Cabinet Minister Of The Early Ming Dynasty Jiajing To Wanli System Research

Plitics of Chief Cabinet Officer is an essential part of Cabinet institution in Ming Dynasty. It is LiXian who was the first one in charge of the Cabinet as a head in the first year of TIAN SHUN in Ming Dynasty. To be one of imperial house officer, the Chief is the head of the cabinet,who as common as other Cabinets just acted as a consultant of the emperor at the start. At that period, the Chief was restrict with low status and little power by the ancient institution of Ming Dynasty. The cabinet did not get up to its great prosperity until the period between JiaJing and early WanLi, in which time the position of the supreme power was vacant, for the emperor was too young or the emperor was too lazy on political affairs. Crises in various fields that has accumulated for a long time emerge frequently. All these situation brought an excellent opportunity for the Chief to act beyond their authority as a prime minister, by gathering the power in imperial house as well as the power in government together. As the old saying goes"the cabinet who did not sit in the prime minister's chair acted as a prime minister", describing the scene in this period vividly. Compared with the abolishment of the prime minister by ZhuYuanzhang at the beginning of Ming Dynasty, great changes had taken place in Plitics of Chief Cabinet Officer, the proceeding and the affect of which was quite different with it's original purpose.