Research On Petty Officials In Jin Dynasty

Petty officials were the link of government officials and the common people. They dealt with various details of affairs under the commands of government officials, so the state machinery was running well. Petty officials also were important component parts of bureaucratic politics. The article discusses the petty officials in Jin Dynasty that were set up in various government departments in five aspects. The whole thesis is made of three parts: introduction, body composed by five chapters and conclusion.The first chapter is introduction, mainly explains the value, the status of the research and related issues. Although there have been some academic achievements about petty officials in Jin Dynasty, they mainly focused on single types, or touched on some aspects when they studied other subjects. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic study of this issue is quite necessary.The second chapter expounds the forming historical background of the institution of petty officials in Jin Dynasty and the setting-up situation of the petty officials in Jin Dynasty. The institution of petty officials in Jin Dynasty derived from the system of petty officials in the Tang Dynasty in some degrees, and had some changes, finally, it formed the special system of minority government. Central governments in Jin Dynasty, like Shang Shu Sheng, Yu Shi Tai, Shu Mi Yuan, Liu Bu all set up varying amounts of petty officials, such as Ling Shi, Yi Shi, Tong Shi and so on. Petty officials in the imperial palace contained the security guards, Fu Bao Lang, Feng Yu, He Men Zhi Hou, Bi Yan Cheng Feng, Feng Zhi and so on. They belonged to imperial departments. The local state organs, such as governments of Lu, Fu, Zhou, counties and Mengan, Mouke also established a large number of petty officials, like Si Li, Yi Ren, Chao Shi, Gong Shi and so on.The third chapter mainly concerns the source of the petty officials in Jin Dynasty. The petty officials in central governments generally stemmed from who passed the given exams. Sheng Ling Shi mainly came from the local officials who were successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations, students and instructors of Jurchen characters, sons of prime ministers and some local petty officials. Other petty officials in central governments were from sons of ranking officials, the local petty officials and those who failed in the highest imperial exams. The relatives of Emperor, sons and grandsons of some high-ranking officials, and the descendants of officials who killed by enemy held the positions of petty officials in the imperial palace. The security guards demanded certain-degree skills, for example, strong physique and shooting. The petty officials in local government sourced of who passed the given exams or were elected by officials. The petty officials in counties mostly came from descendants of petty officials-learning families, and the petty officials in counties could to be the ones in higher governments, like the states, Fu or Xing Tai.The fourth chapter mainly concerns the bounden duty of petty officials and the management of the rulers. The petty officials in Jin Dynasty had the duties as follows: dealt with official documents and correspondence; translation and interpretation; other various details of affairs as well. The royal government of Jin Dynasty established a series of policies to manage the petty officials, including check and evaluation system, rewards and punishments, government salary, honor guards and dresses, and so on. The rewards contained rising the rank and giving a handsome reward, and the punishments included reducing government salary, dismissing even beating buttocks with a wooden stick. The salaries to petty officials in central governments and the imperial palace were nearly on the same level, which much far away from the high-ranking officials group, but a bit higher than the petty officials in local governments. Jin Dynasty made some regulations concerning the honor guards of petty officials, and these reflected rigid feudal hierarchy. There were official dresses and plain clothes, and then being asked for wearing small special bags used different material with the different ranks.The fifth chapter mainly concerns petty officials in Jin Dynasty entering officials'stratum. Of all the petty officials in central government, Ling Shi and Yi Shi in Shang Shu Sheng ( the highest official government in Jin Dynasty ) were suited for the highest official position—the 7th rank officials. During the petty officials in the imperial palace, the security guards held the highest ranking officials, next were Feng Yu, He Men Zhi Hou and Bi Yan Cheng Feng, and then were Feng Zhi, etc. The petty officials in local government were necessary to be the head of petty officials in the government or the higher ranking petty officials before their entering officials'stratum. The dates of checking petty officials into officials were changed in different times, and usually were 150 months and 120 months. Overall petty officials in Jin Dynasty entering officials'stratum were not limited by the more rank, even they could be the highest ranking officials, those were prime ministers.The sixth chapter mainly concerns the relations between petty officials group and society in Jin Dynasty. Firstly, this chapter introduces the forming background and existence basis of petty officials group in Jin Dynasty, and then analysises the relations between petty officals group and society in Jin Dynasty. Through discussing the influence of petty officials group in Jin Dynasty on politics, economy, culture and education, social control, we can find that petty officials had both advantage and disadvantage to the society, so we can not give them too much high appraisement. The atmosphere of petty officials and that of official circle and society had interaction. Finally, it is unrealistic that we set a much too high or low value on the petty officials in Jin Dynasty. It is necessary for us to be objective and distinguishable. Petty officials in central and local governments did a lot of daily petty and involved things, so that the officials had energy and time to make policies and the dominant order could keep perfect. However, we can not ignore the negative effect on the society in Jin Dynasty. Most petty officials in Jin Dynasty were not illustrious in social status but indispensable in state control.The conclusion mainly states and summaries the elements of the thesis, and that is from some respects as follows: the forming historical background of the institution of petty officials in Jin Dynasty, the setting-up situation, source, the bounden duty of petty officials and the management of the rulers, petty officials in Jin Dynasty entering officials'stratum, the relations between petty officials group and society in Jin Dynasty.