As important government workers, why were clerks and officials so humble in the Ming and Qing Dynasties?

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the biggest boss of the county government was naturally the magistrate of a county. The mirror is hanging high, and the master has the final say in court? . Under the magistrate, other staff can be roughly divided into the following four categories.

First, other officials. There is a county magistrate, equivalent to a deputy county magistrate; Master book, secretary general; Classical history of police chief; There are also inspections (director of the police station), teaching guidance (director of education) and so on. Like the county grandfather, they are all court officials, registered in the official department, wearing official uniforms and official hats.

The second is the official. Officials are different from officials, not inflows. There are six rooms under the ordinary county government: the engineers are polite, and the ordinary clerks in the six rooms are the so-called officials, who are responsible for writing official documents and handling archival documents, and are the main force of writing in the government office. Song was an honest official in Liangshanpo.

Above _ Song Jiang (1073~ 1 124), the word Gong, alias Hu He Timely Rain, Song in the water margin.

The third is the chief. There are three groups of officials.

One is called Soap Officer, wearing a red and black uniform. In the Ming dynasty, he also wore a square towel and newspaper clippings. The boots of the Qing dynasty are one color on both sides, one red and one black. Responsible for escorting the county grandfather. When he was in court, he leaned on a fire and water stick and shouted? Wei Wu? According to the master's order, hit the board for the prisoner.

Secondly, Aauto Quicker, the arresting officer, is a criminal policeman who catches criminals and a common role in martial arts novels.

Third, the class is strong, the people are strong, and they are responsible for all kinds of chores, such as guarding the prison, lifting the sedan chair, guarding the city gate, being responsible for traffic logistics, and managing the canteen of the yamen. The above three categories are collectively referred to as three categories, sir.

Fourth, is the secretary's staff appointed by the county grandfather himself? Staff. Commonly known as touts, and master's house. Above _ Liang Qian in Qing Dynasty? Convenient and easy to know? To inform the farmers who grow grain.

The objects discussed in this paper are mainly the second and third categories, referred to as "scribes"? Official? , the chief abbreviation? Hey? , the two are collectively called? A small official? .

Small officials are the main force of yamen staff. Take Wujiang County in Suzhou as an example. Among the government officials, there are 1 1 people, such as magistrate of a county, county cheng and other court officials. There are about 100 calligraphers of Confucian classics and prose, but there are 384 clerks, which is still the quota given by the imperial court. In fact, the total number of petty officials is more. Petty officials are responsible for documents and files, document transmission, litigation and punishment, judicial order, water transportation and taxation, security, etc., which can be described as the main force to maintain the normal operation of government agencies and social order stability.

However, it is puzzling that these important state workers, who should have been respected by the society, were regarded as humble in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Small officials are forbidden to marry officials and are also looked down upon in society. Some families in Guangdong who have become bookkeepers will be removed from their ancestral temples.

Compared with scribes, officials have a lower status. Besides Ding Zhuang, Kuding and Jidu, there were other kinds of officials in the Qing Dynasty. Its soap collectors, fast horses, trots, ponies, imperial guards, doors, Gong Bing, coroner, poor food and patrol camps are all cheap services? , the director and? Slaves, prostitutes, beggars? In the same column

When you become an official, you can't take part in the imperial examination yourself, nor can three generations of descendants. This point, even the Qing people themselves don't understand. Shen Jiaben, a famous jurist in the late Qing Dynasty, said, What is the reason? ?

I can't answer what the master can't answer, just list a few points for your reference and discussion.

Above _ The scene of the Qing Dynasty yamen trying criminals shot by the Frenchman George Rabbi.

First, in ancient times, many junior office workers in the government were slaves, so they followed the tradition of junior officials.

In the pre-Qin period, China was in a slave society, and slave owners regarded slaves as tools, right? Talking animals? Slave owners don't work by themselves, and slaves farm, weave, raise cattle and horses at home.

Officials at that time were naturally qualified only by slave owners, but in the daily affairs of the government, there were always some clumsy jobs, such as raising horses, running errands and driving. The pampered slave owners eat well and drink well, and they are fat in vain. Where will they put it? This kind of work is naturally reserved for slaves.

The chief was simplified? Hey? Is it because? Careless and incompatible. ? Contact them for service? To put it bluntly, it is a working slave. "Mozi-Tianxia Zhi" said? When attacking an innocent country, the husband thinks the servant is vain, and the woman thinks the husband is a gentleman. ? Is the so-called male slave captured? Hey? .

Above _ The bronze mirror of the Western Han Dynasty, in which the figure is based on the maid.

After the Qin and Han dynasties, there were still prisoners who were punished as official slaves and worked in the government. Chu Yuan's Hanshu Wang Zhi says? Don't be afraid to treat sinners, don't be at a loss? . The criminals who are caught must be led by a rope and do odd jobs in the government.

From Qin and Han Dynasties to Sui and Tang Dynasties, although the main body of society was already a feudal society, there were still considerable remnants of slavery. There is a person with a special household registration called? Li Hu? Or? Miscellaneous? They belong to untouchables who are not allowed to marry their own kind. They belong to the slaves of the country and are driven away by the government. They serve all the year round, and a large part of them are doing clumsy work in the government. ? With the teacher, responsible for class service. ? In the Tang Dynasty, they were called bad people because they came from untouchables. What is their household registration? Miscellaneous? .

After Wang Anshi's political reform in the Song Dynasty, it was changed to recruitment, and officials were recruited from the society, but they inherited the view that officials were low.

Above _ Wang Anshi (102 1 year-1086)

Second, the gate valve system separated officials, and the imperial examination system lowered their status.

Booksellers are responsible for copying, at least reading and hyphenating, and doing a decent job. How can it be valued by officials? Dirty little collector? So what?

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the scribes were called? Government history? 、? Your history? , is also a kind of officer, can rely on seniority promotion, promoted to the top. ? Lang is short of money, let those who have made history for a long time make up for it? Although? Appreciate the position and thin? But like the officers, they are all court officials, and there is no identity difference.

But in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, after Wei Dynasty, the history books were also written by Zhu Yi, so they were called outstanding works. ? The commander of Beiqi received the officer. Does he want it? Ping? Sir, there is no need to return the favor. In the sui and Tang dynasties, it became? Humble? This position. Into a whole? Dirty? ,? Shame on officials? , and the director and so on, ok? Various colors? .

The decline in the status of bibliophiles is related to the rise of the gate valve system. Noble giants monopolize politics, and senior officials are aristocratic children. The official second generation and the poor second generation easily sit in high positions. Of course, I look down on petty officials at the lower levels. Noble children themselves occupy high positions. Of course, they don't want people from poor families to become phoenix men and compete with them for food. Therefore, officials are diverted, and poor boys will always be poor boys, working while cooling.

Above _ Song Dynasty officials

The imperial examination prevailed in Song Dynasty, and all court officials were selected by the imperial examination, which broke the political monopoly of aristocratic giants, but the status of bibliophiles was lower and there was no promotion. A scribe in the Song Dynasty? Kong Mu, Cao Si and Shu Shou? Wait? Life without wealth, there is no glory. ? What's going on here?

It turned out that the original intention of selecting officials in the imperial examination was to restrain the giants, win over the middle and lower classes and prevent the emergence of aristocratic forces that threatened the imperial power. In the Song Dynasty, the officials who passed the imperial examination of Confucian classics and Ci Fu were all scholars who were poor in Confucian classics and talked about theory. They have read books for most of their lives, but many of them have never done anything practical, so they can only rely on front-line officials at the grassroots level to handle things.

The county grandfather in the water margin did not discuss major issues with Song Jiang, so that when he appeared, Cheng was scolded by the old collectors for his unclear work. Because many officials were in a daze, officials had a lot of things to do, so the court had to take strict precautions to give officials a humble position, so that they could only look up at the ceiling and could not get up.

Similarly, scholars who read sage books often think highly of themselves and look down on officials who have less ink than themselves. Men of letters tend to despise one another After ten years of cold window, intellectuals feel that other scholars are not as good as themselves. As for those officials, they don't care.

The Ming and Qing Dynasties continued the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty, and naturally continued the official-oriented policy in the Song Dynasty.

Above _ the face of literati tourism in Song Dynasty

Third, learn the so-called? Yuan died of an official? The lesson of

In the Yuan Dynasty, Mongols looked down on scholars and said? Kim died of Confucianism? Look down on Confucian scholars, ten Confucianism and nine beggars? Think that most Confucian scholars are empty talk waste.

Governing the country should be selected from people with experience in government affairs at the grassroots level. Therefore, the status of bibliophiles in the Yuan Dynasty rose sharply. Basically? Starting with rank? Han people from the south, officials below level 4, are almost all officials. Ordinary families in the yuan dynasty wanted to turn over, not to read sage books, but to be sent to yamen? Experience? In the Yuan Dynasty, there were quite a few small officials aged 15 and 16.

However, the Yuan Dynasty was politically corrupt and the officialdom was even darker. Book collectors take people's livelihood as their responsibility, and try their best to accept bribes and oppress the people. As an emperor from a poor peasant background, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had a bad feeling towards Yuan officials, thinking that Yuan died in the official position and his official position was suppressed.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not completely deny the value of officials. He formulated three ways to choose officials, including the door shadow (the second generation of officials is hereditary), the imperial examination, and the selection of competent officials. A good scribe can still be an official, and some have done a lot.

However, after Zhu Yuanzhang, more and more officials were born in the imperial examination, and fewer and fewer officials were elected, which basically restored the way of taking scholars as the right path in the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty. Emperor Xuande particularly emphasized that petty officials were cunning and bullied the city, which led to the people's hardship in the Yuan Dynasty and greatly cut off the promotion space of officials. Officials can only get official positions by passing the annual examination, and they can only be small officials like the main book. The Qing Dynasty basically continued this policy.

Above _ Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang Bust Ganlong Imperial Plate Making

Fourth, use the foundation to press well and balance skillfully on the field.

In fact, there is another important reason why small officials are inferior, that is, the court's own abacus. Use cheap to press it? . Petty officials are grass-roots civil servants, facing the people, but the original intention of feudal rulers is to exploit, oppress and extract the people's fat, so petty officials are at the forefront of social contradictions between officials and the people and have to have sharp conflicts with the people. The court lowered the status of petty officials: they were cheap, but the people were very kind, so the people oppressed by petty officials had a psychological balance, resulting in Ah Q? Lao Tzu was beaten by his grandson? Thought, thus spiritual victory, no longer rise.

As mentioned earlier, officials, as specific administrative personnel, can arrogate a lot of power when the chief official is in a daze. The court deliberately lowered their political and economic status, fearing that they would be too reckless, disrupt their political platforms, and keep them at the grassroots level for life, posing no threat to the elite.

Above _ honest official

Verb (abbreviation of verb) has an adverse reaction.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the practice of treating officials as inferior had a very bad influence, that is, officials and officials were greedy and abused the people.

First, no matter what small officials do, they are humble. Why not take the opportunity to make a fortune?

Secondly, the petty officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were mostly hired. Many officials were born as good citizens, but when they became officials, they became untouchables. If they can't bend the law, who wants to be good and mean?

So most of the small officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties became? Traitor? 、? Slippery officer? ,? In a city, a city, a province, a province and the world? , became a freak under the feudal system.

Text: The Big Lion

References:

1 "Selection of officials in imperial examinations and the development of petty officials politics" Cheng Nianqi (academic monthly) 2005.6438+06438+0.

2 "Why do officials in the Qing Dynasty have to be classified? Dalits? Yuan Bo (People's Court News) 20 18. 1.26

3 "Two Different Political Mentality and the Social Status of Petty Officials in Ming and Qing Dynasties" Zhao Shiyu (Political Studies) 5438+099+0.

4. "Research on Local Official Service System in Qing Dynasty" Zhou Baoming (East China Normal University) 2006

5 "Petty Officials and Dalits" Zhao Gang (Social Science Front) 197+0.

The text was created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures originated from the Internet and belonged to the original author.