Research On The Political Structure Of Yongshun Chieftain In Ming And Qing Dynasties

Yongshun,located in the southwest China,is the gateway of Bashu and has always been valued by the rulers.In the Yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties,the chieftain system was implemented here.After seven years of Yanyou,chieftain of Yongshun was officially incorporated into the management system of the court as the governor there.In the sixth year of Hongwu,the Ming Dynasty set up Yongshun propaganda and consolation department,which governs the area covering three current counties of Yongshun,Guzhang and Longshan in Hunan Province today.The political framwork of Yongshun chieftain took shape with the establishment of chieftain system,and and ended when the court abolished the chieftain system and replaced chieftain who ruled ethnic minorities in southwest China with officials appointed by the central government.During the Ming and Qing dynasties,the political framework of yongshun chieftain developed most significantly,especially in the aspects of official,inheritance and tribute system,etc.From Hongwu of Ming Dynasty to Yongzheng of Qing Dynasty,the chieftain of Yongshun stuck to the principle of taking blood relationship as the bond and,for 18 generations,only sons born of the legal wife of a the chieftain could inherit his official rank.At the same time,each successive chieftain had a duty to pay tribute to the court and was subject to its orders.After that,due to the factors of military merit and tribute,Yongshun chieftain got promoted continuously by the court.The promotion of his rank made the chieftain-centered official system tend to be complete.The improvement of the political structure promotes the continuous expansion of force of chieftain in Yongshun.Therefore,it was inevitable for the government to convert the chieftain management to outpost officers' management.In the sixth year of Yongzheng,the political framework of Yongshun chieftain came to an end with bureaucratization of native officers.Based on the background of Ming and Qing Dynasties,this paper takes the political structure of Yongshun chieftain as the research object,and takes the official records and local documents as the support to discuss the official system,inheritance system and tribute system under the political structure of Yongshun chieftain.