Locial Politics Of Song Dynasty

This paper is the special subject on local politics of Song dynasty. I, the writer, concentrate on all kinds of relations of local government, and hope to mirror the local politics' pattern fundamental of Song dynasty. At the same time, I hope to reflect the profound reason which caused the dark pattern. The research's contents consist of five fields.The first, the local governments'bureaucratic establishments. The Lu, Zhou, Xian three local governments'establishments, officials and their functions. And I hope to reflect the basic state of affairs of local governments by their establishments.The second, the relations between the central and the local government. In the Song dynasty, local officials were appointed by the central government. Local officials'promotion and degradation, even their lives, were decided by the central government. Absolutism centralization of authority was greatly strengthened.The third, the relations among local governments. Under the absolutism centralization, to meet the central's demands was the local government's main aim. Because of this, the central government's bad orders were further intensified in the local. Sometimes, local officials would not comply with the central government because of their own benefits. And this led to the central's orders were blocked in the local. The complicated and varied relations between the central and the local government became the local government's guide to action.Under the centralized state power, lower officials were nominated by higher-ups. So the inner relations among local were the same as the relations between the central and the local government. That is to say,from the central government to the local governments, ruling were not for the common people, but for the literati and officialdom.90% local officials were grafters.The local government's affairs were handled by officials and clerks in the Song dynasty. Officials were honorable and clerks were humble in the Song dynasty. And the central government's orders made known to officials. But when the officials carried on control, they had to through clerks. The clerks played a decisive role in the local government. Relationship between the local government officials and clerks in the Song dynasty became the important element which decided the local politics' trend.The fourth, local despotic force was big and powerful in Song dynasty. They broke the law, even murdered innocent folk, and form the ancient criminal syndicate. In Song dynasty, highly centralization of authority, the centre could not permit the emergence of local counter force. The centre often took suppress policy. But the relation of local government with local despotic force was complicated.The fifth, the relation between the local government and the common people. This is the mail aspect of local politics. In this social based on rent out land to tenants, peasants, who were the majority of the people, endured the brutal acts of heavy taxes, corrupt judicial system and local criminal syndicate. The dark brutal local politics were the common people's living surroundings in the Song dynasty. Of course there were also fewer honest and upright officials in local politics. They were honest, fair, brave, and so on. But the fewer couldn't change the basis pattern of dark local politics. Dark local politics had its source in system of award government post, in grades of absolutism centralization of authority, and the pattern was inevitable.