To meet requirements of feudal ruling, emperors of all dynasties had to establish the complex of bureaucracy to define responsibility and division of power, which should be correlated to and restricted by one another.
During the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, a central administration system withSan Sheng Liu Bu(three departments and six ministries) at its core was set up to conform with the political and economic situation at that time.San Sheng, includingMenxiasheng(the chancellery),Zhongshusheng(the secretariat) andShangshusheng(the department of state affairs, were assistant departments to the central administration, whose chief executives were in peer withZaixiang(prime minister).Liu Bu, coveringLi,Hu,Lee,Bing,Xing,Gong -the core of the central administrative system, were key administrations in charge of for personnel, revenue, rites, war, justice and public work.
BesidesLiu Bu, added to that in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were some assistant central administrations --Yuan,Si,Jian,Fu,Si, etc.
With political heritage of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644), also founded in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was a central administration system with dual assistant frameworks composed ofJun Ji Chu(Military and Confidential Affairs Office) -- responsible for the confidential, andNei Ge(cabinet) -- taking care of routine administrative affairs, in addition to the other six administrative departments --Bu,Yuan,Si,Jian,FuandSi. All departments were not affiliated with each other and could report to or ask for instructions from the emperor through message delivery channels, which contributed to highly centralized power and mutual dependence and constraint among all the departments in favour of the emperor's dominance. The positions and rankings were designated respectively for civil and military officials, and they evolved with time, reflecting the continuous development of political system and the maturity of political theory in ancient China.
The formation and evolution of ancient China's central administration system was characterized by its enormous and rigidly stratified bureaucracy, numerous and complicated rules, regulations and procedures, and artful tactics of assigning tasks to the subordinate while the actual power was always in the firm grip of the emperor.
Email to Friends
Print
Save