On the Officer-selecting System of the Ancient China and the Realistic Significance

Zhan Maohua

(Applied Social Science Academy Shanghai Institute of Political Science and Law，Shanghai201701)

Ⅰ.The historical development of the civil-officer-selecting system in ancient China

The hereditary system prevailed in the slavery period of ancient dynasty of Xia，Shang and Zhou.The hereditary system began to collapse in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period，and was replaced by military ennobled system，then the recommendatory system，the nine-rank system and the imperial examination system.The formation and development of the officer-selecting system in ancient China can be generally divided into the following phases.

1.The slavery period

The officer-selecting system of ancient China originates from the“abdication system”of primitive tribes.As a national system，the abdication system first took shape in the slave-owner’s Xia Dynasty with the hereditary system on the basis of blood relationship，which dates back to the hereditary inheritance of family private property in the patrilineal society.There are two types of hereditary system:between fathers and sons，and between elder brothers and younger brothers.The Xia Dynasty is the first slave-owner state with the hereditary system in China，with the form of son succeeding his father’s throne.In the Shang Dynasty，threatened by the Xia and other tribes，the hereditary system took the form of younger brother succeeding his elder brother in order to make sure that the heir to the throne is stronger and able to deal with emergency and fight enemies.

In the Western Zhou Dynasty，with the establishment and consolidation of patriarchal political system，a more mature and stable form of hereditary system was formulated where slave owners not only monopoly official positions and take charge of governmental agencies of all levels，but also pass them to next generations，thus forming the family ruling network bonded by blood ties.They constantly strengthen and enlarge their power by the royalty and then consolidate the royalty in turn.

2.From the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period to the Period of Wei，Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties

After the Qin Dynasty unified China，a new feudal officer-selecting system came into being so as to select talents and change the military ennobled system of the Spring and Autumn Period，namely the recommendatory system.It is a system that talents are recommended from the lower level to the higher level and assessed by court officials，which becomes one of the most important official-selecting system in the Eastern and Western Dynasties.However，in the end of the Han Dynasty，falsification began to prevail due to the rise of local power.They gradually took charge of the local talents recommendation，which led to the falling back to the original hereditary system where a clan was likely to control the royal power.This decaying officer-selecting system which went against the development trend of time had to be got rid of at last.

In the Three-kingdom Period，Cao Cao adopted the strategy of“meritocracy”so as to develop his own power.His son，Cao Pi，still used this system when he was in power.Cao Pi created“nine-rank system”in order to better select talents.However，in the end of the Wei Period and the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties，the nine-rank system changed essentially because the major official position was always controlled by clans of great power.The selection of office tended to take into consideration of candidates’family background so that it was likely that the transmission of talents could be monopolized by a few clans.Nine-rank system is both the reason and the necessary result of the generation of clans.With the further strengthening and development of centralized feudal monarchy，this system began to fail and discarded by history.

3.From the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the late Qing Dynasty

After the founding of the Sui Dynasty，Emperor Wen of Sui reformed the officer-selecting system by abolishing the nine-rank system and the recommendatory system and setting up subjects and holding public exams to select officials.The imperial examination system was established，which marked the beginning of over 1300-year imperial examination period，thus having epoch-making significance in Chinese history.

The practice of the Sui Dynasty was adopted after the Tang Dynasty unified China;the nine-rank system was abolished and the imperial examination system was inherited and developed.Candidates were allowed to take part in the uniform national examination regularly held by the nation，and some of them would be chosen according to their exam scores and awarded to the office.Therefore，all candidates had equal opportunities to open up their official career.

The imperial examination system was improved in the Song Dynasty.The application of the imperial examination system was conducive to the selection of talents on the massive scale and enlarging ruling foundation as well as contributing to the further development of candidates born in poverty.The imperial examination system reached its climax in the Ming and Qing Dynasties，and began to fail in this period，too.Despite that the imperial examination was the major form of officerselecting in the Ming and Qing dynasties，there was great difference when compared with that of the former dynasties.“Four Books”and“Five Classics”were attached great significance to in the Ming and Qing Dynasties，which marked the failure of the imperial examination system.It was abolished in the 1905，which was the end of the over 3000-year civil-officer-selecting system of ancient China.

Ⅱ.Analysis of the civil-officer-selecting system in ancient China

There are generally three types of civil-officer-selecting systems in ancient China，namely becoming an officer because of military exploit，becoming an officer because of being recommended and becoming an officer through the imperial examination，all of which conform to the then social background and the requirement of ruling class and are one of the social tools to safeguard political governance.They have their own strengths and imitations.

1.Becoming an officer because of military exploit

Becoming an officer because of military exploit in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is the representative of these systems.The prevalence of this system at the beginning of feudal society was partly related to the development level of society.It is known to all that in the transitional period from primitive slavery system to feudalism，the change of society and frequent wars forced the ruling class to award those with military exploit so as to win people’s support.Therefore，compared to the hereditary system of slave-owners in the slavery society，this officer-selecting system could mobilize the enthusiasm of common people to contribute to the nation and provide an approach for civilians to open up their official career.It is under this officer-selecting system that the ancient feudalism is established.

There are limitations of this system，too.On the one hand，those with impressive military exploit are not necessarily able to manage the country，and those who are capable of managing the country are probably not able to fight in the war，thus leading to the unstable factors in society;on the other hand，there would be no ruling talents when society steps into a peaceful period.Furthermore，this system is a powerful tool when the central regime is in great power，but once the central regime is undermined，local powers will grasp the opportunity and gather together to fight against the central government，even harm the governance of ruling class.

2.Becoming an officer because of being recommended

Recommending the filial and incorrupt and the nine-rank system are important parts of the system of becoming an officer because of being recommended.It is justifiable to say that the civil-officer-selecting of this kind plays an important role in keeping steady of the feudal society.However，the spread of corruption and development of local feudal economy fail to ensure that all those recommended are filial and incorrupt.

In the Three-kingdom Period，the Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties and the Northern and Southern Dynasties，nine-rank system replaced the system of recommending the filial and incorrupt.However，clans tended to hold the post of the major officers since the end of Wei Period，and family background even became the only standard of officer-selection.Therefore，this system is bound to decay with the failure of clan system.

3.Becoming an officer through the imperial examination

The civil-officer-selection system of imperial examination lays the foundation of modern civil-officer-selection system.This system breaks the monopoly of clans in state power，which is a remarkable progress.It improves the cultural quality of officers by connecting exams and officer-selection，becoming the most influential officer-selection system in Chinese history.

However，with the highly development of centralization of authority，the content and form of imperial examination changed significantly in the Ming and Qing Dynasties so as to control the mind of scholars.Candidates must answer the questions from the perspective of Neo-Confucianism，which kept them from having their own creative ideas.This system started to fade with the practice of selecting officers by Ba Gu Wen，a stereotyped writing.

Ⅲ.The realistic significance of the civil-officer-selecting system in ancient China

Throughout history，different officer-selecting systems are reasonable and have some limitations at the same time.Besides，they own some realistic significance for the cadre-selecting system of the present.

First，we should have diversified forms of cadre-selecting system.Rulers of all previous dynasties lay emphasis on the selection of officers of all levels，and there are various approaches of officer-selection.The multi-level and multi-channel officer-selection system of ancient China is conducive to mobilize the enthusiasm of all walks of life so as to make the best use of their talents.

However，the form of officer-selection system of the traditional planned economic system in China mainly includes planning and meditation，organization and mass recommendation.The narrow channel and simple approach of officer-selecting system are single in form and unfair.As a result，a lot of talents cannot stand out and show their talent.Therefore，we must get rid of the past single form of officer-selection system and explore diversified cadre-selecting channels.

Second，we should pay attention to the construction of official morality in the officer-selecting system.The standard of officer-selecting is attached great importance to in the procedure of officer-selecting in Chinese history.However，the general and conclusive regulations concerning“official morality”need to be further refined.Only in this way can we select qualified and excellent cadres with both ability and political integrity.

At last，we should set up strict and sound assessment mechanism in officer management to severely punish breaching of duty and doing illegally.However，due to the fact that China is still in the primary stage of socialism and that socialist market economic system is not mature enough，the assessment mechanism of cadres in some parts of China is not sound enough，and some assessment has become mere formality，which is especially evidenced by the fact that legal penalty for cadre irregularities is quite low in some places.Therefore，we can be enlightened from the practice of officer management in Chinese history and learn from the past lessons.

Notes:

〔1〕《大盂鼎》銘文。

〔2〕〔漢〕司馬遷:《史記·商君列傳》。

〔3〕〔晉〕葛洪:《抱樸子外篇·卷二審第十五》。

〔4〕〔晉〕葛洪:《審舉·抱樸子外篇·卷十五》。

〔5〕《晉書·劉毅傳》。

〔6〕《通典·選舉三》。

〔7〕黃留珠:《中國古代選官制度縱橫談》，《西北大學學報 (哲社版)》1998年第3期。

〔8〕《明史·選舉志二》。

〔9〕《尚書·大禹謨第三》。

〔10〕《尚書·商書》“太甲下”，《十三經注疏》(上冊)，中華書局，1979年影印本。

〔11〕《尚書·呂刑》.

〔12〕《明太祖實錄》卷三八.