Chen Qun (?) - February 7, 237), the word is long. A native of Xuchang, Yingchuan (now Xuchangdong, Henan). He was a famous politician during the Three Kingdoms period, a heavy minister of Cao Wei, and the main founder of the "Jiupin Zhongzheng System" of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties election system and the "Wei Law" of Cao Wei. The grandson of Chen Yu, the chief of Taiqiu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the son of Chen Ji of Dahonglu.

Chen Qun was born in the "Yingchuan Chen Clan", a prominent family from the late Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin dynasties. His grandfather Chen Yu, father Chen Ji, and uncle Chen Chen are all famous in the world. When Chen Qunshang was a child, his grandfather Chen Yu often thought that this son was strange and said to the elders of the township sect: "This child will definitely prosper my sect." "Lu Guo Kong Rong has always been talented and arrogant, his age is about Chen Ji, Chen Qun between the two fathers and sons, so first with Chen Ji as friends, and then with Chen Qun, so he is famous.

Chen Qun once talked with Kong Rong about the advantages and disadvantages of the characters between you and Ying, and Chen Qun said: "Xun Wenruo, Xun Gongda, Xun Xiuruo, Xun Youruo, Xun Zhongyu, are unparalleled today." It can be seen that the two often talk about the characters and have a very close relationship.

Chen Qun often criticized Guo Jia for being an unruly person, so he complained about Guo Jia in court several times, but Guo Jia was calm and didn't care. Cao Cao believed that Chen Qun was able to uphold justice and was happy about it. Chen Qun's personality is upright and elegant, and he has many friends, and he is well-known with the same county Xinbi, Du Xi, and Zhao Yan, and is called "Xin, Chen, Du, and Zhao." He is also friends with Li Yi, who is "straight and honest to others". Chen Qun also has a deep friendship with Hua Xin, and often sighs that Hua Xin is "a person who can be described as a person who is clear but not Tai, and clear but not mindful." Cao Pi was in the East Palace, deeply respecting Chen Qun, and often sighed: "Since I have Yan Hui, the relationship between the students and me has become closer. ”

When Cao Pi received Zen, the courtiers below the three dukes were all knighted; Because Du Huaxin touched Cao Pi with his inappropriate look, he was only an official Situ, and he did not enter the knighthood. Cao Pi couldn't let go of his feelings for a long time, so he asked Chen Qundao: "I should receive Zen in the sky, and after the princes and groups, everyone is happy, and its form is full of sound, but only Xiangguo (referring to Huaxin) and your face are uncertain, what is this for?" Chen Qun left the table and knelt down and said: "The minister and Xiangguo were once ministers of the Han Dynasty, although they are happy for Your Majesty in their hearts, but in terms of righteousness, the looks of the ministers should really be afraid and even hate Your Majesty. Cao Pi was overjoyed after hearing this, and he knew what he meant.

The Jiupin Zhongzheng System, also known as the Jiupin Official Law, is an important official election system during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and was a system formulated by Emperor Cao Pi of Wei Wen in the first year of the Huang Dynasty (220) after adopting the opinions of Chen Qun, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials. This system gradually became complete in the Western Jin Dynasty, and changed during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. From the beginning of Cao Wei to the establishment of the imperial examination in the Sui and Tang dynasties, this period existed for about 400 years.

The Jiupin Zhongzheng system inherits the two Han Dynasty inspection system, and the imperial examination of the Sui and Tang dynasties, occupies a very important position in the history of China's ancient Chinese political system, and is one of the three major official election systems in China's feudal society.

In terms of content, there are three main points in the Jiupin Zhongzheng system.

Set the center

This is the key link of the positive system in the nine products. The so-called Zhongzheng is the person in charge of evaluating the characters in a certain area, that is, the Zhongzheng official. The state has a large central official who is in charge of the evaluation of the characters in several counties in the state, and each county has a small central official. The Zhongzheng officials were originally elected by the county governors, and after the Jin Dynasty, they were elected by Situ in the three princes of the imperial court. Among them, the junior lieutenant magistrate of the county can be elected by the senior lieutenant magistrate of the prefecture, but he still needs to be appointed by Situ. Under normal circumstances, the central officials of the prefectures and counties are the current central officials recommended by Situ, and sometimes Situ or the official department Shangshu also directly serves as the state's central officials. This is to ensure that the central government has direct control over the election and to avoid interference by others in the affairs of the Central Committee. Both large and small officials also have subordinates named "visits".

Pindi characters

This is the main duty of the Central Officer. The Lieutenant was responsible for evaluating scholars of his same nationality, including those in the prefecture and in other counties.

There are three main contents of the tasting:

1. Family background: that is, family origin and background. It refers to the seniority of the fathers and grandparents, the situation of the eunuchs and the level of the title. These materials are called books or books, and they are something that the central magistrate must master in detail.

2. Behavior: that is, the general evaluation of personal character and ability, which is equivalent to moral evaluation. The general comments of the Wei and Jin dynasties are generally very concise, such as "the talent is brilliant, bright and outstanding", "the virtue is excellent and the ability is few", etc.

3. Determine the grade: that is, determine the grade. In principle, the order is based on the line, and the family history is only for reference. But after the Jin Dynasty, the grade was completely determined by family background. Those who come from poor backgrounds can only be set at the bottom of the grade, no matter how high the comments are; Those who come from wealthy families can also be ranked in the top class if they are not in good shape. As a result, it became a situation at that time that "there was no poor family in the upper grades, and there were no scholars in the lower grades".

Selection basis:

The results of the Zhongzheng review were submitted to the Situ Government for review and approval, and then sent to the Ministry of Officials as the basis for the selection of officials. The quality assessed by Zhongzheng is also known as "rural product", which is closely related to the career of the assessee. The starting point of the official character of the person with high village character to become an official (also known as the "starting official") is often a "clean official", and the promotion is also relatively fast, and he is respected, while the starting point of the person with a low character is often a "turbid official", and the promotion is also slow and despised.

The Zhongzheng appraisal characters are adjusted once every 3 years as usual, but the Zhongzheng can also upgrade or downgrade the evaluated characters at any time. After a person's hometown quality rises and falls, the official quality and the turbidity of the residence official often change accordingly. In order to enhance the authority of Zhongzheng, the government also prohibits the rated from suing for falsification. However, if the product is illegal, the government will investigate its responsibility.

Positive

1. It plays a role in the selection of talents, and its selection criteria are equal to family background, morality and ability;

2. The implementation of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system also deprived the governors of prefectures and counties of the power to appoint their own subordinates, and the power to appoint and dismiss officials was brought back to the central government, which was conducive to strengthening the power of the central government.

Negative significance

At the beginning of the establishment of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system, the standard for evaluating characters was to pay equal attention to family background, morality, and talent. However, due to the fact that the people who acted as Zhongzheng in the Wei and Jin dynasties were generally second-grade, and the second-rank had the right to participate in the Zhongzheng election, and almost all of the people who obtained the second-grade were the gate valve family, so the gate valve family completely controlled the right to select officials. Therefore, in the process of authentic products, the standard of talent and morality was gradually ignored, and the family background became more and more important, and even became the only standard. The Jiupin Zhongzheng system has not only become an important tool for maintaining and consolidating the rule of the gate valve, but also an important part of the gate valve system.

By the Southern Dynasties, in the Zhongzheng review, only the name of the distant ancestors of the Wei and Jin dynasties was emphasized, and the identification of bloodlines and surnames only needed to check the genealogy, and the quality of Zhongzheng became an insignificant routine. During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern Dynasties, due to the nature of the rule of ethnic minorities in each regime, the role of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system could not be compared with that of the two Jin and Southern Dynasties. In the early and middle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the nine-product Zhongzheng system was not implemented. Emperor Xiaowen was restructured, the surname of the Banding family, and the nine-product Zhongzheng system was established. However, since the change of Heyin, this system has also become a formality.

In the Sui Dynasty, with the decline of the gate valve system, this system was finally abolished.

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