By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the procuratorial system of the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty had been manipulated and exploited by the clan of the gate lords, who influenced the public opinion of the townships at that time, and caused all kinds of corrupt phenomena to arise in the procuratorial examination, and there were sharp contradictions with the small and medium-sized landlords and their intellectuals who demanded to participate in politics, and there was a fierce struggle over how to elect officials. After Cao Cao's death, Cao Pi adopted Chen Qun's initiative, so Jiupin Zhongzheng made the main system of electing officials during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. At that time, however, the probation had not yet been completely abolished. The Jiupin Zhongzheng system was born in this background situation.

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, a situation was formed 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 improve neutrality, the government also prohibits the rated from suing for discourse. However, if the product is illegal, the government will investigate its responsibility.

History

Begin to take shape

The Jiupin Zhongzheng system followed the tradition of rural appraisal in the Eastern Han Dynasty, developed under the conditions of the flow of people during the war, and also adapted to the characteristics of the politics of the early Cao Wei Dynasty.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, who represented the central power, had many moves to suppress the flashy atmosphere of the wealthy family. Cao Cao was not a famous family, and his grandfather was a member of a group of eunuchs who opposed the famous people. Many celebrities looked down on Cao Cao and confronted Cao Cao's regime. Therefore, Cao Cao had to suppress the local wealthy forces represented by the Qing scholars, such as destroying the friendship of friends. However, in times of war, the Cao regime still had to rely on local celebrities, because they had a high reputation in the township, and it was impossible to completely abolish the township review. All the Cao regime could do was to bring the Qing Dynasty into the orbit of the regime and make celebrities cooperate with the regime. In this way, by setting up a central official to be in charge of the first person for the reference of the officials, the regime representing the "national interest" gained a certain degree of control over the local celebrities. On the other hand, however, the purging of local celebrities was also legalized, thus creating conditions for the development of their power.

The selection of officials by the method of quality began with Cao Cao and has become a system. For example, "Three Kingdoms, Wu Zhi, Lu Su Biography": "Today, Su Yingcao, Cao should be used to pay back to the township party, and his name and position will not be lost." Take the car, from the officials, tired officials do not lose the state and county. The general greeted the drill and wanted to return in peace. ”

However, the name of Zhongzheng appeared in historical records after Cao Pi became the king of Wei. "Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Wei Zhi, Chen Qun Biography": "Emperor Wen was in the East Palace, deeply respected the instrument, (omitted) and the throne, sealed the Marquis of Wuting in Qunchang, and migrated to Shangshu. The law of making nine officials is also built by the group. ”

At the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, the state was the state capital, and the county was the Zhongzheng. For example, "Three Kingdoms, Wei Zhi, Chang Lin Biography" notes that "Wei Luo" uses Ji Mao, Shi Miao and others as "Qing Jie's Biography", and says: "...... In the early days, the state began to make nine products, and each made the counties choose to be in the middle...... Wang Yan, the captain of Maotong County, was the county guard in the first number, and he was not named innocent. And Yanzi Jiashi has been in all counties, and it has also been restored to Tongren. Jiashi is still a loose horseman, and Feng Yijun is moved to Zhongzheng".

It can be seen that the county is being elected by the county governors, and they are the current officials. To a certain extent, this achieved the goal of the Cao regime, that is, to bring the private deliberations of celebrities and celebrities who were easy to form the flashy style of the party under the control of the government, and the county magistrate elected the incumbent official to serve as the Zhongzheng and the rank of the person in charge. The first character in the authentic product must provide three items: a family, a form, and a product. Volume 214 of "Taiping Yulan" quotes "Jin Yangqiu": "Chen Qun is the secretary of the ministry, and the system of nine grids is used, all because of Zhongzheng. Examination of the world, and then appointment. It shows that Wei Shi has a family background, but it is not a complete standard.

Due to political and military needs, Cao Cao repeatedly issued meritocracy orders. Therefore, in terms of Pindi characters, although the family background cannot be ignored, in the early stage, I am afraid that it is more important to learn. For example, "Preface to the Biography of Song Shu Enxing": Cao Wei established the nine-product Zhongzheng system, "covering the merits of talents, not the superiority of the world." ”

The Han Dynasty elections have been referenced. A state is a specific account of a person's moral talents. The statement made by Zhongzheng often stops at one or two sentences, which is a general comment. The product is evaluated based on a combination of family history and behavior. The product is divided into nine grades, and the first product is a virtual position, the second product is the most, and the second and third products are still the top grade in the early stage. The product here is "genuine", which is different from the official product. At the beginning of the Wei Dynasty, Zhongzheng Dingpin was still heavy on the township. In the early days of Cao Wei, the county was the grass-roots level, and the county was the one who really played the role of the first character, they were still under the exclusive control of the local scholars, and the prefecture was just a general discussion. Therefore, the wealthy families in the center have not been able to control the Zhongzheng system well to serve them. But after Cao Fang, the situation changed.

Gradual development

An important symbol of the development of the Jiupin Zhongzheng system during this period was the establishment of the state Zhongzheng. Its establishment was based on the proposal of Sima Yi, who was more powerful than the dynasty at that time. "Taiping Yulan" volume 265 quotes "Fu Zi": Wei Sikong Chen Qun, the beginning of the system of nine products, the county is in the middle, and the level of talents is high, each is a seniority. The state is the capital, and the general discussion. Emperor Xuan of the Jin Dynasty in addition to the nine products, the state placed the big Zhongzheng, and said: The case of the nine products, Zhu Zhongzheng did not anticipate the talents, thinking that the nine products could be removed, and the state placed the big Zhongzheng. And "General Dictionary" volume 32 has: "Emperor Xuan of the Jin Dynasty added a large zhongzheng, so there are large and small zhongzheng, and its employment is very heavy." And Cao Xi disagreed. Later, Cao Xi and his brother Cao Shuang were both killed by Sima Yi.

From the establishment of the state Zhongzheng to the two Jin Dynasty, the Jiupin Zhongzheng system gradually completed the transformation of the gate valve, and finally became the election tool of the gate valve clan.

Unlike the previous county zhongzheng, which was elected by the magistrate, the county zhongzheng in the Jin Dynasty was recommended by the state zhongzheng. For example, "Jin Shu Fu Xuan Fuzi Xian Biography": "Yuzhou Dazhong Zheng Xiahou Jun said that Lu Guo Xiaozhong Zheng Sikong Sima Kongyu, four moved to the sick place, can not receive guests, and asks Shang Shulang Cao Fu to replace Yu. On the tenth day, Fu Shangyu is the Zhongzheng, Situ Sanbut, Jungu is upright. "The big and small zhongzheng have also been elected by Situ.

This situation seems to be a further transfer of the power of the people in the election to the central government, which is conducive to cracking down on the local nobles. This was true on the one hand, but on the other hand, it facilitated the expansion of the power of the central nobles, who controlled the local and even central system of electing officials, while the local families with low or no official positions were declining. At this time, it was not the local Qing scholars in the early Wei Dynasty who threatened the regime representing the "national interest", but the emerging family bureaucrats entrenched in the imperial court, the clan lords.

Basic molding

At the time of the Wei and Jin dynasties, it has become a fact that the quality is biased. "Jin Shu Zheng Zheng Biography of the Son" said: "At the beginning, the (Jin Wu) Emperor took the noble son as a product, and the township did not dare to be with him, and he sought the state, so the twelve counties were silent. "After the Jin Dynasty, there were many critics of the election that focused on family background.

The children of the Gaomen clan are often selected by the officials directly from their families without having to go through inspection. Prior to this, they all won the high quality by virtue of the door. For example, Fu Chang, "the year is not weak, and he has a heavy name, so he was elected to the East Palace." Xie Yan, "The weak crown is called chastity, and the beautiful demeanor is ,...... Worship the book". Wang Qia, "(Wang) is the most well-known among the sons, and has a good reputation with Xun Xian." Weak crown, Li Sancai, Zhongshulang". Among the 192 people who can be examined in the Western Jin Dynasty, 56 people are directly in the office, and there is more development in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and 118 people are directly in the 209 people who enter the office.

The state officials and juxiu talents are mainly the main careers of the middle-level scholars and the Wu Shu scholars. They are the children of the so-called local "village tycoons" of a slightly inferior status. However, the county officials and Cha Xiaolian, who were highly valued in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the early Wei Dynasty, were reduced to the careers of low-level scholars and poor people. This change fully shows that the Jiupin Zhongzheng system has become a tool of the high-ranking family at this time, and only the door is valued and the virtue is lightened. Of course, this change has changed with the development of the power of the gate lord clan.

In fact, the establishment of the gate valve system has made the Jiupin Zhongzheng system a political ornament. The first genuine product is based on the bloodline, and the door is high that is, the high quality, at this time, it is enough to distinguish the high and low grades, and the first genuine product is just a routine. The so-called "there is no cold door in the upper grade, and there is no gentleman in the lower grade", and "there is a public door in the public gate, and there is a secretary in the Qing door". ("The Book of Jin: The Biography of Liu Yi", "The Book of Jin: The Biography of Wang Shen")

Throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the changes in the electoral system are obviously the development trend of the imperial power from prosperity to decline and then prosperity, while the power of the family is the opposite, the trend is in the decline of the family family at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and at the same time, the new portal began to flourish, the Wei and Jin dynasties became the scholars, and the Eastern Jin Dynasty became the gate lord clan and reached its peak, and the Southern Dynasties also turned into decline to the Sui and Tang dynasties. The electoral system also changed from the Eastern Han Dynasty's emphasis on village appraisal and filial piety and honesty to the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the Sui and Tang dynasties emphasized talent and virtue - the imperial examination system (there was a brief suppression of the family in the early days of the Cao regime).