Central And Local Relations In Ancient China

As one of the most fundamental relationships in national politics, the relationshipbetween central and local governments has great significance for political stability,economic development, social progress and even the rise and fall of the country.Therefore, handling the central-local relationship properly is one of the major issuesthat every government cannot avoid. Especially for China, as it is such a large societyin the critical period of modernization. The multi-dimension and complexity ofChinese political governance makes the dealing of central-local relationship confrontmore and more challenge. On one hand, it requires that we do not be divorced fromthe traditional Chinese culture and introduce the advanced Western concepts, systemsand technologies only; on the other hand, it also requires us to inherit, and transformChinese traditional culture to adapt to our current society.The main research methods of this thesis are documentation method andhistorical method. I inspect the history in the dynamic environment, not only do Iinvestigate the normal events of the history, but also I grasp the special states of thehistorical events, and try to deepen the cognition of ancient Chinese central-localrelations from different sides through the systematic investigation in the view of thehistorical evolution and dynamics.In this thesis, on the basis of a detailed study of The Theory of Feudal written byLiu Zongyuan, I investigate the central-local relationship systematically. I analysis theevolution of central-local relationship in ancient China, and analysis the specificfactors that led to this evolution, discuss how the government to make someadjustments of the central-local relationship to adapt the changing environment,through reforming the personnel system, adjusting the administrative division and anyother forms. Then I point out the essence of the relationship between central and localgovernments in ancient China, which definitely lies in the distribution of power, andwhose contradiction lies in the dislocation between concept and reality. The next Ispell out the deep reasons which led to this kind of contradiction, from the perspectiveof public and private view in Chinese traditional culture.On the basis of historical experience, the thesis made some personal insights onthe current reconstruction of the central-local relationship, it advocates to develop acomprehensive reform vision on the basis of cultivating the new socialist concept ofpublic-private view development. Meanwhile it proposes to consruct a socialatmosphere of decentralization actively which is conducive to the development ofcentralization and decentralization combined with the best mode, and coordinate theinterests of all parties properly, at last we also should combine with the concretepractice of different regions, to adjust the central and local relationship.