The Study On Director Of The Board Of Rites In The Ming Dynasty

Director of the Board of Rites in Ming dynasty plays an important role in the central power system.Since 1380s,Zhu Yuanzhang ceased department of state affairs and abolished assistant system completely so that the six ministries should serve the emperor directly,therefore rights and position of Ministry of Rites had been improved greatly.According to textual research,there are 120 Ministers of Rites with responsibilities for ministry affairs in Ming dynasty actually.The groups of Ministry of Rites distributed extensively in regions but moved towards south-north administration centers and east-south areas,which could be derived from many factors including history,politics,economy,education and policy of imperial examinations together.The personal and family background in Ministry of Rites of Ming dynasty could reflect the relations between imperial examination system and the society;one with personal background could be a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations and even Hanlin bachelor in the middle and later periods,which could show that imperial examination system,as the most fair system for selecting talents in that moment,received the approval from the whole society,but officials in Ming dynasty hinged on qualification in election,which also brought negative influence to political development of Ming dynasty;On the other hand,Jinshi(a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)with grass-root background also changed in numbers for Ministry of Rites,which explains that although imperial examination system promotes vertical mobility of society in Ming dynasty,but this will gradually slow with historical development of Ming dynasty,Jinshi with grass-root background will devote more for Ministers of Rites than those with bureaucratic background.The average age of being Jinshi could be 30.26 in Ministry of Rites from Ming dynasty,down 3.14 years than average age of Jinshi in Ming dynasty,which shows that this group in Ministry of Rites will enjoy age advantages than Jinshi group in starting point of official career.In additional average year of those with responsibility on ministry affairs could be 56.35 in group of Ministry of Rites,which also meets the objective requirements for Ministers of Rites under political environments in Ming dynasty and could be the best age for managing affairs for Ministry of Rites.The positions of Ministry of Rites could be held by officials with posts in capital possibly so that the numbers could be the champion in six ministries.The Ministry of Rites in Ming dynasty could have excellent politics and make great historical contributions.The research of Ministry of Rites in Ming dynasty could fill research gap of political and social histories,which also teaches the lessons for modern society to some extents.