Limitis To Priviledges Of Dukes At Qing Dynasty From The Perspective Of Statutes Reviewed By Emperor Of Dukes’ Punishment

Reviewing the history of Qing Dynasty, the dukes as the privileged class gradually sank, the causes behind which don’ t only lie in the decline of feudal rules at the end of Qing Dynasty but also in the limits to privileges of dukes imposed by government in early Qing Dynasty so that the said privileges shall not endanger the stability of regime as well as the sublime feudal rules shall be maintained.As the feudal privileged class, dukes in Qing Dynasty enjoyed lots of economic, political and legal privileges, for which Statutes Reviewed by Emperor of Dukes’ Punishment was developed about the administrative rules for punishing the dukes. It seems that this statute provided special protection for the dukes in terms of legislation and laws, however, in the actual sense, it was the action further limiting the authorities of princes and dukes.By analyzing and quoting the Statutes Reviewed by Emperor of Dukes’Punishment, from the perspective of its compilation and aims at the legislation, this paper researched the structural arrangement included, finding out its differences from the punishment statutes from the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs and the Ministry of War; meanwhile, from regulations about the adjustment range, applicable principles and specified process with regard to the authorities of dukes, it could be obtained that the Qing Government limited the daily life, their subordinate officials and working affairs of dukes, so that the emperor’s authority could be expanded, making the autocracy of emperor further reinforced.