On The County Magistrates During The Five Dynasties And Ten Kingdoms Period

In researches on official system in Tang and Five Dynasties,achievements have been made in the study of local official system in Tang Dynasty.However,there is still much to be discussed on local official system,especially that of the county level,in the Five Dynasties.An in depth work focusing on county prefects and his assisting civil servants is still absent.The author is trying to fill this gap by investigating all documented county prefects of this particular period.This essay comprises an introduction,the main content,conclusion and an appendix.In introduction,the meaning of choosing this topic,a literature review,subject of study,and methodology are given.The first chapter of main content looks at the means of entering civil service for county prefects in the Five Dynasties,which were similar with that in the Tang Dynasty.The most common means in this period were imperial examination and by appointment,which is quite distinguished from other periods since there was virtually no county prefect who entered civil service through official selection exams.The reason for this is that official selection exam was not a regular policy in this period,actually it was only conducted once in the Five Dynasties.Another distinguished feature of civil service entering of Five Dynasties is that many literati took imperial examination repeatedly,even after being granted an official position,which rarely happened in Tang Dynasty.Chapter two discusses how county prefects in the Five Dynasties were selected and evaluated,which is similar with the Tang system.Chapter Three investigates the movement of positions and development of official career of county prefects in the Five Dynasties.Most county prefects were promoted from lower positions in the county government or Fanzhen military districts.This indicates that in the Five Dynasties Fanzhen till held much power and influence over local government.Chapter Four discusses duties of county prefects in Five Dynasties,including economical,cultural,legal,and social duties.The last chapter deals with the administrative skills and educational accomplishment of county prefects in the Five Dynasties,and contradicts the criticism by Song Dynasty historians that these county prefects were ill qualified.The conclusion gives a review of the whole essay.The appendix is a table that lists all documented county prefects in the Five Dynasties,including their names,ages,places of origin,family members,means of entering civil service,movement of positions and references.