a position that appears very frequently in "Water Margin". It means "to lead". In the Song Dynasty, the official rank ranged from the first to the ninth rank, while the official rank of the Tijuan official ranged from the sixth rank to the seventh rank. He should be regarded as a low-level military attache in the Song Dynasty, equivalent to the current battalion commander or company commander. The number of officials in charge of a state (road) is about 30, which is the abbreviation of "official affairs for the officers of soldiers, armor, thieves and thieves". In charge of military training in the region, supervising the arrest of thieves and other duties. Today it would be equivalent to "Second Lieutenant Platoon Commander" or at most "Second Superintendent of Police".

Prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty generally had the post of "Tijia", which was responsible for managing the army, collecting and training troops, and other matters. "History of the Song Dynasty Official Records Seven" (this book is simply a heavenly book) contains: In Chongning, the troops and horses and armor were restored, and all the ministers were responsible for them. He was responsible for training the army and supervising the arrest of thieves to clear the territory.

Lu Zhishen was appointed as the official, and according to his own words, "he should be called the 'Five-Route Honest Visitor Envoy to Guanxi Province.'" What kind of official was this?

Integrity Visiting Envoy

This official position has been established since the Song Dynasty and is called "Integrity Visiting Envoy". Report promptly. See "History of the Song Dynasty·Official Officials Seven". In addition to alerting, it also has the power to supervise and report officials in various state governments. It was originally responsible for supervision matters.

Dutou

Among the heroes of Liangshan, there were several people who were "Dutou": Wu Song, Lei Heng, Zhu Tong, etc.

Why is this official? The capital head was originally a regular army establishment position, which existed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Volume 254 of "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" says: "In the middle period of the Tang Dynasty, the commander-in-chief of all armies was the capital head. After that, the army of one unit was called The commanders of a capital were called "dutou". In the Song Dynasty, there were no regular troops in the counties. They used rural soldiers and government officials as the armed forces to suppress the local area. Therefore, they were also regarded as soldiers of a capital, and their leaders were named "dutou". It ranges from dozens to hundreds, depending on the size of the state and county, so Dutou, the head of the county armed police force,

The official position of the Song Dynasty is divided into ". There are two categories: "officials" and "officials". The custodian belongs to the "officials", who are usually recruited from the local area and are non-staff employees. Without the special grace of the court, it is impossible to become an official. They mainly deal with official documents, taxes or prisons. Litigation and other work. Generally, there are prosecutors at all levels of county, state, and road government offices.

Dutou, prosecutors, and litigation masters are all "subordinate officials" who have no official establishment but are within the system. Work and perform certain grassroots functions.

Song Jiang people are subordinates. No matter how outstanding their work is, there is no possibility of being promoted to an "official". In the long run, they will inevitably feel resentful. The introduction of the imperial examination system opened the door to "officialdom" to ordinary people, but it was also an overreach. Very few people obtained official positions without the imperial examination. No matter how talented you were or how great your contribution, you were still looked down upon by those who took the imperial examination. Excluded. Yue Fei, who was as strong as the famous general Di Qing, was awarded the title of Deputy Privy Envoy due to his merits. He was despised and excluded by the civil service group who had been promoted to officials for a long time. They were only deputy envoys to the Privy Council, which shows how strict the Song Dynasty was on guarding military generals.

However, there were actually many other characteristics of the officialdom of the Song Dynasty. In addition to the unwritten rule that military generals were not allowed to serve as Privy Council envoys, There is also a tacit rule that southerners are not allowed to serve as prime ministers.

Yuhou

It is similar to the military establishment unit "Du" in the Song Dynasty. Level, with the post of Yu Hou, having a lower status, approximately belonging to the section level.

The low-level military position in the Song Dynasty, belonging to the Palace Front Division. "Zhiguanzhi 6": "Every time there are military envoys, deputy military and horse envoys, ten generals, generals, Yuhou, bureau chiefs, and security officers, each of whom is assigned to the front department of the palace according to his or her duties. "The Seventh Chapter of "Water Margin": "The two Chengju urged Lin Chong to put on his clothes, take the knife, and follow the two Chengju. "

Dujian

In the Song Dynasty, there was a road "Dujian", which was in charge of the garrison, training and border defense affairs of the imperial army. There was a state capital "Dujian" in charge of the city. The provincial name for Zhongshu Ling was the military's garrison, training, military equipment, and military service.

Zhongshu Ling was established in the Han Dynasty. For example, the reason why Liang Shijie of Daming Prefecture was called Liang Zhongshu instead of Liang Zhifu shows that he had served as a minister of Zhongshu in Tokyo, or at least a member of Zhongshu, and was then sent as a postal officer with the title of Zhongshu. Go to Daming Mansion to be the head of a government.

Xianggong Jinglue

Lao Zhong and Xiao Zhong, Xianggong Jinglue, are famous in the Water Margin, but what kind of official is this Xianggong Jinglue? "Jinglue" in the Northern Song Dynasty is the abbreviation of the "Jinglue pacification system envoy" in the Northern Song Dynasty. The "Jinglue" in the Northern Song Dynasty is the chief officer who is in charge of the affairs of the army and the people in various provinces across the country (approximately equivalent to the current province). The "Jinglue pacification envoy" can only manage the military. There is no power to send troops, which is a bit similar to the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty, but the power is much smaller (no financial and judicial power). It can be regarded as an "abridged version" of the Jiedushi

You can watch it. It can be concluded that the official system of the Song Dynasty had inherent deficiencies. The purpose of setting up institutions and positions was not to efficiently handle government affairs, but to prevent the emperor from losing power. There was a game-like relationship between the central government and various ministries.