History of the Political System of China (2nd Edition)

Author: Wei Qingda / Bai Huai (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The History of China's Political System (2nd Edition) is a revision and substantial expansion of our previous two editions of The History of China's Political System. The earlier two editions of The History of China's Political System refer to the version published in 1989 by the China Renmin University Press, organized chronologically by dynasties, and the version published in 1991 by the Higher Education Press, organized by the development of series of individual systems such as administrative, legislative, judicial, military, financial, supervisory, cultural, and ceremonial institutions. These two books, though on the same theme but with different formats, were reprinted multiple times over more than a decade and were deeply cherished by readers both domestically and internationally. Some universities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan selected them as teaching materials or required reference books. Over the past decade, readers have provided us with many encouraging, critical, and revisionary suggestions. Some even wrote to us repeatedly, even requesting face-to-face meetings to express their opinions. We have always been deeply grateful for their kindness and have tried to incorporate their valuable suggestions into this new edition.
When rewriting the new work, the first major issue we faced was choosing the most suitable narrative style between the two mentioned above. Which style would be more concise and provide more practical knowledge of the history of political institutions? We were greatly undecided. In fact, both the cross-sectional narration of a single dynasty's political system in chronological order and the vertical analysis that breaks through dynastic boundaries to discuss the inheritance and updates of different specialized systems are commonly used research methods in the study of China's political system history, and they are not mutually exclusive. Each has its own strengths. Focusing on the political system of a single dynasty allows for a clearer understanding of its scale and characteristics. A vertical discussion of specialized issues, on the other hand, facilitates an understanding of the evolution and pros and cons of related systems over more than 4,000 years. These two approaches could complement each other, but as a textbook with limited, it is difficult to cover both comprehensively. We must prioritize one.
In The History of China's Political System (2nd Edition), we decided to adopt a vertical-cut approach as the main framework, separately narrating the development and changes of various important institutions since ancient times. At the same time, we have taken into account that individual institutions are inevitably subordinate to and constrained by the state system and overall political system of each period, and there are close horizontal links and coordination between them. The scale of governance and important policies of different dynasties must also be fully reflected in the discussion of individual institutions. The reason for this decision is based on the following considerations:
First, to reduce unnecessary repetition. China, from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, has had 33 recognized orthodox dynasties and more than 100 non-orthodox dynasties and peasant uprising regimes (see the Chronological Table of Chinese Dynasties in Comprehensive Dictionary). Especially after Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BCE and established a centralized autocratic system, the state system and political system of centralized autocracy continued for more than 2,000 years. The dynasties that succeeded one another largely followed the models of previous dynasties in terms of the establishment of state organs, the formulation of basic institutions, the division of administrative regions, and the titles and powers of officials. While there were minor differences, the overall patterns remained largely the same. If narrated in strict chronological order, it would inevitably lead to excessive overlap. Although we have also adopted methods in previous works to highlight the differences and adjustments of new dynasties compared to previous regimes, it was still difficult to avoid redundancy.
Second, to discuss China's political system from a dynamic perspective. Due to the frequent changes of dynasties, a sequential discussion often only touches on the inheritance of institutions, such as the structural forms of the civil service system or the provisions of legal texts, remaining at an external level. It becomes difficult to delve into the actual operation and substantive changes of the institutions. For example, most historians agree that the state system established by the Qin dynasty had a significant impact on later dynasties, as is often said, "two thousand years of Qin-style institutions." This statement undoubtedly has aspects that align with historical facts, as the Qin dynasty established the emperor as the supreme ruler and set up the central administrative system of the Three Ducal Ministers and Nine Ministers as assistants, while establishing prefectures and counties across the country. This political system model was indeed largely followed by later dynasties. However, it should also be noted that both the Three Ducal Ministers and Nine Ministers and the local prefecture-county system underwent significant and substantive adjustments in different dynasties, and some aspects had already diverged greatly from the Qin dynasty's original system.
For instance, when historians say "Han inherited Qin" or "Qing followed Ming," a closer examination reveals that the early emperors of the Western Han dynasty, though inheriting the external shell of the Qin political system and practicing centralized rule, implemented policies of light taxation and reduced labor ("resting and recuperating with the people") under Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. Emperor Wu, in particular, "solely revered Confucianism" and rejected Legalist doctrines, which differed greatly from Qin Shi Huang's promotion of Legalist theory and implementation of harsh punishments and heavy taxes. They were outwardly similar but inwardly different. As for the Manchus after conquering the Central Plains and establishing the Qing dynasty, although they formally adopted the Ming civil service system and continued the Ming Code, they also transplanted the Ming dynasty's Grand Secretariat, six ministries, and other departments. However, to ensure the Manchus' position as the ruling ethnic group, they established the Inner Court of State Council above the Grand Secretariat and Ministry, implemented ethnic quotas for official appointments, and stationed the Eight Banners across the country. In reality, the Qing system was also a transformation of the Ming system.
One of the key aspects of the history of political institutions is to explore the evolution and changes of related institutions, examining their creation, development, decline, and the reasons and social effects behind these changes. By digging deep and thoroughly investigating, we can explore the subtleties within the surface, and using comparative methods over time seems more conducive to understanding the development of political institutions dynamically.
Third, to examine the institutions within the long river of Chinese historical development and to correlate them with major historical events and the activities of important figures. Any institution is a product of specific historical conditions and is inevitably nurtured and rooted in a particular social environment, playing both positive and negative roles. It is closely related to the social, political, economic, and intellectual-cultural activities of each period and reflects its functions through specific events and the actions of individuals. Any institution with vigorous vitality was created and implemented smoothly because it met the needs of social development, while institutions that became empty rituals were those that had already been eliminated and were in decline. Of course, it is also necessary to examine why they flourished or were eliminated, as well as the social roots of their decline. For this, it is essential to explain the social reasons and gains and losses of the evolution of institutions with solid evidence.
Institutions, of course, must be operated and utilized by certain individuals and will inevitably stand out in major historical events of each period, becoming focal points of contradictions. Therefore, the study of the history of China's political system must take the institutions and their evolution as the backbone, select typical events of different periods and natures as the framework, and use the activities of different types of political figures as the vitality. Political institutions should be closely related to the overall development of the state's history and be an integral and indispensable part of the mainstream of Chinese historical development. They should be living, robust, and validated by extensive historical facts and arguments, rather than a dry and pale explanation of historical archives, official lists, or the Biographies of Officials.
As a textbook, we believe that adopting a thematic and separate narrative approach provides more space for integrating Chinese historical development.
Fourth, to cater to readers with different academic backgrounds and reading interests, meeting their diverse demands for historical knowledge. As a crucial part of the superstructure, the political system covers almost everything, which also determines the broad research content of the history of China's political system. Tracing its origins and exploring its developments, it involves military, political, legal, financial, cultural, ethnic, and folk customs, and has long been considered a key to studying Chinese history and traditional politics. It is extremely challenging for a textbook to encompass the development of political institutions over more than 4,000 years. Even by focusing on the main parts, the book has already exceeded 800,000 words. Considering that many professionals use this book as a textbook and that readers have different interests, we recommend that for senior undergraduate students specializing in the history of China's political system, especially master's and doctoral students, as well as readers who wish to gain a comprehensive understanding of the history of China's political system, should systematically and comprehensively study this book to acquire the necessary basic knowledge. For other readers with different academic backgrounds and interests, they can refer to the parts most relevant to their fields.
We are fully aware that writing a history of China's political system with comprehensive historical materials, accurate comments, a complete system, conciseness, and high quality is an extremely challenging academic endeavor. Chinese history has produced vast records of political institutions, laws, and regulations, preserving a wealth of opinions and works on the rise and fall of political institutions, as well as many outstanding figures who contributed to the creation and reform of political systems in different periods. They have staged countless events that shook the times by leveraging or utilizing the institutions of their time. Over 3,000 years, our ancestors, including emperors, generals, officials both in and out of office, and political commentators, have successively expressed their views and insights on these matters. Some of these views were deeply insightful and sparked long-lasting and intense debates. All of this is the intellectual wealth and precious heritage we must respectfully inherit.
Since the early 20th century, the application of new historical and political science theories and methods has introduced China's political system history to a new stage, and by the 1930s and 1940s, it had become a widespread practice. However, due to wars and other reasons, there was a long period of silence in the field. Fortunately, since the reform and opening-up, historians and political scientists have resumed systematic research on the history of China's political system. In addition to breakthroughs in major theoretical issues, there have also been innovations in research methods, and attention has been paid to studies abroad. While absorbing foreign research results, they have maintained exchanges and communication with their foreign counterparts, allowing this important discipline to once again enter a period of prosperity and development. Over the past two decades, numerous monumental works have emerged, and specialized monographs have flourished in all directions. We are honored to be part of this sequence and are willing to follow the footsteps of scholars at home and abroad, making our own modest contributions.
We are also deeply aware that to continuously improve the quality of research on the history of China's political system, it must be explored in stages and on specific topics before being synthesized. For this reason, after the publication of the two previous textbooks, we have not been complacent and have continued to conduct some thematic research.
Historical officials have always been figures with varying degrees of privileges, and the officialdom has always been a focal point of various contradictions and conflicts. The conduct and ethos of officials have long been a major issue of concern, and the civil service system is undoubtedly one of the core components of the political system. For this reason, we spent several years and a great deal of effort to complete the writing of The History of China's Civil Service System (Shanghai Dongfang Publishing Center, 2001). Our research has been relatively concentrated on the Ming and Qing dynasties. In addition to the publication of specialized books such as The Constitutional History of the Late Qing Dynasty (China Renmin University Press, 1993), A Study of the Administrative System of Ming Dynasty Prefectures and Counties (Chinese Social Sciences Press, 2003), and The Official Group of Ming and Qing Prefectures and Counties (Tianjin People's Publishing House, 2003), we have also written some papers on the structure and functions of Ming and Qing prefectural and county offices, the special status and functions of the Qing Inner Court, and the Qing recusal system and customary practices.
Bai Huai also spent ten years collecting and compiling works and materials on the history of China's political system from ancient times to the present, and preliminarily established the Reference Library for the History of China's Political System. After preliminary selection and compilation, the book Teaching Reference Materials for the History of China's Political System was published shortly after this one. These preliminary achievements will all be integrated into the newly compiled textbook.
The reason we report on the above work is not to boast, but to allow for self-examination and to accept the scrutiny and criticism of our peers and readers. It is also to illustrate that the prosperity of academic research on the history of China's political system must rely on division of labor, cooperation, and persistent effort, even spanning several generations. Academic construction has always been arduous and concrete. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to carry forward the legacy and lay the foundation, doing the specific work of sifting through the sand to find gold. We sincerely hope to contribute even a small brick or stone to such an important academic endeavor as the history of China's political system.
In the future, we will continue to explore and move forward, and we hope to work together with scholars and readers at home and abroad.
This book separately narrates the development and changes of various important institutions in China from ancient times to 1949, while also examining individual institutions that are inevitably subordinate to and constrained by the state system and political system of each period. Based on the basic principles and connotations of political institutions, it combs and summarizes the process of the formation and development of China's political system, aiming to understand the "origin" of political institutions and grasp the "course" of their development, providing a solid foundation for the new discussion. The book explains the general rules while emphasizing the particularities, narrates the institutions while focusing on analyzing their pros and cons and characteristics, conducting dynamic research to expand and enrich the content of the history of political institutions.
The book is rich in content, materials, and vivid language, making it a textbook with a broad scope of application and high academic value.