| National governance is the basic function of the state.The ancient Chinese had their characteristics in terms of state governance.Since the Qin and Han Dynasties,the“Unification centralization and county system as the main governance model”has gradually formed.Under the Mongolian rule,a dual political system of Mongolian and Han mixed practice was implemented.Its ruled area was unprecedentedly vast,and people of different ethnic groups and religions lived together in the empire,and its state governance was very characteristic.This article chooses several perspectives to examine the process of the formation of the national governance system,analyzes the characteristics of the national governance system,and examines the actual effects of the national governance in the Yuan Dynasty.The legitimacy of the regime is a prerequisite for the smooth implementation of state governance.Both the Yuanri assembly(元日朝会)and the Honor-conferring system were efforts made by the Yuan Dynasty to establish legitimacy in terms of etiquette.The Yuanri assembly was large in scale and solemn.It inherited the basic form of the Yuanri assembly in the ancient Chinese.The Mongolian customs were also incorporated into it.The Yuanri assembly focus on the recognition of Yuan Dynasty’s orthodox status by the bureaucracy.When it was hold,the officials should be practice etiquette,congratulations,and present gift to the emperor.The local government also held the Hezheng(贺正)ceremony,and sent envoys to Dadu(大都)to present gift.The Yuanri assembly demonstrated the relationship between the monarchs and the bureaucracy from the ceremonial level,which helped the Yuan Dynasty to establish legitimacy.The Honor-conferring system focuses on the recognition of the grassroots people for the Yuan Dynasty.Under the Honor-conferring system,Xiaozi(孝子),Jiefu(节妇),Yishi(义士),Yimen(义门)and Gaonianqide(高年耆德)could be honored.They can get same practical benefits such as exemption,secure an official position,and written in history.The Honor-conferring system in Yuan Dynasty has relatively strict procedures,including reporting,verification,discussion,and implementation.The numbers of the activities of Honor-conferr is different in different areas and periods,but it is never interrupted.With the help of the Honor-conferring system,the grassroots people realized that the Yuan Dynasty was the defender of traditional values,so that the grassroots people had the legitimacy of it.In short,the Yuanri assembly and the Honor-conferring system were of great significance to the political legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty.The Liushousi system(留守司)was an important means for the ancient Chinese to govern the capital.The Yuan Dynasty has two capitals:Dadu(大都)and Shangdu(上都),both of them has the Liushousi,but there Institutional norms are different.First of all,in terms of powers,both Liushousi have powers in engineering,palace management,and material supply.However,the powers of the Liushousi in Shangdu are more extensive,and this aspect is reflected in its greater military power.On the other hand,the Liushousi department and the governor of Shangdu had extensive powers in civil affairs,justice,and prison.Secondly,with regard to the selection of officials,the two left-behind divisions are all Mongolian,Semu(色目),and the Hanren,but Nanren(南人)are excluded.From the perspective of the emergence,Xunqi(勋戚)occupies most of the officials in the Liushousi.The relocation of its officials is quite optimistic.Most of the officials in Liushousi have been promoted to the position of chief executive.The relocation of their leaders is also better than that of ordinary leaders.However,the lock-up of the Liushousi in Shangdu is stronger than Dadu.The family of Hesheng has left behind in the hereditary position.The descendants of the Muqali family also occupy an important position in the Liushousi in Shangdu.The Liushousi system can reflects the characteristics of the Mongolian rulers of the Yuan Dynasty in the governance of the capital.The smooth flow of financial control and information communication is an important aspect of a country’s effective national governance.The Grand Canal was of great significance of the Yuan Dynasty to transfer wealth and communicate from north to south.At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty’s reunification of the south China,the transportation and the transfer of wealth between North and South were mostly by means of Land and water transportation.But this method was costly and had limited capacity.In the late period of the Kublai Khan,the canals such as Jizhou River(济州河),Huitong River(会通河),and Tonghui River(通惠河)were dredged.The Yuan Dynasty also dredged the Jiangnan Canal(江南运河),Jianghuai Canal(江淮运河)and Yu River(御河),so the Grand Canal was connected.The Yuan Dynasty government set up water stations along the Grand Canal,configured station vessels,and issued household accounts such as water station households,delivery station boat households,the Grand Canal shipping system was established.The Grand Canal shipping in the Yuan Dynasty mainly includes three aspects.First,delivery of official goods,including gold,silver,currency coins,overseas treasures,and other small but high-value items.Yuan Dynasty stipulated that delivery of official goods must be escorted by officials and protected by soldiers.Second,transport bulk goods,such as grain,mainly by means of Hegu(和雇).Last,the exchange of personnel,including envoys,business travelers and literaties.The Yuan government took various measures to ensure the smooth passage of the Grand Canal.The Grand Canal provided a convenient channel for the transfer of wealth from the south to the south during the Yuan Dynasty,and also contributed to the north-south Mongolian ruler’s communication with the north and south,and promoted the economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south.Ayimaq is a special form of local administrative establishment under the Mongolian rule of the Yuan Dynasty.The governance of the Ayimaq is quite distinctive.Jining(济宁)is a typical Ayimaq,which have four political forces,Fengjun(封君),the central government,local government,and local elites.The establishment of Jining local administrative system was mainly influenced by the Fengjun and the central government.In the election of officials of Jining,the most of Daruqchi in Jining is the vassals of the Qongirat,Same overlords of Han ethnic group also can became Daruqchi.With the Reform of Kublai Khan,Some Daruqchies also can be selecte in general officials.Mongolian imperial government give them corresponding Sanguan(散官)and Jiaxian(加衔).In the election of The Guanminguan(管民官)in Jining,Hanren(汉人)and Semu(色目)are the main members,and the Nanren(南人)can also among them.From the perspective of the emergence,The overlords of Han ethnic group occupied a certain proportion in the early of Yuan Dynasty.With the Reform of Kublai Khan,the selection and transfer of officials in Jining are gradually standardized.In the governance activities in Jining,such as The Grand Canal management,Pray for rain,build school,and sacrifice of Confucius,the influence of different political forces is different.With the Reform of Kublai Khan,the Chinese bureaucracy gradually played a leading role,the Fengjun forces has decline,the overlords of Han ethnic group has become the bureaucracy,and the local elites also gradually rose and participated extensively in the governance activities.All the political forces in ayimaq had an impact on the governance,and their political struggles affected the consequent of the ayimaq governance.Frontier governance was an important part of ancient Chinese state governance.The Yuan Dynasty adopted a more direct policy of governing the frontiers.Take the southern frontier region as an example.The southern frontier region is far from the center of the Yuan Dynasty.The natural conditions are bad,socio-economic development is backward.So the problem of lack of officials is serious.In order to strengthen the governance of the southern frontier,the Yuan Dynasty adopted many measures in the selection of officials.First of all,the Guanghaixuan system(广海选).Once every three years,the central government sends special envoys to the southern frontiers,where provincial officials and Nantai Supervisor together select officials.The appointment of special envoys and the election of officials have corresponding regulations.Secondly,the Sheguan system(摄官).Finally,the Yuan Dynasty stipulated a series of reward and punishment measures for the election of officials in the southern frontiers.These measures are adjustments made by the Yuan Dynasty to the election system based on the actual conditions of the southern frontiers,which alleviated the problem of lack of officials in the southern frontiers to a certain extent and helped strengthen the control and development of the southern frontiers.From the above perspectives,we can see that the formation of the national governance system was consistent with the Han law policy of the Yuan Dynasty.The national governance system of the Yuan Dynasty showed the characteristics of "Mongol-Han mixed".The Yuan Dynasty achieved good governance results in some aspects.However,the "Mongolian supremacy" runs through it,had some adverse effects on the governance of the Yuan Dynasty. |
