Royal Guards of Ming Dynasty
The eunuch system in China originated in the pre-Qin period and never stopped until the Qing Dynasty. Among them, "eunuchs in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty suffered the most", especially in the Ming Dynasty. Many Ming and Qing historians commented that the Ming Dynasty was killed by eunuchs. Although this statement is too absolute, there is no doubt that the autocratic power of eunuchs intensified various contradictions in the Ming Dynasty and accelerated its demise. Throughout history, different systems have their unique characteristics in different dynasties and periods, and the eunuch system is no exception. As the third eunuch dictatorship in history, the eunuch system in Ming Dynasty also has its own characteristics:
1. There are many eunuchs and complicated institutions.
Due to the large number of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, up to hundreds of thousands of people, the organization for managing eunuchs is very large. Just from the twenty-four yamen ("twenty-four yamen" is the collective name of twelve prisons, four divisions and eight bureaus), it is enough to make people see things in a blur. Silijian is the chief executive of the twenty-four yamen and the most powerful person in the whole eunuch system. Li Si has the right to answer all the memorials of ministers and ministers, preach and announce orders, and also take into account the functions and powers of other eunuchs. In addition to the twenty-four government offices, eunuchs were also in charge of ten warehouses and one or more houses, workshops and factories in the inner government, and set up east factories, west factories and inner factories. , become self-contained, like the central * * *, extending in all directions, like ants climbed over the mountains of important organs from the central to the local.
2. The power of eunuchs is subject to imperial power, and the fate of eunuchs depends on the monarch. Judging from the source of eunuch's power, the eunuch of Ming Dynasty was given power by the emperor from beginning to end, although sometimes the emperor unconsciously gave eunuch power. Therefore, the power of the eunuchs in Ming Dynasty was restricted by the imperial power. No matter how powerful the eunuchs were, they could not conflict with the imperial power, and their activities must be within the scope permitted by the imperial power. The emperor can control the eunuch's power at will and put it away freely. Therefore, although the eunuch disaster in the Ming Dynasty was fierce, it did not reach the point where the emperor abolished his position and life and death were in his hands, as in the late Han Dynasty and the middle and late Tang Dynasty. Besides, eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were like parasites. When their "master" emperor died, or suddenly became angry, the power of eunuchs suddenly dissipated, such as Wang Zhi, Liu Jin, Feng Bao and Wei Zhongxian. For a time, they played politics, and the emperor made a signboard, but when the signboard was lost or the emperor changed his face, he had to chop down the eunuch.
The relationship between eunuch and foreign minister is very complicated.
According to the provisions of the Daming Law: "Any yamen official who befriends the officials of the inner government, cheats, helps the actor behead, and his wife and children are scattered for three thousand miles." This provision directly targeted at collusion between courtiers and eunuchs, endangering imperial power. However, as the emperor handed over some powers to eunuchs, eunuchs had to contact the foreign minister in order to carry out their normal work. Therefore, this provision of Daming Law can't be implemented at all, and therefore it can't reduce the trouble of eunuchs. Because the power of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty was not supported by law, and it greatly threatened the power of foreign ministers, and even directly mastered the power originally held by foreign ministers, contradictions were bound to arise between foreign ministers and eunuchs in power, and the struggle between them was fierce. But the relationship between them is not a simple struggle, but also cooperation, which makes the relationship between eunuchs and foreign ministers complicated. On the one hand, the foreign minister either persuaded the emperor to restrain the eunuch's power through the throne, or directly participated in the struggle with the eunuch's power, such as Lin Dong party member. On the other hand, if the foreign minister wants to work effectively, he must cooperate with the eunuchs and get their support. For example, Zhang in Wanli Zhi maintained a cooperative relationship with him from the implementation of the New Deal to his whole political career.
4.-Some virtuous eunuchs are active and promising.
There are indeed some eunuchs in history who framed Zhongliang after taking power, and even held the emperor to make the princes, which caused very bad influence in society. But not all eunuchs, like Wei Zhongxian, have a negative impact on society. There are also some eunuchs with high moral character, who are politically aggressive, self-denying, and actively participate in the discussion of state affairs, and have played a positive role. For example, eunuch Zhang Yong helped Wang Shouren punish Liu Jin and suppress the rebellion in Wang Ning. In this process, he played a great role, and his political work was praised by people and rewarded by the king. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were contradictions not only between ministers and evil eunuchs, but also between eunuchs. As a result, some virtuous eunuchs joined the foreign ministers' group, and they actively cooperated with foreign ministers to crack down on evil eunuchs. But also actively cooperate with the foreign minister, which is politically promising. Eunuch is one of the main features of politics in Ming Dynasty, which is more extreme in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. The scope of their intervention gradually penetrated into political, economic, judicial, military and other fields, and largely controlled the lifeline of the country. Of course, this will inevitably have a serious and significant impact on the development and demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Wei Jinyi flying fish suit
First, political performance:
Eunuchs in Ming dynasty participated in state affairs, mainly through ritual supervision. Silijian and Cabinet were two institutions that assisted the autocratic operation of imperial power in Ming Dynasty. Under normal circumstances, it is considered to be the normal state of the operation of the central institutions that the director of Li Si, the cabinet and * * * jointly play the decision-making function. In the Ming dynasty, the memorial approval was first drafted by the cabinet with small bills, which became a "draft". Then, it was not the emperor's calligraphy, but the eunuch in Li Si prison approved it and became a "Zhu Pi". The so-called "Zhu Pi" is equivalent to the current seal. Zhu's power of examination and approval is the right of the emperor and the last procedure of the Ming Dynasty. After approving Zhu, it means the final decision. This supreme right should have been completed by the emperor, but later it fell into the hands of the imperial palace. Therefore, eunuchs can intervene and manipulate the power of central secrets. Ming eunuchs also intervened in the use of human rights. According to the regulations of the imperial court, many official positions are recommended and appointed by eunuchs, and even the appointment of cabinet ministers often needs the approval of etiquette supervision. It is precisely because of this that many courtiers are obsessed with the situation and flatter the power of castration. When Wei Zhongxian was in power, they called themselves "under the door" and "born late". From the "Cabinet" and "Six Departments" to governors and governors in all directions, there were so-called "five tigers", "five tigers", "ten dogs", "ten sons" and "forty grandchildren". It was really.
Second, the economic performance:
On the one hand, eunuchs, as slaves of the emperor, managed the royal estate; On the other hand, as the special Commissioner of the emperor, he supervised and even directly managed the national financial and tax authorities scattered all over the country. Such as the management of Huang Zhuang, Shanglinyuan, Muma Grassland, manufacturing, warehousing, taxation, etc. , and often served as mine supervisor, tax envoy, procurement, weaving, city ship prefect, warehouse supervision and other positions. Weaving in the Ming Dynasty refers to silk weaving, which is mainly used by courts and officials. Hong set up Suzhou weaving, which is under the jurisdiction of local officials. During the Yongle period, eunuchs Rong Tuosheng were sent to supervise the country. In order to satisfy the enjoyment of the royal family or enrich their own pockets, they often exceed the usual amount, and religious silks and satins have become the harm of Jiangnan. The vault mainly refers to the inner vault and the Taicang silver vault. Neicang's transport warehouse is the most famous, with one eunuch, more than ten attendants and eunuchs, and dozens of supervisors and supervisors. All gold and silver, gauze, jade belts, ivory, agate, precious stones and pearls are stored in this vault. Taicang silver treasury is the national treasury, which is managed by the household department, but eunuchs often withdraw Taicang silver in the name of imperial edict. At the time of the apocalypse, Wei Zhongxian took advantage of the eunuch Tu Wenfu, the governor of Taicang and the Ministry of Industry to control the treasury. As a result, eunuchs manipulated government finances and played an important role in national economic activities.
Three. Judicial performance:
Eunuchs' participation in justice in Ming Dynasty mainly depended on their special judicial organizations, such as East Factory, West Factory and Inner Factory. The Royal Guards controlled by the East Factory can be said to be the expansion and extension of the East Factory. Eunuchs cannot participate in the judiciary without Royal Guards. Eunuchs' intervention in the judiciary in the Ming Dynasty was manifested in many aspects. The judicial investigation organs in the Ming Dynasty included the factory guards and the military sub-divisions. The military sub-division is mainly responsible for the patrol of public security and the investigation of general cases in Beijing, while the factory guards are responsible for the investigation of political cases and major criminal cases. At the beginning of the establishment of Dongchang, the main task was judicial investigation. After Yingzong, the influence of Dongchang has been expanding, and the scope of investigation has been more extensive. The felons arrested by the East Factory are generally held in the prison in the factory, while the light criminals and dry companies are held in alternative prisons outside the factory. Prisoners in custody are often killed by eunuchs without waiting for judicial decisions. In terms of trial, the laws of the Ming Dynasty stipulated that cases that needed to be examined should be executed by the Third Law Division. At the same time, following the system of recording prisoners in past dynasties, the emperor personally or sent officials to inquire about the situation of prisoners and decide the prison. After the mid-term, eunuchs must participate in the re-bow and prison record. Moreover, in order to further control the judiciary, the Ming emperor also stipulated a special trial system besides ordinary trials. The big trial and hot trial were presided over by eunuchs on behalf of the emperor. Dongchang's sole case was completely decided by the magistrate eunuch. In the trial of general cases, the first instance in Dongchang is the final instance. As for the major cases under the jurisdiction of Dongchang and the cases in which eunuchs participated in the joint trial of the three legal departments, the final ruling power nominally belongs to the emperor, but actually lies in the hands of eunuchs. In short, serious cases have been under the jurisdiction of the factory guards, and the more important cases are tried by the third division and examined by eunuchs, who also control special trials, so the highest imperial power is reflected in the judiciary through the activities of eunuchs. Four. Military performance:
Militarily, the eunuchs in Ming Dynasty can not only serve as the prefect of the Beijing camp, but also serve as military supervisors, guards and garrisons, and even have their own "internal strength", which occupies considerable rights in the national military. Eunuchs are slaves of the emperor, and eunuchs in charge of the army supervise the army as special commissioners of the emperor, so that everything can be heard directly. In fact, this put officers at all levels below the company commander, and even civilian officers in charge of the army, such as supervising the army, comforting, pressing and guiding, under the direct supervision of the emperor. The performance of eunuchs supervising the army in Ming Dynasty: First, the prefect of Beijing camp. At the beginning of Yongle, Shi Jing 3rd Battalion, 5th Battalion, 3rd Battalion and Jishen Battalion were set up with prefects, and Beijing Battalion had military affairs with the Ministry of War. Beginning with the change of civil engineering, eunuchs Xing 'an and Yong-chang Li were ordered to arrange military affairs with Shi Heng and Yu Qian. As a result, the army in the capital was controlled. The second is to set eunuchs in all provinces. Guarding, originally a title of military attache, is a military attache at the edge of General Town. In the first year of Hongxi, Wang An, the eunuch, left Ganzhen and began to take the title of "guarding eunuch". In the future, eunuchs will be set up in all provinces. Eunuchs have great power. They can supervise Chen Wu's control of local troops, and later even develop to the point of interfering in local politics. The third is that eunuchs have their own "internal strength". The so-called "internal strength" is to organize some eunuchs to conduct military training as the emperor's personal army. It began in the period of Zheng De. But obviously, this kind of armed forces have no other benefits except strengthening the power of eunuchs.
Eunuchs in Ming Dynasty were a special group, and they held political, economic, judicial and military power in the political arena of feudal autocracy, which caused very serious consequences. The decline and fall of the Ming Dynasty is also closely related to it, and its negative effects are various, which are generally manifested in the following aspects:
1. On politics: autocratic power, rejection of dissidents, fierce party struggle, resulting in endless political turmoil. Many Yan Quan also use their power to sell officials and titles and openly ask for bribes. As a result, officials made money and the government paid bribes, which undermined the normal promotion order of officials in the imperial court. All these made the politics of the Ming Dynasty even darker.
2. For the economy: interfere in finance and disrupt normal economic policies. As envoys of mineral tax and salt tax, they extort and plunder; While knitting, I found an excuse to enrich myself. Normal economic life was completely broken by them. So that everywhere is boiling and frying, and no place is happy. Rich and poor, farmers and mulberry feet are trapped. " "In the village of three families, chickens and dogs are well known, and the city of five capitals is empty."
3. For the judiciary: turning chaos into law and killing at will makes the prison more unfair; Eunuchs arbitrarily punish officials, sometimes leading officials to resort to force; The feudal legal system was seriously damaged. Unlimited expansion of the function of judicial repression, severe punishment and harsh laws threaten the survival of the people, make the country lose a lot of labor, and also intensify the contradiction between the landlord class and farmers.
4. Military affairs: eunuchs supervised the army and accelerated the corruption of the army. In addition, most of the places stationed and guarded were border areas, which greatly weakened the border defense and shook the rule of the Ming Dynasty. In this way, after the peasant war in the late Ming Dynasty, due to the constraints of eunuchs everywhere, the generals could not effectively command the army, which enabled the peasant army to develop smoothly and accelerated the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Ming dynasty eunuch
In a word, the Ming Dynasty is one of the most serious dynasties in the history of China.
Obviously influenced by the eunuch's authoritarian power. This influence is not only manifested in politics, economy, justice and military affairs, but also permeates all aspects of social life.
The autocratic power of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty showed us the other side of feudal rule in the Ming Dynasty. Not long after Ding Yi's reform in Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was a saying that "Ming died not from thieves, but from eunuchs"; Some people even called the Ming Dynasty "the largest eunuch empire in history", and thought that the demise of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to the autocratic power of eunuchs. However, the evaluation of eunuchs in Ming Dynasty seems to be in a contradictory situation. We can't help but notice that in the early dynasty, when politics was relatively clear, eunuchs
Many sages are especially rare in the last days. Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty were "autocratic" for only 20 years. It is obviously inappropriate to call the politics of the Ming Dynasty "eunuch politics" or "spy politics" and blame the demise of the Ming Dynasty on eunuch autocracy. Therefore, the eunuch system in Ming Dynasty is still an important subject worthy of our in-depth study. .
Ming Dynasty (326) Ming Dynasty (6) Eunuch (18)