A Study On Ministers Of Nanjing Treasury Department In Ming Dynasty

As one of the central institutions staying in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty,Nanjing Treasury Department undertakes a few national functions and some regional responsibilities,which has a relatively independent financial revenue and expenditure system,and plays an important role in the stable operation of Nanjing institutions and help the central government strengthen the management of the southeast region.The paper takes the ministers of Nanjing Treasury Department in Ming Dynasty as the research object,mainly discusses its selection characteristics,career direction and performance,in order to deepen the understanding of the specific historical position and role of Nanjing Treasury Department and its ministers in Ming Dynasty.The Nanjing Treasury Department was established after the Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty moved capital.It took the Treasury Department as the framework to build its institution and allocate staff.Due to the fact that the institutions staying in Nanjing were unable to compare with the Beijing's central institutions in the authority and status,the Nanjing Treasury Department not only reduced the size of its organization,but also reduced the number of its officials.However,because of the relative independence of its fiscal revenue,the Nanjing Treasury Department was different from other left-behind institutions,which had a certain real power and contributed to the national finance in the late Ming Dynasty.The selection of ministers in Nanjing Treasury Department followed the selection policies and requirements of the central officials in the Ming Dynasty,and the chief way to select a minister was the election of courtiers.These selected officials were mainly from assistant ministers,and which came from Beijing had a greater advantage in the promotion.After the service in Nanjing Treasury Department,only about half of them could continue to transfer to anther government agency,and some of the officials from Beijing didn't get a further career advancement.Moreover,officials from different sources also had different official career trend after they completed their duties.Investigating the tenure and official career development of these ministers of Nanjing Treasury Department,we can see that their official career deeply influenced by political and personal factors.In the middle and late Ming Dynasty,as the country's financial situation fell into crisis,the Nanjing Treasury Department also fell into a stretched situation.The Nanjing Treasury Department had to assist the Treasury Department in Beijing,at the same time,it must maintain its own normal operation,so the responsibility of the Ministers in Nanjing Treasury Department was very heavy.During the late Ming Dynasty,in the TianQi Period,Nanjing Treasury Department was almost in a desperate situation.Bi Ziyan,the minister of Nanjing Treasury Department,checksd long-standing malpractice and made some reforms.By asking for the money and food lent to the Treasury Department,applying for reimbursement,searching for the remaining silver and Dingshou yin,recovering the Bufu accumulated over years,abolishing the disadvantages of granaries,he made many efforts to ease the financial crisis in Nanjing Treasury Department.These measures increased Nanjing's fiscal revenue in some degree and ensured the normal operation of the Nanjing Treasury Department.