Research On The Ming Dynasty' Supervisory System

To create a set of scientific and well-developed supervisory system, we should not only learn from the adwanced systems in developed countries, but more importantly learn from the experiences and lessons accumulated in the past ages.History is the past of our current days, and we can not have a more profound understanding of our present to perfect our modern mechanisms except to study of the development of the ancient supervisory seriously.The supervisory system in ancient China has a distinguishing feature and has formed a tight, refined multiple system.From the development context,we can see that it sproutded in the Qin Dynasty, was established in the Han Dynasty, developed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and perfected in theSong and Yuan Dynasties.This article attempts to launch a new round of investigation on the supervisory system in terms of the interaction between the supervisory system of the Ming Dysnaty and imperial power.The emperor is often seen as the dictator of the feudal autocracy, and the imperial power was the master of all in the authoritarian era.But we have had a further understanding of the imperial power as the academic study deepens continuously.The Imperial power must be subject to a certain degree of control, and must be kept within a certain range of balances to ensure its long-term imperial rule. Correspondingly, the re-examination of the relationship between the imperial power and the supervisory system becomes imperative.This paper mainly includes three parts:The first part summarizes the development of the supervisory system before the Ming Dynasty and straighten out how the supervisory system had changed from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In this part we will figure out this system'outstanding features in different ages and make a separate analysis of interaction between the supervisory system and imperial power before the the Ming Dynasty so as to introduce the main part of the paper. The second part, we will carriy out a detailed analysis and elaboration on the supervisory system of the Ming Dynasty. First, we will the define the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty'imperial power. Second, we will conducte a detailed inspection on the interaction between the supervisory system and imperial power on the point of the deepening effect on the supervisory system from the imperial power and the influence on the imperial from the supervisory system.The Ming Dynasty was in the middle and later periods of the feudal autocratic monarchy and it had had ever-expanding and even monstrous imperial power. Its imperial deepened the supervisory system' legislation,setting and operation purposly and developed its unique supervisory system on the base of the predecessors' achivements.However, the supervisory system was not doing nothing under the high-handed policies from the imperial power.The admonishing system did a lot to prevent improper conducts from the imperial power,and the supervisory ministers had played great rules in the meetings about important public affairs and in the judgement of important complicated cases. Although the supervisory system could not completely counteract the imperial power, it still had positive effect of restricting the imperial power and delayde the downfall of the Ming Dynasty at a certain extent.The third part,we will evaluate the Ming Dyanasty'supervisory system from the perspective of its functions.On the one hand, it had played a larger effect to restrict its ministers'right. Of course, it was inseparable with the emperor'efforts to centralize its authority at all costs.On the other hand, the supervisory system in regulating the process of controing the imperial power suffered a series of obstacles, which made the constraints to the imperial power a bit weak. The article sums up that the full ultimate realization of the supervisory system' effect must stick to the following priciples:connect the constraints to the ministers' power and the imperial'power together and keep balance between the supervisory system and the imperial power.